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31 episodes with PRSSA
20 episodes with PRSSA
5 episodes with PRSSA
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2 episodes with PRSSA
4 episodes with PRSSA
2 episodes with PRSSA
4 episodes with PRSSA
2 episodes with PRSSA
En este podcast, Antonella Barreda Vargas explora la transición de la universidad al ámbito profesional junto a la Presidenta Nacional de PRSSA, Milagros Orcoyen. Desde su experiencia como expresidenta del Capítulo de PRSSA en la Universidad de San Martín de Porres en Perú, Antonella comparte cómo fue su paso de PRSSA a PRSA, abordando los desafíos y oportunidades que enfrentan los jóvenes profesionales en América Latina. La conversación destaca el valor de mantenerse involucrado en PRSA tras graduarse, el impacto de las experiencias estudiantiles en el desarrollo profesional y consejos para quienes están por iniciar este camino. Para conectar con Antonella Barreda Vargas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonella-barreda-vargas/ Para conectar con Milagros, la Presidenta Nacional de PRSSA '24-'25: nationalpresident@prsa.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/milagros-orcoyen/ Para conectar con PRSSA National: https://www.facebook.com/prssanational/ https://x.com/PRSSANational https://www.instagram.com/prssanational/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/prssanational/posts/?feedView=all Para conectar con Ro Lane, Vicepresidenta de Brand Engagement '24-'25: vpbrandengagement@prsa.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/jalynn-lane/
Join 2024-2025 VP of Professional Development, Ceci Edelberg, and PRSSA Champion, Jane Dvorak, APR, Fellow PRSA, for an insightful and engaging episode of PRSSA Podcasts. In this conversation, Ceci and Jane share valuable strategies for effective self-management and navigating the dynamics of a firm. They also explore the importance of incorporating humor and lightheartedness into professional environments, highlighting why a good laugh can be a powerful asset in any career. Additional information: To connect with Jane Dvorak, APR, Fellow PRSA: / jkdjane To learn more about PRSSA's resources for Student-Run Firms: https://www.prsa.org/prssa/chapter-fi... To connect with Ceci, Vice President of Professional Development ‘24-25: vpprofessionaldev@prsa.org / ceciliaedelberg To connect with PRSSA National: / prssanational https://x.com/PRSSANational / prssanational https://www.linkedin.com/company/prss... To connect with Ro, Vice President of Brand Engagement ‘24-'25: vpbrandengagement@prsa.org / jalynn-lane
Want to take your PRSSA Chapter to the next level? Join Ro Lane, 2024-2025 National VP of Brand Engagement, as she sits down with Olivia "Liv" McCurdy, 2024-2025 National VP of Chapter Development. They're diving into all things PRSSA—building and valuing genuine connections that last and juggling leadership without losing your mind. Whether you're leading a brand-new Chapter or repping one with deep roots, this episode is packed with tips, real talk and some inspiration to help you make your mark. Additional information: To learn more about PRSSA's initiatives and the most up-to-date resources: PRSSA National Linktree To connect with Liv, Vice President of Chapter Development ‘24-25: vpchapterdev@prsa.org Olivia McCurdy | LinkedIn Olivia McCurdy | Instagram To connect with PRSSA National: Facebook X (formerly Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn To connect with Ro Lane, Vice President of Brand Engagement ‘24-25: vpbrandengagement@prsa.org Ro (Jalynn) Lane | LinkedIn
En este podcast, explora la comunicación multicultural y el liderazgo inclusivo con Presidenta Nacional de PRSSA, Milagros Orcoyen, y Andrea Gils Monzón, quien comparte su experiencia como uruguaya radicada en Estados Unidos. La conversación se centra en la importancia de las habilidades de comunicación multicultural en el mundo globalizado y estrategias para trabajar en equipos diversos. Andrea también comparte ejemplos de diferencias culturales en el ámbito laboral y cómo resolver malentendidos. Finalmente, se discute cómo los estudiantes pueden desarrollar un liderazgo inclusivo con una mentalidad global. Para conectar con Andrea Gils Monzón: Andrea Gils Monzón | LinkedIn Para conectar con Milagros, la Presidenta Nacional de PRSSA '24-'25: nationalpresident@prsa.org Milagros Orcoyen | LinkedIn Para conectar con PRSSA Nacional: Facebook X (anteriormente Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn Para conectar con Ro Lane, Vicepresidenta de Brand Engagement '24-'25: vpbrandengagement@prsa.org Ro Lane | LinkedIn
