SILICON VALLEY, September 30, 2021 – PRSA Silicon Valley (SV), part of the nation’s largest professional organization serving the communications community, today announced a new board member, Judy Cushman, a new agency advisory committee member, Manhattan Strategies, several signature events and more.

As part of a national network of more than 30,000 communications professionals and through its student organization, the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), the Silicon Valley Chapter continues to bring new strategies in connecting and supporting individuals at all stages of their careers.

“The PRSA Silicon Valley family is stronger than ever with new industry relationships across the community, increasing value for professionals at all career stages and building the most diverse PR community in the chapter’s history,” said Vanessa Yanez, PRSA Silicon Valley President. “We are inspired that our Board members, agencies and partners are unifying as we address the most pressing issues to benefit the future of communications.”

Fall 2021 Chapter Updates:

Scholarship News and Student Winners

In April, PRSA-SV raised nearly $70,000 for a new diversity and multicultural scholarship endowment, more than tripling its original $20,000 fundraising goal in less than 48 hours. Established in 2020, the scholarship annually assists and recognizes Bay Area students for outstanding academic achievement and commitment to the practice of public relations and this year aims to award 10 students $1,000 each.

Board Growth and Leadership

The PRSA Silicon Valley board provides a network designed to build deep professional connections within a diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) framework.

–  Our annual Media Predicts is returns Wednesday, Dec. 1. The online event is led by co-chairs Caroline James, and Curtis Sparrer.
–  Judy Cushman joins as a Strategic Advisor from Bellevue, Washington. She’s a member of the DE&I Committee as well as contributing to chapter initiatives and will be co-leading our sponsorship effort along with Board Member and RedPhlag CEO Gerard Corbett. Judith is also an active member of PRSA’s Puget Sound Chapter.
–  Board member Jeannie Entin is leading Membership and will focus on providing our community with the full value and benefits of PRSA Silicon Valley and PRSA National.
–  Welcome to our newest Agency Advisory Board member, Maxwell Morgan, principal at Manhattan Strategies.
–  Bospar announced their Texas Relocation Plan news and the media is tracking.

Mentorship News

This year, 40 mentors and mentees were matched and invited to a virtual networking social. Companies represented include Aclima, Blue Shield of California, Electronic Arts, Facebook and more.

Event News

#FridayForum upcoming events; Executive Producer, Karen Smyth.

–  10/1- Leslie Campisi, CMO Morty and Wellness Expert: Getting Serious About Mental Health moderated by PRovoke Executive Editor, Aarti Shah
–  10/8 – Diversity Spotlight, Corporations: Fostering Diverse Talent: Let’s Talk about Race, Gender and Identity to Create a More Equitable and Inclusive Workplace with Kelly Xie, HP moderated by Highwire Agency and DEI Jazmin Eusebio
–  10/15 – DEI Spotlight, Agencies: Best Practices with Edelman’s Gerry Rodriguez, Highwire and Praytell, moderated by Jocelyn Breeland, Stanford
–  11/12 – How I got Here: Stacey Zolt Hara, Head of Global Employee and Executive Communications, Visa, moderated by Camelia Gendreau
–  12/1  – Media Predicts returns and will be virtual. More to come as panelists are announced from our Board co-chairs Curtis Sparrer, Bospar and Caroline James, Aircover PR

Sponsorship News

Edelman is our inaugural premier partner of PRSA Silicon Valley. Chapter sponsors receive a custom, co-branded thought leadership event, speaker opportunities, promotional event assets, brand recognition in our newsletter and on our website, job promotions in our dedicated channels, and more. To learn more about the benefits of sponsoring PRSA-SV, contact Sponsorship Committee Chair Judith Cushman.

Join us and Partner

Join PRSA Silicon Valley and/or volunteer and/or become a PRSA Silicon Valley member. Our newsletters and #FridayForum programs reach thousands of industry leaders across the country. If you’re looking for a way to reach cutting-edge communicators, we have the tools to help. Contact Editor Mar Junge for details.

