Introduction
Amy Rettig is Senior Vice President of Community Engagement at Nielsen, a household name in Florida, especially Pinellas County. Rettig has been working at Nielsen in Pinellas County for 24 years. As a true advocate of St. Pete, she's been accused of working for Chris Steinocher of the St. Pete Chamber of Commerce. We wouldn't argue, Rettig has been a sparkplug for the area for many years. In her role at Nielsen, she has built bridges between the evolving media powerhouse and community while ushering them through radical change.
Years in St. Pete
24 years.
Organizations involved in
I’m involved with the Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (board member), Habitat for Humanity (board member), Better Business Bureau Board of West Central Florida, Pinellas Education Foundation board. Other boards, AMIKids Pinellas board, Nicholson School of Communications at UCF, Advisory Board at St. Leo University’s College of Business.
What gets you out of bed every day?
I love watching those that work in our nonprofit community every single day, whether in the classroom as an educator, or just working with a good cause. If we aren’t paying it forward or working to help better our community or do something kind for others, we should probably consider going back to bed in the morning because that’s really what it’s all about.
Why St. Pete?
I was accused of working for Chris Steinocher at the Chamber of Commerce when I turned 50 last year. It goes back to a little bit about what I say about my work place. It’s the people, it’s the product that we sell here (which is a lot of sunshine in this great city), and the place. I get to walk along the water, go over to the beach if I want to, I get to live under some oak trees in my old streets in my lovely neighborhood of Euclid – St. Paul. Not only is it our church, our school, our community, it has been a blessing to be in St. Petersburg Florida for two dozen years.
What is one habit that you keep?
Right now the biggest habit that I have is focused on my family. I am blessed to have two parents with me in St. Petersburg, right in the Crescent Lake Neighborhood. And my habit is I never miss a day. I visit them every single day. Making sure that they’re taken care of, and maybe they’re taking care of me too.
Who are some people that influence you?
Top of my list would be my family. I certainly couldn’t even be here today without the love of a great family. I have been blessed to have a number of brothers, biological and otherwise that have been more than generous to me over the years. That’s top of the list. I have this amazing group of friends in St. Pete and they influence me. I really love all of them the same, along with their respective partners. They’re who I want to be with besides my family.
What is one piece of insight - a book, methodology, practice - that you would share with our readers?
Well, I don’t think I could live a day without listening to music. I listen to books online, I watch a lot of YouTube in my car. I’m traveling in my “mobile office” every single day. I commute from St. Pete to Oldsmar and I’m usually going somewhere in Hillsborough County on any given day. Listen to a lot of Ted Talks. I recently read a Lee Child novel and a Sue Grafton novel, for me, it’s my venture down mystery road. No profound title, sorry!
What is one thing you wish you knew about your work 3 years ago?
I wish I knew more about Google 3 years ago. We made the switch two years ago and I am still trying to read all of that email and respond. I am floating in an email sea.
What’s next?
At Nielsen we say, it’s the science behind what’s next and we want to be there. For me, its the excitement and the challenge of learning from the colleagues. I’m over 50 now, and I’m blessed to work with brilliant people who spend the time teaching me and even though I may have been the teacher back in the day, now I need more of that education. As a lifelong learner, there is a lot more to be done.