Join Uyen Ngo, the Vice President of Belonging, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for PRSSA National Committee, and Nashat Ahmed the 2024–2025 National Vice President of Brand Engagement, as they speak with Fernanda Sinzato, the senior associate of healthcare media relations at Weber Shandwick about her International PR experience. In this episode, Uyen, Nashat and Fernanda talk about Fernanda's journey being an international PR student and transitioning to be a PR professional. Fernanda goes into depth about the challenges she has faced and the lessons she has learned. The pair also goes into depth about how PRSSA students and chapters can support their classmates, who are going through many changes in their careers and lives. We promote and build a culture that welcomes and celebrates diversity and equity in the PR workforce. If you want to get to hear about how PRSSA supports international PRSSA members, BEDI, how to get involved with PRSSA National BEDI initiatives, or how you can be a champion for the future, this episode will be perfect for you. Additional information: To connect with Fernanda Sinzato: Fernanda Sinzato | LinkedIn To learn more about PRSSA's initiatives for Belonging, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Diversity & Inclusion | Equity in Public Relations | PRSSA | PRSA To connect with Nashat Ahmed, PRSSA Proud Council member '24-25: NashatAhmedwork@gmail.com Nashat Ahmed | LinkedIn To connect with Uyen, Vice President of Belonging, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (BEDI) ‘24-25: vpdiversity@prsa.org Uyen Ngo | LinkedIn To connect with PRSSA National: Facebook X (formerly Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn To connect with Ro Lane, VP of Brand Engagement '24-25: vpbrandengagement@prsa.org Ro (Jalynn) Lane | LinkedIn
Join Megan vanVollenhoven, the PRSSA VP of Career Services for 2024—2025, sits down with Gina Laughlin, Champions for PRSSA Co-Chair and VP of Global Communications at Delta Air Lines, the vital role that Champions for PRSSA plays in ensuring the success of PRSSA students globally. Megan and Gina also talk about the importance of mentorship, lessons learned from PRSSA and Gina and Megan's tips and tricks for battling imposter syndrome. Additional information: To learn more about Champions for PRSSA: Learn about Champions for PRSSA Champions for PRSSA To connect with Gina: Gina Pesko Laughlin | LinkedIn To connect with PRSSA National: Facebook X (formerly Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn To connect with Megan vanVollenhoven, Vice President of Career Services '24-25 vpcareerservices@prsa.org Megan vanVollenhoven | LinkedIn To connect with Ro Lane, Vice President of Brand Engagement ‘24-25: vpbrandengagement@prsa.org Ro (Jalynn) Lane | LinkedIn
Join Ro Lane, the 2024–2025 National Vice President of Brand Engagement, sit down with Milagros Orcoyen, the PRSSA National President, to talk about how powerful PRSSA can be (as a member, as someone involved in your local board, and on National Committee), and her personal triumphs and tribulations throughout her PRSSA journey. This episode will leave you feeling inspired, insightful, and ready to become a part of the power of PRSSA, and the change we all bring for good in our opportunities. Additional information: To learn more about PRSSA's initiatives and the most up-to-date resources: PRSSA National Linktree To learn more about the Tools for Chapter Leaders page: Tools for Chapter Leaders To connect with Milagros, the PRSSA National President ‘24-25: nationalpresident@prsa.org Milagros Orcoyen | LinkedIn To connect with PRSSA National: Facebook X (formerly Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn To connect with Ro Lane, Vice President of Brand Engagement ‘24-25: vpbrandengagement@prsa.org Ro (Jalynn) Lane | LinkedIn
The Public Relations Student Society of America is a small, but powerful resource for students at UNR who are interested in a career in public relations. Reporter Lexi Feldman reports from the most recent event, the Digital Content Playbook Event, and interviews board members Aly Marimberga, Camile Flye, and prospective member Demetri Vandarakis.
