Ask a Communications Executive: Garland Stansell of Children’s of Alabama

We are excited to announce this inaugural issue of our Ask a Comms Executive interview series, which joins our long-running Ask a Marketing Executive series.

To kick off the new series, we had a great conversation with Garland Stansell, APR, the Chief Communications Officer of Children’s of Alabama, a leading pediatric acute-care institution whose commitment to innovation, adaptability, and bold initiatives drives exceptional care for children and families.

How did you get your start in communications?

I started as an accounting major in business school. After taking a year off to get married, I returned to school. My wife thought she was marrying an aspiring CPA, but during my junior year, I realized I couldn’t see myself doing accounting for the rest of my life. I needed something creative—and getting creative with numbers could land me behind bars! I told my advisor I needed a change, and he sent me to the Arts and Humanities Department, where I discovered communications. I switched my major, focusing on public relations while earning a business minor.

While juggling school, marriage, and full-time work, I started an internship in corporate communications at a mortgage banking company, which led to a full-time role. After two and a half years, the company was acquired, and the communications function was outsourced, leaving me jobless for eight weeks—right as my wife was six months pregnant. I then joined Alabama Goodwill Industries as their Director of Public Relations and Development, later becoming Vice President. That experience confirmed my passion for work that makes a difference. After six and a half years at Goodwill, I joined Children’s, where I’ve now been for nearly 31 years.

How long have you been in your current role and what keeps you there?

I’ve been in my current role as Chief Communications Officer for 22 years. What keeps me here is the mission. From the beginning, Children’s has been dedicated to patient and child-focused care, making a real difference in the lives of families. Unlike most adult hospitals, we take a family-centered approach, addressing not just medical needs but also social, spiritual, emotional, and economic challenges.

I started in 1994 as a manager in what is now our foundation, overseeing Children’s Miracle Network programs and annual fundraising. Two years later, I was promoted to director, expanding into health promotion, advocacy, and marketing. In 2003, I became Chief Communications Officer, leading our growing team through the rise of social media and new technology.

What has kept me here is not just the mission, but also the ability to evolve within the same organization, taking on new challenges while staying true to work that I deeply believe in.

How large is your team and what is their scope of responsibility?

My team consists of 19 full-time employees, plus a network of contractors including writers, editors, photographers, and videographers.

We handle all communication, marketing, and advertising for the health system, covering 130 departments and 6,000 employees (up from just under 2,000 when I started). Our hospital has grown significantly, expanding from a community hospital to a nationally ranked pediatric medical center.  Children’s of Alabama has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report for 15 consecutive years and was recently recognized by Newsweek as one of the greatest workplaces for women.

One of the key tenets of your team’s mission is branding through education. How do you define this?

Branding through education is about advocating for children, patients, and families, going beyond legislative advocacy to focus on health and safety promotion. As the only freestanding children’s hospital in Alabama, our efforts are less focused on driving patient volume. Instead, most of our work centers on brand stewardship and being responsible community members.

Our marketing and communications programs provide education for families on critical health and safety issues. For example, we run campaigns on topics like concussion prevention, pediatric vehicular heat stroke, motor vehicle safety, and vaccination importance. These initiatives help families make informed decisions, while also positioning us as subject matter experts in child health and safety. We partner with radio stations, TV stations, and newspapers across the state to reach both local families and those traveling through Alabama, especially in the summer months.

What’s the one skill you want everyone on your team to have (which is also your go-to interview question)?

I want everyone on my team to embrace the desire to get better. I’m sure my team gets tired of my asking, “How is that going to make us better?” or “What can you do to make us better?” Whether it’s bringing a campaign idea or a new project, I always want to know how it contributes to our growth. When we’re hiring, one of the key questions I ask candidates is, “What can you bring to the team that will help make us better?”

Along with this, curiosity is another essential quality. In this field, constantly asking questions and seeking improvement is crucial. On the more technical side, I also value the ability to incorporate technology effectively—especially in areas like metrics, measurement, and AI. Since we don’t have to measure driving patient volume the same way other hospitals might, we have to be more intentional about how we assess success. That often is realized in helping an internal customer reach their goals or in seeing incidents of injury reduced in areas where we have run campaigns.

Can you share something innovative that your team is using Generative AI to do?

As AI continues to evolve, I want my team to explore how we can integrate the technology in a productive and ethical way to enhance our work.

We recently used an AI tool to synthesize 7,000 patient feedback comments. We generated a word cloud which identified common themes that werel incorporated into our messaging as part of a patient experience campaign. It would have taken my team weeks to review the comments, but we were able to complete the project much more quickly through the use of AI.

What podcast are you currently listening to?

I started listening to Chasing Life by Sanjay Gupta at the beginning of the year. This season focuses on doing more with less, exploring how we’ve packed so much into our lives that we’re overwhelmed, and how simplifying can actually help us achieve more. Topics range from research-backed discussions on diet and daily habits to the benefits of boredom—how allowing your mind to slow down can lead to creativity.

What would be your dream job if you weren’t doing what you do?

I think I’d be doing something related to travel or real estate. My wife and I love to travel, and after a recent trip to Europe, I told her it would be fun to start a podcast about hidden gems—those out-of-the-way places that aren’t tourist traps, the great local restaurants, the best places to visit that people don’t always know about.