Lori Croy's communications career centers on strategy, storytelling and trust

Influential Women is highlighting Lori Croy, APR, a Missouri communications leader whose work spans higher education, state government and consulting. Her career shows how early, strategic communications can help organizations build trust, explain complex work and connect with the people they serve.

Why it matters: - Lori Croy’s career reflects a broader shift in communications: organizations get more value when communicators are involved early, not just brought in at the end to package a message. - Her work spans education, government and consulting, where clear messaging can affect trust, understanding and public engagement. - She focuses on mission-driven sectors, including government, education, insurance and related fields.

What happened: - Influential Women is featuring Lori Croy, APR, as a strategic communications and public relations professional with more than 30 years of experience. - Croy is the founder and principal of Mentor PR in Fulton, Missouri. - Her background includes higher education, Missouri state government and consulting. - The profile points to her work in strategic communications, public affairs, digital communications, storytelling and organizational leadership.

The details: - Croy spent 25 years at the University of Missouri, where she helped pioneer web communications as digital strategy was still developing. - She later served more than eight years as director of communications for the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance. - At the university, Croy rose to chief creative officer and led multidisciplinary teams responsible for primary digital and creative communications. - Her campus work helped unify print and online messaging across the university. - In state government, Croy strengthened internal and external communications across regulated industries and advanced consumer-focused messaging. - Croy says the goal of communications is not just to make information readable or attractive, but to show people why the information matters. - She holds Accreditation in Public Relations and is involved with the Public Relations Society of America. - Her honors include the PRSA Lloyd B. Dennis Award for leadership, ethics and integrity. - Croy is also an award-winning children’s book author and an advocate for literacy and storytelling. - She credits her upbringing on a farm in rural Missouri with shaping her work ethic, curiosity and respect for many kinds of expertise. - Her father was an Army veteran and lifelong mechanic, and her mother worked in a grocery store and later in a university athletic department. - Croy says both parents were respected in their community despite not attending college. - She describes her children as among her greatest heroes and says their people-focused careers reflect her own communication-centered values. - A former University of Missouri boss encouraged her to be strong, share her ideas and avoid apologizing before speaking up. - That same mentor also taught her to delegate wisely without giving away every project that brings joy to the work. - Croy keeps a “wall of joy” in her office with quotes from her parents, notes from her children and family photos.

Between the lines: - Croy’s message is that communication is a strategic function, not a finishing step. - Her view suggests organizations may miss the core public-facing value of their work when communications teams are looped in too late. - Her emphasis on empathy, honesty and integrity frames communication as a trust-building discipline, not just a messaging exercise. - The profile also underscores the role of mentorship in helping professionals gain confidence and stay connected to the work that motivates them.

What's next: - Croy plans to keep using Mentor PR to help organizations turn strategy into storytelling. - Her continued focus remains on government, education and insurance clients. - She also continues her advocacy for literacy, mentoring and audience-centered communication. - More information is available through her Influential Women profile and her websites, loricroy.com and mentorpr.net.

The bottom line: - Lori Croy’s career is built on a simple idea: better communications happen when organizations start with people, not just information.