Join Ro Lane, the 2024–2025 National Vice President of Brand Engagement, and Uyen Ngo, the 2024–2025 National Vice President of Belonging, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (BEDI), as they talk about the why behind BEDI. In this episode, Ro and Uyen talk about why belonging, equity, diversity and inclusion are so important—as students and future professionals—and how we can promote and build a culture that welcomes and celebrates diversity and equity in the PR workforce. If you want to know more about BEDI, how to get involved with PRSSA National BEDI initiatives, or how you can be a champion for the future, this episode will be perfect for you. To learn more about PRSSA's initiatives for Belonging, Equity, Diversity and Inlclusion: Diversity & Inclusion | Equity in Public Relations | PRSSA | PRSA To connect with Uyen, Vice President of Belonging, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (BEDI) ‘24-25: vpdiversity@prsa.org Uyen Ngo | LinkedIn To connect with PRSSA National: Facebook X (formerly Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn To connect with Ro Lane, Vice President of Brand Engagement ‘24-25: vpbrandengagement@prsa.org Ro (Jalynn) Lane | LinkedIn
Sit down with Dominic Asam to say his formal goodbye to PR Hangover. Talking about his experience as the Podcast Director for PRSSA, and his nerves and excitements for his new role, Dominic explains how influential PRSSA has been for him.
On a first date, it's a good idea to avoid talking about money, religion, and politics. While avoiding money talk with a client is an impossibility, it's still a good idea to keep religion and politics out of the conversation.This week on Framework, Ana Trujillo Limón, Director, Coaching and Advisor Content, welcomes Megan Belt, Director of Public Relations at Carson Group, to discuss some of the best practices for communicating with clients during heated discussions, particularly surrounding election years.Megan starts by describing how to create a comprehensive communication plan for yourself and your employees in order to cover the grounds of what is appropriate to talk about, and what should be kept as inside thoughts. Ana and Megan then discuss the different ways you can discuss the current political and economic climate with your clients, while avoiding creating any uncomfortable situations. Tune into this episode for insights and professional advice if you have ever wondered where to draw the line between personal and professional conversations.Megan discusses: How to establish a clear communications policy with employeesThe importance of staying informed with current events in order to discuss how they affect your clients' financial plansStaying calm and taking time to reflect personally on any thoughts or opinions before you put them online for everyone to seeHaving a firm, but still empathetic tone when speaking with a client who is getting heated about certain topicsRemaining politically neutral when working with clients and making sure to always be doing what is best for them, regardless of their political viewsAnd moreResources: Carson Group Insights BlogPublic Relations Society of AmericaConnect with Ana Trujillo Limón: Carson Group LLCLinkedIn: Ana Trujillo LimónConnect with Megan Belt:LinkedIn: Megan BeltTwitter (X): @meganbeltAbout Our Guest: Megan Belt is the Director of Public Relations at Carson Group. As a results-driven leader, Megan has experience developing strategic communications plans for organizations ranging from small startups to Fortune 500 brands.Megan has held roles on both corporate communications and agency teams and has a proven track record of establishing executive thought leadership programs and developing integrated communications strategies. Megan's passion for public relations extends far outside of her agency role. She enjoys volunteering her time to help local nonprofits and small businesses tell their stories. She also had an active role in the Omaha PR community, having served on the board of directors for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Nebraska Chapter and mentoring young professionals in her role as professional advisor for the University of Nebraska Omaha's PRSSA student chapter and its student-run PR Firm, MavPR.Send us your questions, we'd love to hear from you! Email us at framework@carsongroup.com.
