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Whether she’s hanging on the back of a motorcycle racing around a track at 120 mph, chronicling a delicate surgical procedure, cheering from the sidelines at her daughter’s field hockey games, or working up a sweat at a cardio kickboxing class, for Renee Schneck Biale ’82, it’s all about balance. As president of her own public relations firm, RCB Communications, she juggles multiple roles, a host of disparate business needs, and a broad range of clients. And she loves it.
“I like to take on a challenge and create solutions,” she says. To meet that goal, Biale sets herself apart in her field by immersing herself in a client’s business. “Because my clients are so different, I am constantly switching gears. One day I might be describing the virtues of the newest BMW motorcycle and the next day I’ll be writing about a new procedure for treating brain aneurysms. I need to understand what I communicate,” the psychology graduate says, “so I’m always learning.”
She’s busy, too. “I can squeeze in a workout at the gym, go to business meetings, attend my daughter’s athletic events, volunteer at her school, respond to emails, and take care of administrative needs at home and work.”
That time-management skill doesn’t go unshared. Recently appointed to the Council of Lafayette Women (CLW), she’s using her knowledge of balancing life’s many demands to oversee the Home & Work track at the upcoming CLW Conference, April 4-5, where she also will participate in a panel discussion, “Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur.” Other speakers in the panel will be Karen J. Fried ’84, president of TLI Games; Jennifer C. Cortner ’85, president of EFX Media; and Elise Nappi ’87, co-founder of Planet Mom T-Shirts.
In addition, Biale helps with Dine for Success, a program for Lafayette sophomores and juniors that facilitates better communication skills in that work-world minefield, the business luncheon.
Biale thanks Susan Basow, Dana Professor of Psychology, for instilling the skills she uses daily to meet the demands of life, helping her break daunting projects into manageable pieces. As she says, Lafayette “helped me to think critically and strategically.” She also believes interacting with the diverse student body and their range of ideas directed her steps into her present position, noting, “I’m still using the knowledge I gained at Lafayette today.” Encouraged by her mother’s positive experiences, Alexa Biale will attend Lafayette this fall.
“Maintaining a positive attitude has been the key to my happiness,” Biale says. While packed days would tax that attitude in some, she says, “I function best when I’m busy.
If at the end of the day I can say that I did something for myself, my daughter, my business, and my home, it was a good day.”
For more information about the CLW Conference, contact Mary Pat Staats, CLW executive director and associate director of alumni affairs, staatsm@lafayette.edu, (610) 330-5036.