Riley Muse
Assistant Account Executive, Edelman
University of Georgia ’18
Los Angeles, CA
Riley was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. When it was time to make a decision on where to attend college, the HOPE Scholarship played a major role. “The HOPE scholarship was a huge factor in my decision on where to go to school.”
“I had a longing to go somewhere else. But after I found out I was a HOPE Scholarship recipient, that changed everything. Since my dad was a University of Georgia graduate, I already had a huge love for the school and decided that was where I wanted to go.”
Her experience at the University of Georgia helped her to develop professionally, through organizations such as the Grady College of Journalism, the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and the Arch Society. She felt comfortable trying out different groups because of the freedom that the “transitional years” of college provided.
“For me, college is a place where you’re still protected and can take risks and make the mistakes you need in order to figure out where you want to go and who you are.”
“Being able to graduate in 2018 with zero student debt was absolutely huge and life-changing. It’s definitely part of the reason why I was able to move across the country and take that leap, because I didn’t have to worry about paying off student loans.”
Riley now lives in Los Angeles, California, and works as an Assistant Account Executive at the global public relations firm, Edelman. The LA office has many major clients, but the majority of Riley’s responsibilities are in supporting Taco Bell. One of their biggest projects she’s worked on, was launching the “Taco Bell Hotel and Resort” in Palm Springs in August 2019.
“Taco Bell really wanted to find a way to connect with fans and bring something to life for them. We pitched them this experience, which was the Taco Bell Hotel. The biggest Taco Bell fans were allowed to stay at the hotel, spend time with us and to live and eat and play with the brand all weekend. Our first hotel experience was in Palm Springs where we completely rethemed the resort to be ‘The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort.’”
She has also participated in similar projects for clients like Netflix.
Riley enjoys working with consumer brands and the consumer lifestyle space: “brands which really impact your life and that you interact with daily.”
In the future, she hopes to continue to grow and develop in the public relations industry and to explore the opportunities that exist in her home state.