By Kira Golden
Reggie Cameron has his own PR firm and is involved with promoting Hacienda Cantina, BAR, and many other local businesses and events. He was born in LA County, though when pressed for details he laughed, “I’m not entirely sure where… No, really. I joke, but it’s because I was born into foster care, and a lot of the things I’ve found about my birth have been conflicting.” He spent the first 14 years of his life in foster care and moved around a lot as a child. When he was adopted by the Cameron family, he settled with them in Redlands, California. The first jobs he had were when he was still a kid, working in entertainment—on Carnival cruises, at Disneyland, and even some TV shows. He attended UC Berkley on a full scholarship, but his education was interrupted when he got scarlet fever. “I was really sick and missed 6 or 8 weeks of class and was going to lose my scholarship, unless I made up the units with an internship. So I found out about this agency, Burson-Marsteller, and I went in for an internship, and they offered me a job full-time.” Burson-Marsteller turned out to be one of the largest PR agencies around and Cameron had the opportunity to work with clients like Mr. Coffee, IBM, and assisted with the launch of Pandora and the Mercedes-Benz Foundation. Eventually, he was recruited by Playboy Enterprises and became the head of marketing and public relations for them, and he moved to New York for that. Since then, some of his career highlights have been working with illustrious personages, such as the Clintons, Mariah Carey, and Martha Stewart, as well as being involved with events such as the VMA’s.
Though he stated that he feels the defining moment of his career is yet to come, he did say that he experienced a turning point about five or six years ago, and it was centered on his moving here to the desert. “My sister had just passed away, which was why I came back to this area—to be there for my family. I wasn’t in a good place at that time—I’d been diagnosed with cancer, my marriage was falling apart. And at that time, my entire approach to my work was different. I’d worked for a lot of big companies, and was doing work for the wrong reasons. Since I came here, and started working with the Funkey family, of BAR, and took up the Palm Springs Pride as sort of a volunteer initiative—I just started doing work that made me happy, work to be proud of.” In addition to organizing the pride parade here in Palm Springs, and being very active in helping the LGBT community in the Valley, he also works with foster youth, which is close to his heart, being a former foster child himself. As a cancer survivor, he gives back by serving on the council for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Orange County and Inland Empire, and is involved with the American Cancer Society.
In his free time, Cameron loves to write and often contributes articles to publications such as the Huffington Post. He is inspired by the arts, no matter the type. “Art provides this way of communicating, and I love to see how people express their passions, their issues, or their stories in these beautiful ways—from dance to painting or whatever form.” Fortunately for Cameron, the arts are a big part of his work, and he is surrounded by creative people and often organizes events that involve music, or art, or entertainment. “What I love and what I’m passionate about will be a part of my life no matter what. I’m just fortunate that what I love is also what I get paid to do.” It’s one of the main things he loves about the Coachella Valley as well, he explained. He appreciates the cultural and commercial renaissance taking place here, and is glad that it’s begun to be recognized in a more widespread fashion.
In talking to Cameron, it’s obvious that despite what he calls his “atypical background,” he has not failed to find and appreciate joy and beauty and laughter. When asked about his future goals, he immediately joked, “I want a monument erected in my honor!” We laughed, but after he thought about it, he went on seriously. “I would like to do something to merit such a thing. I want to make a long-lasting contribution to the world.”
