Carolyn Phinney Rankin, MFA-Film Candidate, joined Inspire Careers in 2011. Carolyn enjoys working with individuals who are eager to advance in their careers. She offers her expertise in professional resume and curriculum vitae writing, personal branding, presentation skills, interview techniques, and job search coaching to professionals and executives determined to capture new, exciting career opportunities. For recent college graduates and high potential younger professionals, Carolyn

provides additional services related to career decision-making, career management, “leading from any chair,” and aligning personal strengths with employer objectives.

A Proactive Optimist

Carolyn grew up in her family’s Civil War era house, training horses, driving motor scooters down country lanes, and reading stacks of books. She earned a Life Saver’s Badge in a quarry next to the Erie Canal and became the first from her rural high school to be admitted to a highly selective women’s college. Along the way she learned to be an optimist — a spirited cheerleader — for ball teams when she was young, and for clients in her current work. There is nothing that brings Carolyn more joy than helping someone achieve a challenging goal.

Credentials

Carolyn is a candidate to receive her MFA in Film in 2011 from the renowned film school at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). She holds a BA in English from the University of Rochester (UR), with first and second year college work at Mount Holyoke College. A life-long learner, Carolyn has completed postgraduate work in higher education administration and fund raising (UR), printing (RIT), documentary filmmaking (Maine Media College), and still photography (RIT, Maine Media College, and The Douglis Visual Workshops).

Career History

In 1986, Carolyn founded Phinney Rankin Inc., a branding and marketing communications firm. Her clients have included Eastman Kodak Company, Xerox Corporation, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, University of Rochester Medical Center, YWCA, Hochstein School of Music and Dance, and a variety of entrepreneurs from commercial developers and civil engineers to leadership coaches and bistro owners.

Before Phinney Rankin Inc., Carolyn was vice president of Saphar & Associates Inc., a public relations firm. Earlier, at the State University of New York College at Brockport, she was vice president of college relations and development.

Professional / Community Involvement

Carolyn’s capabilities in institutional advancement, business development, advertising, public relations, marketing, branding, crisis communications, and filmmaking have been amply applied in leadership positions as a board director of several professional and community organizations: Career Development Services, International Partners of the Americas, the World Affairs Council of Rochester, Women in Communications Inc., Rochester Association for the United Nations, and First Unitarian Church.

Carolyn has received numerous awards, including the American Express Award for Organizational Development as the founding president of Rochester Partners of the Americas and the Matrix Award for Excellence in Communications from Women in Communications Inc.

Inspire! Illuminate! Ignite!

Carolyn's mission is to "inspire new hope and confidence in your unique abilities, illuminate the path toward fulfillment of your goals, and ignite personal commitment, determination, and persistence in all that you do." She lives this mission daily with her clients.

To contact Carolyn, click here.