While Gabrielle Gambrell is incredibly adept at switching from one professional mode to another, on Sunday the marketing communications, branding, and media expert will put work aside to celebrate Mother’s Day with her family. Turning down a spa day invitation with friends, she will relish spending time with her husband Jeffrey Gambrell, son Jeffrey II, 4, and daughter Galia Gabé (Gigi, almost 2).
“I really enjoy my children’s company,” Gambrell said. “I love laughing with them, playing with them. We love to sing; we love to dance. My son is so in love with soccer. I anticipate it’s going to be a beautiful day. We will probably go outside and kick around the soccer ball. That will bring me ultimate joy.”
Gambrell is the founder of Gift of Gabrielle, which provides executive, corporate, and brand consulting services. In addition to marketing, public relations, and talent management, she works with companies on issues such as workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, and crisis communications. The firm has been named by the PRNet a 2024 Next Gen honoree. The PRNet praised Gambrell’s innovative approach and thirst for knowledge, deep research and the strategic use of AI tools. She utilized these to elevate the talent management firm COLTURE Holdings by strategically promoting its business model and leadership.
Gambrell has also been named a 2024 Top Black Woman to Know by Scripps News and appeared on COLOR Magazine’s 2023 40 Under 40 Powerlist. Her clients have included Pfizer, Comcast, Verizon, the Women’s National Football Conference, Bonfire Women and The Spicy Life as well as colleges and universities.
She has worked one-on-one with Gen Z influencers and helped them develop entrepreneurial skills. As she tells her story, Gambrell is able to help others most effectively tell theirs.
“I spend a lot of my day consuming the news and consuming information,” said Gambrell, whose undergraduate degree is in broadcasting with a minor in film. “First thing I do when I open my eyes is I thank God, and then I turn the TV on. I’m washing my face, brushing my teeth and getting the kids together while the news is playing. … The impact of media is tremendous. That’s a huge part of who I am and how I navigate life.”
Making it all work and not shortchanging either work or home life, Gambrell said her iPhone calendar app is essential. “If it’s not on my calendar, it won’t happen,” she said. “Whether that’s a business meeting, a client pitch, an interview, mandatory date night—we have date night once a week, no matter what—my son’s Taekwondo, soccer or swimming, a birthday party for one of their classmates, it has to be on the calendar.
“I have to be as organized as possible,” she added. “Then, something I think as women we don’t always do is enlist help. I am grateful for babysitters. … Being able to delegate accordingly. Knowing that I can’t do it all by myself. Also, my husband is phenomenal. He is superdad; he is my best friend. We will sit down with our calendars. There are a lot of things in place, but those are things that help the car to keep moving.”
Despite her busy schedule, she shares trips to the library, museums, and the park with her children. Gambrell also makes sure they go places—the grocery store, retail establishments and even candy stores—where they can learn about using money wisely. She is intentional in finding time on the calendar to walk around New York City and have her children experience the city’s sights, sounds and communities.
As a fourth generation college graduate (her bachelor’s and master’s degree alma mater is Iona University where she is currently a board member), Gambrell considers it essential to pass her knowledge onto others, serving as an adjunct professor at both Columbia University and New York University, teaching graduate students courses on strategic communications, integrated communications (where marketing and public relations come together), digital marketing and public relations.
Her blogs cover topics such as millennial motherhood and family, and she’s proud to share successes and challenges. The Black community has often been “secret sensitive” in her eyes, but Gambrell believes there is strength in sharing stories of both success and adversities. A part of branding is storytelling, and she thinks it’s important to tell your story and trajectory, especially talking about adversity and how it can be overcome. She knows she would not lead the life she lives without the foundation of family.
“I’m extremely blessed and fortunate,” Gambrell said. “I work a lot. I wear many hats. I travel a lot. The lifestyle that I have is completely because of my family unit and the support that I have and the love that I have.”