Join Alicia Caracciolo, the 2024-2025 National Vice President of Events and Fundraising, and Kelly Davis, APR, Fellow PRSA, the University of South Carolina PRSSA Chapter Faculty Advisor, while they discuss the lessons learned from hosting multiple District Conferences. In this episode, Alicia and Kelly talk about the experience students gain from learning how to host these events, the creativity you can bring to a District Conference, and some of the processes to get there. If you or your Chapter are interested in hosting a District Conference, this is the episode for you! Additional Information: To learn more about District Conferences: District Conferences | Network With Local PR Pros | PRSSA | PRSA To apply to host a Spring 2025 District Conference: PRSSA Spring 2025 District Conference — Hosting Application To connect with Alicia, Vice President of Events and Fundraising ‘24-25: vpevents@prsa.org Alicia Caracciolo | LinkedIn To connect with PRSSA National: Facebook X (formerly Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn To connect with Ro Lane, Vice President of Brand Engagement ‘24-25: vpbrandengagement@prsa.org Ro Lane | LinkedIn
In this episode, our guests from the 2024 University of Nevada, Reno PRSSA Bateman team talk about the study of public relations in a pressure cooker!. Join Heather Saxe, Hunter Ramberg, and Jace Ouchida as they share their ability to pivot during the recent competition. From brainstorming sessions to final evaluations, get an inside look at the highs and lows of a real PR campaign. Listen now!
Oakley Weddle, PRSSA national vice president of chapter development, interviews three winners of the Pacesetter Award that recognizes a Chapter's success in the areas of membership, national participation and Chapter development. The three guests from Marist University, Kennesaw University and Ohio State University share their tips and strategies of developing their chapters and keeping their Members engaged.
I could not be more thrilled to have Sabrina Browne on the podcast for Day 12 of #29DaysofMagic! She is a PR professional and an amazing influencer. Sabrina shares about her journey to getting to where she is now, and how life is full of rollercoaster highs and lows. She shares about how Public Relations Student Society of America and Public Relations Society of America has helped her with networking. She shares about how important connecting with people is and building your own brand is. She shares she launched a successful effort to eradicate period poverty in her home state of New Jersey. Sabrina shares so many great one liners and powerful statements about how you can live the experiences you want to. She would also like you to give yourself agency and shares the 5 Cs of media training: Clear Concise Confident Collected Calm Check out these links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrinabrowne/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetasteofs/ PRSSA: https://www.prsa.org/prssa PRSA: https://www.prsa.org/ The Flow Initiative: https://theflowinitiativefoundation.org/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-reset-podcast/support
Dr. Maria Elles Scott, PR professional and educator is interviewed by Barbara Stachurska, vice president of brand engagement at PRSSA. Dr. Scott shares her career journey and insights of working in sports and entertainment PR, as well as advice for students hoping to pursue careers in those industries.
Paula Phelan, COO at Intelligent Relations, an innovative AI-enhanced PR company, is interviewed by Barbara Stachurska, vice president of brand engagement at PRSSA. Phelan shares her insight about new technologies, the use of AI and its impact on the future of the PR field.
