Alumni Spotlight

On her website, MSU alumna Halley (rhymes with ‘valley’) O’Brien describes her job as such: “So wait. You snowboard and travel and make videos? How did you get into that?  I know. It sounds too good to be true, and trust me – it started out that way too. So let’s rewind to the spring of 2008, a few months before my college graduation.”

Halley, who subsequently graduated from Montclair in May of that year with a degree in Communication Studies, and a concentration in Public Relations, attended an on-campus edition of “The Price Is Right,” and sat in the audience with hundreds of other excited students, hoping to hear her name called.  Halley makes it clear she never wins raffles, even joking she’s never even had her number called at the deli counter.  But, miracle of miracles, the command, “Halley O’Brien, COME ON DOWN. You’re the next contestant on “The Price Is Right” echoed through the room.

She took the stage, and made what she describes as a perfect spin of the wheel, ultimately winning a brand new Macbook Pro, two state-of-the-art cameras and American Express Gift Cards.  Halley, who has been a rabid snowboarding enthusiast her whole life, now had the tools to combine that passion with her public relations education into a dream job.

O’Brien Begins Her Career

In 2008, Halley landed her first job as snow reporter at Mount Snow in southern Vermont. (read Halley’s account of her time in Vermont.) Every morning, she was in the office at 5 a.m., which happened to be located at the base of the mountain, a few steps away from the chairlift, to update the website with that day’s current conditions, weather, events and other information. She also created the resort’s Facebook page and Twitter account as well. But probably the most important aspect of her job was the video series she created called the “Mount Snow Minute.” These were short daily videos uploaded to YouTube (also in its infancy when speaking about ski resort marketing). These videos became a favorite with the Mount Snow fan base and throughout the ski industry as a whole – it was new and different.

After a season-long stint at Mount Snow, O’Brien moved back to New Jersey and became the Public Relations Manager at Mountain Creek, where she headed the successful effort to rebrand the resort, using social media, traditional public relations, and video production.  Her creation, “Rapid Play,” a video series received industry-wide acclaim.

2011- Current: Halley O’Brien Media, LLC

Two years later, she founded Halley O’Brien Productions and “packed up the Prius and chased my manifest destiny to Boulder, Colorado where I currently live and work with a variety of awesome people at The Weather Channel, SnoCountry Ski Areas Association, and destination resorts throughout North America.”

Her first official gig as the proprietor of her own firm was with Vail Resorts, where she used her now well-honed storytelling skill to promote the company’s Colorado based resorts throughout the season via an online series called the “Snow Squad Scoop.”  Since then, Halley’s worked with ski resorts all over North America.  By her own count, she’s been to nearly all 50 states and over 80 ski resorts in the last year or so.  She says, “it’s included road tripping around New England, out to Tahoe, up the California coast, down through New Orleans, and throughout the Rockies in Colorado.”

However, the most exciting and career-changing thing to happen in the first year of O’Brien’s solo venture was the day an executive producer from The Weather Channel approached her.  “They had seen a lot of the videos I had produced for Vail, Mountain Creek and Mount Snow and wanted to bring me in to create TV and web packages. I’m not a meteorologist! You won’t find me forecasting your weekend’s weather. I create funny, irreverent packages that always tell an interesting and relatable weather story. We’ve been working together ever since!”

Another highlight for Halley was an assignment to create content that chronicled the Boston Red Sox championship run in 2013.  Hired by the team to produce video material that elicited comments from casual fans, women, and a younger demographic as a whole, Halley adds,  “I covered the atmosphere of the ballpark, the fans, the overall look and feel of the experience. We had some fun with that season’s quirks (every player was known for their impressive beards). What a season to be involved!”

Some of Halley’s other clients include: Here are some of my other clients: Whistler Blackcomb,
Aspen Snowmass, Travel + Leisure, SnoCountry Ski Areas Association, National Ski Areas Association, and many more.  A full client list can be found here: http://www.halleyobrien.com/clients/.  It seems Halley O’Brien has become a first class storyteller.

It’s All About Being Creative and Having Fun

Halley’s number one goal will be to stay creative and have fun doing what she loves.  To her, it has always been highly rewarding to create content for people that really enjoy it.  “I love being able to entertain people, make them laugh, smile, feel an emotion, connect to a story and a brand. The medium is the changing factor – writing, social media, video – but it’s always about connecting with people and creating something for them to enjoy. I think that’s what keeps my company busy.”

O’Brien is keenly aware of what drives her both personally and professionally.  “It’s important to me to remain true to myself, to my craft, and to who I am as a person. I want to be proud in the work that I do, and not have any regrets. As long as my friends, family and fiancé are proud of me, proud of what I’m working on and working toward, I’m happy.”

She also finds value in bringing people value. Her clients have developed a deep trust in Halley and the quality of her work.  She delivers highly polished and compelling content consistently.

Everyone experiences a “fork in the road” moment, and Halley recalls clearly the moment when that moment occurred.  “When I decided to leave a steady paycheck at Mountain Creek, start my company, and move across the country. That was a big time for me. A lot of uncharted territory. I didn’t know how it would pan out then, so I’m very happy I made that choice and took a chance.

O’Brien points to three people in her life that have been the most pivotal.  “My parents have always supported me in whatever I wanted to do and have given me the personality, the morals and the confidence I have today. A close second is my fiancé, Joe Hession. Prior to becoming my better half, we were great friends. He’s incredibly smart, funny, thoughtful, humble and one of the most positive people I know. A lot of my business savvy has come from him and the way he sees the world. He’s definitely one of my mentors.  I’m very lucky to have many more amazing group of people in my corner.”

Halley O’Brien’s meteor is heading toward the stars at the speed of light, and she’s been generous in happily sharing her secrets to success.

Step 1: Find something that you’re super passionate about – something that you wake up and read, watch, listen to, learn about on your own because you’re just that into it. If you do that on your own and not because you’re getting paid to do so, imagine how rewarding it will be to always be around it AND get paid to be.

Step 2: Network your face off. Email everyone you can email and ask for advice. Ask for insights into how they got to where they are. Insights into what you could be doing better. Make connections.

Step 3: Work harder than the rest. There will always be someone else working to achieve the same thing. And be open to working for nothing. In some cases, experience and the connections you make will be priceless.

Step 4: Stay humble, stay grateful and stay hungry. Everything you work for can go away. Never take that for granted.

Above all else, do what you love, build equity and provide value, and the money will follow.

Halley O’Brien is sure there will be many more forks ahead as well. “I hope I can handle them with the same balance of thoughtfulness and recklessness.”

This whirlwind of traveling, and snowboarding, and working with the best often feels too good to be true to Halley. “I’m so lucky to have had these opportunities and experiences, and I can’t wait to see what’s around the corner, and I’m sure there will be many more forks ahead as well. I hope I can handle them with the same balance of thoughtfulness and recklessness.”

Chances are what’s around the corner for Halley O’Brien probably involves snow.