ADPR Alum, Devon Bradley Roof is Two-Time CEO
By: Audry Ong
Starting a business is not easy. Devon Bradley Roof, a Michigan State University communications and PR alumna, started two businesses in fashion and public relations.
Roof graduated from MSU in 2008, but her love of PR and multitasking started long before graduation day. As an active member of the Public Relations Student Society of America, Bradley advocated to prevent smoking in public places. She held three jobs at once during her time at MSU, including an internship with the Michigan Fitness Foundation. She interned there during her senior year and upon graduation, joined full-time. Roof oversaw races for the state of Michigan and coordinated a run with the governor across the Mackinac Bridge.
After leaving the Michigan Fitness Foundation, Bradley joined Lambert, a Michigan-based public relations agency, and opened a clothing boutique in Jackson, Michigan, called Belle Row (link here). She knew launching the boutique without a full-time job was not feasible because she lacked financial backing.
“I wanted to follow my dreams of owning a store, but also needed a place to live,” she said.
For many years, Roof navigated life as a business owner and worked full-time as a public relations director at Lansing Community College, alongside many other companies, after her time at Lambert. Around 2015, inspired by the rise of food trucks, Roof shifted Belle Row’s business model. She closed her storefront and introduced private shopping events and pop-ups to attract a new audience, a marketing tactic companies like Roller Rabbit, Glossier and Skims started in the early 2020s. This new business model allowed consumers to put a face to the name Belle Row. Not only would they fall in love with the clothes, but they would fall in love with the founder.
Roof continued to grow her brand. In 2017, while working full-time and managing her store’s operations, she began to offer freelance services in marketing. The independent firm would later become Epic Blue: (link here) a full-service marketing and PR agency.
Epic Blue serves many businesses in the greater-Lansing area like The North Group, Pretty Plant Professionals, Lean Rocket Lab, The Country Club of Jackson and East Coast Pro. When Roof started the company, she says she never expected it to grow into what it has become, but she was able to harness her PR background and entrepreneurial skills into a boutique PR agency that focuses on putting the client above all else.
Students can follow Roof’s path by exploring MSU’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor here.