In 1917 the US Government found a unique way to reach a mass audience before mass media even existed. Movies. When projectionists needed to change the reel mid-movie, that took about four minutes. That was the perfect window of time to deliver a patriotic message and support an effort that ultimately changed the world.The four-minute speeches used an old tool (speeches) but embraced a newer technology (movies). And the true brilliance of the delivery was finding that window of time when people were most likely to listen.In this episode we speak with the chair of the Public Relations Society of America (2023) Michelle Egan, exploring the modern role of communications professionals as we embrace emerging artificial intelligence. And we look at how the role might change over the next 50 years as technologies continue to evolve. Listen For: 5:22 The adoption and perception of AI tools7:13 Ethical considerations in AI12:10 The evolution of the PR professional15:29 The future of PR and professional communicationsGuest: Michelle Egan, APR, Fellow PRSA, 2023 PRSA ChairLinkedIn | Facebook |Instagram | X | PRSA | PRSA Code of EthicsRead Michelle's editorial “How Important is it for Your Organization to Have a Code of Ethics?”Rate this podcast https://ratethispodcast.com/storiesstrategiesLeave us a voice message we can share on the podcast https://www.speakpipe.com/StoriesandStrategiesStories and Strategies WebsiteDo you want to podcast? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.Connect with usLinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook Hey, we're on Threads under Stories and StrategiesRequest a transcript of this episodeSupport the show
From Gen Z to Millennials, Generation X to the Silent Generation, all the way to Boomers – has there ever been a time when members of so many generations shared space in the workforce? In this episode we talk about how the generations and work together and learn from each other. Transcript Talking About My Generation That Solo Life Episode 211 Michelle Kane (00:17): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. How are you? Karen Swim, APR (00:32): Hey, Michelle. I'm really, really great. One day we are going to have to put together a video of our bloopers, which includes one this morning , and put it on YouTube so that people can have a good laugh with us. Michelle Kane (00:45): That's right. That's right. Because, you know, as super polished, as we always sound here, , it's not always the reality. And you know what? That's okay. Life is messy, and we're going to talk about that a little bit today. We're focusing on the generational divide and how sometimes, especially if you are in an office or if you work on a team with everyone ranging from Gen Z all the way up to Boomers, you know, sometimes work styles differ, tech appreciation differs. And not to be ageist, because I think sometimes that flows both ways. I've encountered supremely tech savvy Boomers, and I've also encountered not so native Gen Zers, because we all have adapted and used that kind of thing. Things from the tech world in our own way and just, just really work styles. Our experiences inform what we bring to anything and sometimes in the workplace that is intensified. So, we're going to dig in a little bit on this today. Karen Swim, APR (01:46): Yeah. You know, the reason that this topic is so important is because we do, we have like all of these generations in the workforce. And that's crazy, right? I don't remember when I was the age of our Gen Zers, and at the start of my career, I honestly don't remember this many generations being employed at the same time. So times have really changed. And I know that as someone who is nearing the end of my career, it's sometimes difficult to adapt your style. It does take work. It takes being open and flexible, and there are things that we know, knowledge that we have, experiences that we have that can sometimes be frustrating when it seems like we're not being heard or we're not being valued. And I imagine that honestly is true of every generation. So, we all share that. We all want to be heard, we all want to be valued in our work, but as solo PR pros, you know, we're dealing with clients. And so we're in a bit of a different position in that we're not directly managing all of these generations, but we are corralling all of these generations, and we have to communicate internally across the divide. And so, it's well worth it to understand kind of what motivates them. Michelle Kane (03:16): Very, very true. And I don't know, I try to look at it this way, right? Just with communicating in general, in a professional setting, I like to vibe off of, well, how are they communicating with me? Are they leading with email or do they prefer hopping on a Zoom, or are they phone call oriented, or are they text oriented? , which I will reserve for a precious view, , because I know for me, having to bop around different screens makes me crazy in the head. But that's also why I have a texting app in my browser. So I guess that also speaks to how we make our own accommodations within that realm too, to work in the best way we can while bridging and meeting them where they are. Karen Swim, APR (04:13): And I think it's really important, obviously we want to always be client friendly, but in terms of being really inclusive when it comes to generational preferences, I think it's also important to talk about these things as part of your onboarding process and really solidify what channels you're going to communicate through. Because to your point, I end up with people that use Microsoft, Microsoft Teams, people that use Slack, and so you can have things coming in and scattered directions. And so it's important for us