Please follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prsa_siliconvalley/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prsasv/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/19002400/

2021 PRSA Silicon Valley Board Members

OFFICERS
Vanessa Yanez President; Head of Brand Advocacy, HP Inc.
Ellie Javadi, APR Immediate Past President; Marketing, Brand & Digital VP, Norwest Venture Partners
Shaun Saunders Secretary; Founder, Graffiti Creative Group
Meghan Fintland Treasurer; Director, Influencer Relations, Corp Comms, Early Warning, LLC

COMMITTEE LEADS
Laura T. Desmarais Marketing Lead; Senior Vice President, Brodeur Partners
Jeannie Entin Membership and Mentorship Lead; Vice President, Communications, Aclima
Jazmin Eusebio Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Scholarship Lead; Account Executive, Highwire PR
Camelia Gendreau Partnership Lead; Worldwide Print Communications, HP Inc.
Mega Jewell, Head of Multimedia Content; Founder MEGA
Mar Junge Newsletter Lead; Founder and Principal, C3PR
Karen Noelle Smyth FridayForum Lead / Signature Events; Head of Content, Norwest Venture Partners
Judith Cushman Sponsorship Co-Lead; Judith Cushman and Associates
Gerard Corbett, Sponsorship Co-Lead; CEO, RedPhlag
Jilian Fisher, Media Lead, Media Predicts, Founder Wildflowers PR

DIRECTORS AT-LARGE
Jocelyn Breeland APR Exec Director for Strategic Comms, RD&E, Stanford University
Gerard F. Corbett APR, PRSA Fellow and Past National Chair & CEO; Chair and CEO Redphlag
Michelle Doss Director, Corporate Communications, Rackspace Technology
Kristin Harlan Partner PR Lead, AWS
Caroline James Principal, Aircover Communications
Priya Ramesh VP, Global Corporate Communications, Informatica
David Vossbrink APR Communications Counsel
Alicia Nieva-Woodgate Alicia V. Nieva-Woodgate VP of Corp Communications and IR, Cantaloupe, Inc.

AGENCY ADVISORY BOARD
Michael Young, Founder & CEO, Actual Agency
Katie Huang Shin, President, Axicom
Fred Bateman, CEO & Founder, Bateman Agency
Kathleen Shanahan, Founder, BOCA Communications
Curtis Sparrer, Co-Founder and Principal, Bospar
Alex Hunter, Managing Director, Co-Founder, Bulleit Group
Margot Edelman, General Manager, Edelman Bay Area
Lisette Paras, President & Founder, Gravitate PR
Megan Grasty Phelan Vice President, Highwire PR
John Derryberry, Executive Vice President, U.S. Technology Practice, Hill & Knowlton Strategies
Kelly Stone, VP, Hoffman Agency
Erin McCabe, Senior Vice President, Client Services, Hotwire
Maxwell Morgan, Principal, Manhattan Strategies
Julie Karbo, Founder & CEO, Karbo Communications
Julie Tangen, Partner, Offleash
Robin Bulanti, Partner, Offleash
Syreeta Mussante Executive Vice President, Technology, Praytell Agency
Joshua Reynolds, CEO & Founder, Rob Roy Consulting
Robin Kim, Practice Head, Global Technology and Innovation, Ruder Finn
Scott Samson, Founder & CEO, Samson PR
Dave Donohue, Co-Founder & Partner, StrangeBrew Strategies
Beth Trier, CEO & Founder, Trier & Company
Anne Sophie Hurst, COO & Partner, VSC

EXECUTIVE ADVISORS
Netta Conyers-Haynes VP Comms, Sequoia Consulting Group
Judy Cushman, Founder and President of Judith Cushman & Associates
Lauren Kwan VP Marketing, PlusAI, Inc.
Aarti Shah Chief Product Officer, Executive Editor PRovoke
Krista Todd VP Marketing and Comms, NortonLifeLock
Brooke Kruger Communications Recruiter and Founder, KC Partners

‍