Tayler James

Tayler is a Midwesterner from the Twin Cities of Minnesota, by way of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her love for communication and creativity started at a very young age and followed her throughout her educational career. In 2005, she left the cold, harsh winters for palm trees and sunshine to begin her college career at Florida A&M University, also known as FAMU. Tayler started out as a business major, but her love for journalism drew her into switching to Journalism and Graphic Communication. Tayler graduated with a B.S. in Journalism and Graphic Communication in May 2010. Immediately following graduation, Tayler was selected to participate in the Media Sales Institute where she had the opportunity to pitch a sales campaign to recruiters from leading Media Organizations throughout the country.

Tayler was recruited by Gannett Media Company to work in Media Sales. She has worked in sales for several divisions, including USA Today, KARE 11 Local Television, along with their digital properties. She supported sales teams by providing qualitative and quantitative research data on targeted categories, media habits and consumer trends. Additionally, she developed strategic customized solutions for sales executives, which directly impacted sales for advertisers and brought millions of revenue dollars to the respective sales departments. She also played a major role in developing companywide projects and events, including Race for the Cure, State Fairs, NCAA March Madness, and the 2012 Summer and 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

FAMU’s motto, “Excellence with Caring”, is a lifestyle that Tayler embodies, which has followed her throughout her career. She was selected by top leadership officials to serve on Gannett’s Leadership and Diversity Council, Talent Development Program as well as Mentoring Program. With those opportunities, she worked with other team members to develop strategies that would strengthen those divisions for current and future employees.