Photography by Danny Fulgencio
Some members of the Dallas City Council joke that neighbor Carrie Prysock is their boss. Others call her the “Council Mom.” As director of the Mayor and City Council Office, Prysock runs day-to-day operations for the mayor, City Council members and their staff. “My job deals with a lot of personalities, and there are a lot of requirements,” Prysock says. “You can’t be a wilting flower. There’s not a lot of glory in a behind-the-scenes position, but I really enjoy being the ‘Council Mom’ to them.” Prysock has dedicated her life to public service. After college, she worked at the Dallas Regional Chamber before becoming a staffer for former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Then she spent 11 years as the government affairs director for the North Texas Tollway Authority. She lives in Junius Heights with her husband and two boys, Sam and Scout.
On Her Job
Why she loves her job:“I wanted to work on human issues. When I got here, I wanted our staff to be more than people who answer the phone. Our staff is the frontline to residents.”
On COVID-19
Working during the coronavirus:“Everyone at the City is under a lot of pressure. We feel the anxiety and the pressure from residents calling us angry. They’re carrying their own burdens and those of the people they’re serving.
On Criticism
How she handles public criticism:“It’s hard, especially on social media. For the most part, I just ignore it. But I want to say, “That’s not true. Don’t talk about our Council member that way.” It feels so personal sometimes. We don’t always get it right, but every time we care, and we are trying to do the right thing. If it was easy, then anybody could do it. I feel very protective of our staff.”
On Gender Discrimination:
“When I worked in transportation, that’s a field that’s primarily men. There were inappropriate actions and comments. You put them in their place and move on. I feel like there are a ton of strong women at the City. This administration has done well getting women on board.”
On Inspiration
Who inspires her:“My mom passed away a couple of months ago. My mom was a supremely fierce woman. There’s no way I could have done this job at the City had she not been my mother. We put on her headstone, “Fearless Mother and Friend.” It was important to me to put something on her headstone to make her stand out from the sea of names.”
On Relaxation
On self-care:“Like a lot of women, I had a hard time getting pregnant. One of the things I found during that time is that no one really talked about it. We put our house on the market and we’re going to use the proceeds to adopt. Then we found out we were pregnant. After we had Sam, we decided we wanted to have another baby. We got pregnant immediately. After I had Scout, I had postpartum depression. It’s OK to say that out loud. Mommy’s sanity is important, and looking out for other moms is important.”
On Family
Her family life:“My kids are 6 and 4. Scout was named after Scout from “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which was my favorite book as a kid. He got to meet the woman who played Scout in the film. She was at a book forum in McKinney. I didn’t have a ticket, but I said, “Look, this is my baby Scout.” I talked to her for an hour. She held my baby, and there was a picture in the Dallas Morning News.”
On Stress
How she manages stress:“I like to run. I ran a half marathon in March. It’s one of the last things I told my mom. Training for the race helped me get through the first few weeks after she passed away. I signed up for a 600-mile race for some semblance of normalcy.”
On Her Neighborhood
What she loves about our neighborhood:“In the short period of time we lived north of 635, we never changed anything about our life. We still came to the grocery stores and doctors here. It was like, “What are we doing up here?” We don’t leave like a five- mile radius of our home, even before the coronavirus. It’s such a special place for us.”
