By: Matthew Kayser

Some moments stitch the past to the present with poetic precision. For Liana Zavo, returning to Long Island University (LIU) 17 years after leaving wasn’t about revisiting what might have been; it was about honoring what became. Now a public relations expert, a founder, female advocate, author, and early-stage venture capitalist, Liana leads ZavoMedia PR Group and ZavoVentures. 

She stepped onto campus not as a student but as a speaker, mentor, and builder — and she didn’t come alone. Liana returned with her 19-year-old son, Joshua, an entrepreneur and founder of a tech startup who is also a college dropout, forging his own path, and her mother, Valentina, a former gynecologist in Russia, earned a bachelor’s in business management from LIU. The most important people in her life came to support her in action, underscoring the full-circle power of legacy, choice, and courage. 

Matthew Kayser:  Liana, you recently returned to LIU 17 years after leaving, this time as a guest speaker for pharmacy students. How did it feel to step back onto campus?

Liana Zavo: It was surreal in the best way. I didn’t come back to finish a credit. I came back to pour into students the lessons that took me a decade and a half to learn the hard way. It was a full-circle moment, proof that your detours can become your destiny when you keep moving with purpose. A standout moment was hearing from Miriam Boyango and Esty Shaia of the Jewish Pharmacy Society on LinkedIn, inviting me to talk to their pharmacy students about leveraging PR and branding in their personal and professional brands.

MK: Take us back to the beginning. At 17, what first drew you to PR and communications?

LZ: Storytelling and entrepreneurship run in my veins. My grandmother was a journalist in Russia, and watching how truth, language, and courage can shape culture left a mark on me. At 17, I told my mother I wanted a career in PR and communications. She wanted stability for me and encouraged a more traditional, family-friendly path. I followed that advice and tried speech pathology, since that’s what many in my circle were studying, but it never felt like my own choice.

MK: You started at Queens College and then transferred to LIU for a seven-year BS–MS in speech pathology. When did you realize that path wasn’t yours?

LZ: I felt that this choice wasn’t going to make me happy as soon as I started following everyone else. I was never the type to follow the trend. By my early 20s, life was heavy. I was a young mom, going through a divorce, and carrying the load of a demanding program. Four and a half years in, I realized I was excelling at a path that didn’t light me up. I chose to step off the conveyor belt and step into the unknown. I enrolled in the “school of hard knocks,” because storytelling and entrepreneurship, not speech pathology, was the thing that made me feel alive.

MK: Your next move was unexpected: cosmetology. How did beauty become a bridge to brand?

LZ: Surprisingly, it was my father who urged me to pursue cosmetology. His entrepreneurial path started as a teen barber in his father’s barbershop in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The year I was born, he launched his first restaurant in Dushanbe. He went on to build and lead in hospitality across Austria and New York, and he wanted me to learn a skill I could take anywhere. Cosmetology taught me that image is narrative. At age 23 I launched my styling concierge firm. On Fifth Avenue and in iconic hotels, the Plaza, St. Regis, Peninsula, the Ritz, I wasn’t just styling hair and helping with personal styling. I was sculpting presence, helping women enter rooms wearing their story. That’s when it clicked: before you tell a story publicly, you have to own it privately. My styling concierge became a training ground for authority, confidence, and message—the raw materials of brand.

MK: Despite running your styling concierge, you pursued a formal entry into PR—but five firms rejected you for not having a communications degree.

LZ: Yes, this rejection was the best redirection in my life. I was turned down from PR firms, they didn’t care to look at my soft skills, which was a big mistake. I built my own table. I hosted events, created rooms for conversation, and let results speak. One night after I styled a client for a charity gala, a woman noticed not just the look, but the feeling I created. She said, “If you can make my brand feel the way you made that woman feel, I want to hire you as my media visionary for my skincare line.” That woman, Mirela Matan, discovered my many hidden talents and opened a door. I became the U.S. point of contact for her brand with their PR firm in NYC and learned the craft from the inside. 

MK: Your family launched a Mediterranean restaurant on the Upper East Side in 2017. How did that become your first major PR case study?

LZ: I brought the restaurant to the PR firm that I was introduced by Mirela Matan, and I gave them an ultimatum: I would learn the ropes hands-on in their firm. My brother, Ilya, at the time President of ZAVO Restaurant, believed in the vision. That restaurant became a live laboratory — positioning, media narrative, community building, and brand architecture in real time. Eighteen months later, I launched my own communications agency. Now we are not only nationwide but globally recognized in 12 countries, helping bridge the gap for founders in the American Market.

MK: That agency became ZavoMedia PR Group, and you recently launched an investment arm, ZavoVentures. What throughline connects styling, PR, and venture?

LZ: It’s all storytelling, translated into strategy and outcomes. At ZavoMedia, we position leaders and brands with clarity and conviction. With ZavoVentures, I back women-led tech founders who have a story the market needs and the grit to deliver. I’m a builder and a bridge: brand to market, founder to opportunity, story to scale.

MK: You’ve mentored more than 1,500 students and early-career professionals. What core lessons do you share with them?

LZ: I’d say this: I own my story early and never wait for permission or a diploma to validate my path. I show up with an authority image that signals exactly what I stand for before I ever speak. I do the work in public, I host micro-events, share my insights consistently, and make myself findable. I rehearse resilience by treating rejection as data, not a verdict. I learn by proximity, sitting as close to the work as possible, even if I start as the liaison. I cross-train my skills so image, language, relationships, and results reinforce one another. And I start now, school is the best runway to build a professional brand that compounds over time.

MK: Speaking of pharmacy students at LIU, why teach PR and branding to future healthcare professionals?

LZ: Because storytelling elevates every profession. In healthcare, trust is everything. Your ability to communicate clearly, show up with authority, and humanize complex ideas directly impacts outcomes. Personal brand isn’t vanity — it’s clarity, consistency, and service.

MK: Many people feel locked out without the “right” degree. What would you say to them?

LZ: Your future is not negotiated by a piece of paper. It’s authored by courage, craft, and connection. I was rejected by five PR firms. I built my own table and then built rooms for others. If you’re willing to learn in public, serve relentlessly, and keep your standards high, the market will meet you.

MK: What does a “full circle” moment mean to you now?

LZ: It’s not just returning where you started. It’s returning as someone new — someone who can open doors for others. The circle closes. Then it widens.

MK: What’s next for you and your work?

LZ: Keep investing in women-led tech ventures. Keep helping founders build authority brands with narrative clarity and measurable outcomes. Keep mentoring the next generation of visionaries. The work continues — and the rooms keep getting bigger.

MK: Final word for students reading this?

LZ: Start now. Show up unapologetically. Your story is your strategy. Own it, shape it, share it — and let it open the rooms you’re meant to lead.

Liana is hopeful that LIU will honor her with an honorary degree. She’s looking forward to returning for another lecture soon, as there’s strong demand from both professors and students, and she’s ready to continue giving back to the community that helped shape her beginnings.