The United States Postal Service (USPS) touches nearly every person in America almost every day of their lives. Just think—how many times do you see a postal truck in your neighborhood or a letter carrier delivering your mail? How often do you visit your local post office, and how many times a week do you personally anticipate, receive, and open your mail?
Yet on a scale from one to ten, how well do you really know the USPS?
Mailin’ It!, the official podcast of USPS, aims to help you answer with a resounding “Ten!” The podcast takes you inside a thoroughly American institution, exploring the rich history of the USPS, going behind-the scenes of its present innovations, and discussing its dynamic future, thanks to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and his 10-year Delivering for America Plan.
The name of the podcast came from a team of people working on their brand-publishing initiative. Mailin It! was put forth and quickly became the team favorite. It’s catchy and easy to remember, while capturing a fun aspect with a little edge. The name encompasses what the Postal Service is all about—binding the nation together through the delivery of letters and packages.
Your hosts are Yasmine Di Giulio and Dale Parsan. They both work in the Strategic Planning department at USPS and had to audition for the part of cohost. “The Postal Service has an in-house recording studio, where we read scripts and did mock interviews with the show’s producer,” Di Giulio said. “You’ll have to follow up with them as to why we were picked… we aren’t professionals by any means, so this opportunity means a lot to us.”
Although when Parsan was in elementary school, he enjoyed the humble beginnings of a life in social audio as the host of the school’s televised morning announcements, in which he covered the weather and lunch options.
The intended listening audience is broad and diverse, but overall, they hope the general public tunes in. Their approach to content development is three-tier:
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- The “Americana” aspect of the Postal Service, with its broad history and importance in the development of communication in our nation.
- The “Behind the Scenes” aspect—how the Postal Service played and continues to play a role in innovation (the ZIP Code is one example).
- “Products and Services/Leadership”—what the Postal Service offers to the nation through the delivery of mail and packages as well as their current leadership perspective.
“We want people to know that the Postal Service is an interesting, dynamic organization,” Di Giulio said. “And that we are committed to our mission of keeping communities and individuals connected with a reliable and trusted service.”
“We also want consumers to know that the organization has deep roots as a staple for communities and continues to be forward-thinking to best serve the American people and their growing needs for our services,” Parsan added.
A typical workday for five-year postal veteran Di Giulio encompasses working primarily in support of the Postmaster General’s strategic initiative portfolio. “I also produce research and regulatory compliance reports. What I like the most is how varied the work is—my tasks can change from day to day depending on what needs to be done. I also really enjoy working with my colleagues, like Dale,” she stated.
A day in the life of the nine-year postal veteran Parsan includes providing both the oversight and support of the PMG’s strategic portfolio that Yasmine mentioned. “I also provide targeted project management support to a handful of key projects as requested by members of the Executive Leadership Team. Each day is different, since our work is cross-functional in nature, but it means I get to do my best work every day,” he said.
“Sharing these stories is important, because the Postal Service is one of the few organizations that touches everyone’s lives, whether by delivering medications, birthday cards, or your latest online shopping spree. We have such a long history of service to the country, and there have been some really incredible innovations along the way that seem so commonplace now. It’s really fun to dive a bit deeper into these stories and share them with listeners,” Di Giulio said.
“I think for many people these days, the Postal Service and the concept of sending letters or things in the mail is not as relevant in our digitally connected society,” Parsan quipped. “But USPS has changed with the times over the years and is continually innovating to provide new products and services, like Informed Delivery, that bridge the physical and digital. For us, if the podcast can continue to grow and reach new audiences and get them excited about USPS projects or interested in the history of the organization, that is a tremendous success.”
Di Giulio and Parsan both love hosting the podcast because they get to speak with a diverse group of guests. “We really enjoy getting to meet new people who are connected to the Postal Service, whether that person is a Smithsonian curator or someone involved in our operations, and speaking with them about their experiences at our organization,” Di Giulio said.
Di Giulio and Parsan hope listeners will share and use the information they share in the podcast. “Our episodes cover a wide variety of topics, and we really believe there is something for everyone. We want our audience to be inspired by the stories we tell and share something they learned with others,” Parsan said.
Parsan was born and raised in South Florida. In his downtime, he likes to read about current events, spend time with his friends and family, and try out new restaurants throughout D.C. The best advice he’s ever gotten was from his parents: “‘Education can’t be taken away from you’ was the oft-repeated phrase by my parents. They always encouraged my older brother and me to strive to achieve all we could academically. But even after we obtained our degrees, they stressed the importance of continually working toward the next thing,” he said.
Di Giulio grew up in Southern Virginia. In her downtime, she likes to spend time with friends, read, and cook new recipes. A quote she lives by was penned by John
January 2022 Issue
