Public Relations Society of America, Silicon Valley Chapter (PRSA-SV) FACT SHEET

October 1, 2021
min
Public Relations Society of America, Silicon Valley Chapter (PRSA-SV) FACT SHEET

Headquarters:   Palo Alto, California
Chapter Organization:    501c6 Non-Profit
Chapter President:  Vanessa Yanez, HP Head of Brand Advocacy vanessa.yanez1@hp.com
Sponsor/DE&I Committee Chair: Judith Cushman, jcushman@jc-a.com

Web Site  https://prsasiliconvalley.org
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/prsasv
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/19002400
Twitter https://twitter.com/prsasv
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/prsa_siliconvalley/

ABOUT

Located in the heart of one of the United States’ most vibrant centers of technology, Silicon Valley is both a place and a state of mind. With an energized board-level group of 36 volunteers from prominent companies, agencies and consultants, PRSA-SV delivers information about important trends and issues that impact work, careers and lives.

The Pandemic created the need for virtual communication. In response, PRSA-SV developed a thought- leadership series – #Friday Forums. These hour-long webinars became must attend interactive sessions for PR Pros and signature events for the Chapter. From January 2020 through the end of September 2021, PRSA-SV created 57 Forums under the leadership of Chapter President Vanessa Yanez. Vanessa was recently recognized for her achievements as a “2021 Woman of Influence” by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Select events are available to watch on demand on Facebook, and viewable as podcasts on Spotify,  Apple and Buzzsprout. Events are promoted in the weekly PRSA-SV Newsletter and on the Chapter’s Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram pages. Board members also help promote the events on their LinkedIn pages and in emails to their networks.

Building Community, Educating and Advocating for the Profession

The on-going outreach draws attendees to the webinars and live feeds. Over 5,000 communications professionals have registered on Zoom and thousands more have watched #FridayForums on Facebook Live (the Chapter’s group page has 1,200 members). Several #FridayForums were broadcast on Clubhouse to an estimated 2,000-member group. Between July 2020 and July 2021, the chapter emailed 56 #FridayForum newsletters, totalling 90,000 views, with an estimated 60,000 pass-along viewers, bringing total exposure to more than 150,000 professionals.

Growing Agency Advisory Board

PRSA Silicon Valley cultivates relationships and advice from leading PR agencies. This year, PRSA-SV has recruited new PRSA-SV board members who live outside of Silicon Valley (i.e., Austin, Los Angeles, New York City and Seattle) and added new agency advisory board members from Actual Agency, Axicom, Bateman Agency, Bulleit Group, Gravitate PR, Hoffman Agency, Hotwire, Hill & Knowlton Strategies, Karbo Communications, Offleash, Rob Roy Consulting, Samson PR, Strange Brew Strategies, Trier & Company, and VSC. These firms join BOCA Communications, Bospar, Edelman, Highwire, Praytell and Ruder Finn as agency partners, for a total of 22 agency partners.

Supporting DE&I Goals

This year, the PRSA-SV Diversity Committee focused on creating scholarships for college students and opportunity for all. Seeking to raise $20,000, within two days after beginning the campaign, member organizations donated $70,000. In September 2021, scholarships were awarded to 11 students. DE&I initiatives are also supported by multiple #FridayForums on this topic.

Mentoring Students

To date this year, PRSA-SV made 40 mentor/mentee matches with mentors from Aclima, Blue Shield of California, Electronic Arts, Facebook and more. The chapter hosts the “1,000 Mentors Program” focused on connecting 1,000 mentors to 1,000 mentees who are willing to commit to a monthly hour-long conversation with each other.

Job Listings

As a service to hiring organizations, through a sponsorship or nominal fee, job openings can be advertised in the Chapter’s weekly newsletter circulated weekly to 2,000 subscribers.

Thought Leadership

#FridayForums are broadcast on Zoom and simulcast on the Chapter’s PRSA-SV Facebook Group page. Others are broadcast on Clubhouse and Instagram Live. Select events are available to watch on demand on Facebook, and viewable as podcasts on Spotify,  Apple and Buzzsprout. Events are promoted in the weekly PRSA-SV Newsletter and on the Chapter’s Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram pages. Board members also help promote the events on their LinkedIn pages and in emails to their networks.

Content Marketing

#FridayForums bring together speakers and panels who share vital information about subjects near and dear to our PR community. The Chapter markets this valuable content after the event:

–  Promote #FridayForum replays on PRSA Silicon Valley Facebook Page
–  Promote content on PRSA-SV LinkedIn page and on PRSA-SV Board Members’ LinkedIn pages
–  Publish blogs recapping the event on its website and promote blog in weekly Chapter newsletter
–  Monthly thought leadership articles authored by board members publish in PR Daily
   – Lessons PR pros must learn from the COVID-19 crisis (3/9/21)
–  The relationship between tech, venture capital and the media is changing (3/18/21)
–  How to Combat Ageism in the PR Industry (3/22/21)
–  How to navigate the comms nuances of venture capital (5/25/21)
–  What’s up with Peter Shankman (7/9/21)
–  Networking helps – but building a PR community is even better (7/30/21)
–  How to retain people of color and build a diverse leadership (8/30/21)

Interested in Becoming a Sponsor?

Contact Sponsorship Committee Chair Judith Cushman jcushman@jc-a.com, or PRSA-SV Chapter President Vanessa Yanez, vanessa.yanez1@hp.com, or fill out the Becoming A Sponsor form on the PRSA-SV website (prsasiliconvalley.org).

Sign up for our newsletter

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.