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Auburn alumna helps world connect as Bumble communications vice president

Public relations alumna Gabrielle Ferree '12 has always known the importance of relationships, from her time at Auburn to her leadership at one of the world's largest dating companies.

In 2024, Ferree was recruited to join the Bumble team as their vice president of global communications. Bumble is a global relationship and networking app, aiding users to find long term partners, friends and business connections. Ferree works across the company, discussing risks and opportunities and launching new products or campaigns for Bumble.

"When I got to Auburn, I wasn't sure what I was going to major in until I was required to take public speaking and newspaper fundamentals, I noticed I shared classmates between the two," Ferree said. "I was like, 'Wait, what major are you where you're doing both the writing and the talking?' and that's how I landed on being a public relations major."

Being involved in communication, corporate and marketing, Ferree needs to know everything from the latest on the "Wicked" press tour to the trending Tik Tok dance this week. Ferree currently resides at home in Arizona, but most of her company lives in New York or London, so no matter how early she's up, there's always something to do.

"One of my jokes in PR is that my job is to get our company in the news when we want to be in the news and get our company out of the news when we do not want to be in the news. And so my day is usually a little bit of proactivity and a little bit of firefighting."

Ferree always thought she would wind up in a career with clear expectations, like an engineer. However, public relations delights Ferree as a challenging art form that marries persuasive arguments and the craft of writing.

"In my personal life, I love when things have a very clear start, middle, end and answer. Setting up IKEA furniture is one of my favorite things to do, but my professional world is all gray," Ferree said. "There's never a clear right answer. It's just about exercising your brain to anticipate what the results or outcomes may be of any decision."

During her time at Auburn, Ferree made as much of an impact on Auburn as Auburn did on her. She was involved in student recruitment, panhellenic and student government while also completing an internship with the College of Liberal Arts. As a senior, Ferree founded the Public Relations Student Society of America at Auburn. As an alumna, Ferree serves on the Auburn Public Relations Advisory Council.

After graduation, Ferree landed at a company called AirWatch, which developed the security features for the iPhone. Being at the precipice of a major innovation is an experience Ferree did not take for granted.

"If you want your career to be exciting for a very long time, see how early of a company and trend you can get to work at, because you get tons of experience doing things you're frankly not qualified for," Ferree said. "You're not going to get that exposure at a major conglomerate that you might be able to easily explain to your friends at Thanksgiving."

Ferree's biggest piece of advice for current students trying to go the extra mile and accelerate their careers is to reach out to alumni with specific questions. Ferree encourages students to use faculty, professors, alumni and members of the Auburn Public Relations Advisory Council as a resource to build their network.

"The number one value of your college degree is the name and the network that it provides, so use it and take advantage of it," Ferree said.

Learn more about public relations in the School of Communication and Journalism.

Tags: Communication and Journalism Alumni