to say what really works for us, and to talk with clients and negotiate that right up front and explain why. Because we want to have the communication streamlined. We don't want to have to look a lot of different places. And maybe those conversations should include like, what's the best way for quick questions and messages? And then for everything else that you need to have - history attachments, that type of thing - usually email does function better for that. So have that conversation. Don't make assumptions because a person is a certain age that they're going to have a certain preference, because while there are these big buckets for things, that's not always true. You know, I don't really line up with the generation that I was born in, in many, many things. , I line up with the generation that comes after me more. And I know that that's true of many people. Michelle Kane (05:48): Yeah, that's very true. And you know, a lot of times too, it's, I think especially as communications professionals, sometimes we bat around so many ideas in a session that we might forget. I always love to follow up somehow in writing, whether that's a Slack message or an email just to say, “Hey, here's what we talked about, blah, blah, blah, blah.” But like you say, that comes with the onboarding process and of just agreeing how we're going to work together. You know? And I don't know, I, I don't like to say that I'm blind to the generations because they definitely bring different things to the table. But I like to always adopt a person-first attitude over, oh, you're young, you'll do, you know, I'm not the person like, you young people, go set the timer on the thing. I don't understand it. , I try not to be “get off my lawn,” although I have had moments in the past. But to their credit, in those instances they were put in an environment that they just were unprepared for. They were unprepared for how working in an office worked and that really wasn't their fault. That's not the background they came from. And so that's a real thing that many of us may encounter along the way. Karen Swim, APR (07:08): I think, you know, one of the things that I find the most challenging about working with so many generations is that everyone has these perceptions about the other generation. And sometimes everybody can be negative about everybody. So yeah, you have a younger generation and I want to speak to Gen Zers, just because a person is of a certain age, please don't discount them and please don't devalue what they have to offer. Being older with more experience doesn't mean that you don't understand things and how they work now. So sometimes I feel like you're shoved to the side because of your age. We know that ageism is a very real thing. I know people that are older who have been laid off and very much are still in the prime of their working years that are not being given jobs because they are too experienced. And we all know that that's code for being of a certain age or just flat out, you know, you interview with somebody that is 30 years younger than you and they look at you differently. So I would encourage younger workers to open up their minds and to have a more positive attitude and accept that just because someone is not your age doesn't mean that they're not with it, that they don't understand the trends, that they can't do their job, that they're going to be stuck in the mud or inflexible, that older workers have something to offer too. And by the way, older people really want to contribute to the workforce. And for many of us, again, that time in our life, because we've lived longer than you have, we've hit that point. These are our prime working years. Michelle Kane (08:57): And we Karen Swim, APR (08:59): You on the other end of the spectrum. Sorry. Michelle Kane (09:01): No, no. Karen Swim, APR (09:02): On the other side of the spectrum we can sometimes have an attitude of either feeling like you have to guide the younger workers and you can discount what they don't have in your experience and not take seriously their approach or their ideas. And so I think for all of us, I would say let's start from a place of respect, mutual respect, and treat everybody as a colleague and as a professional. Hear one another out, listen, even when it may be different than the way we do something, because that's going to make work better for all of us. Michelle Kane (09:39): Yeah. I couldn't agree more. And leave your perceptions at the door, you know, to your point on the older quote unquote older workers. We've seen the things, you know, we've seen a lot of rodeos and sometimes, you know, we could say, okay, this is probably going to go this way. It's not presuming that, oh, you just don't know. And I think too, I think all of us along with our perceptions have to sometimes check our attitudes. And it, it could be something that we say without realizing it, or it just comes out of our mouths. We go, oh, didn't mean to say it that way, , but you know, at the end of the day, we're all human and stuff happens. But, I agree, it is wild to think that there are at least, goodness, what - five different generations all in the workforce at one time. Karen Swim, APR (10:30): Yeah. Michelle Kane (10:31): That is wild. It is just wild to think about. And it's kind of exciting, like, rather than look at it as, “Oh no, we're not going to get along.” It's kind of cool. Right? I mean, can you imagine really at what time do we have the opportunity to bring not only a breadth of experience, but also fresh minds and ingenuity all together? How cool is that? Karen Swim, APR (10:58): And I think we can look and say the things that we built, it's really exciting to see it through someone else's eyes. To do it in a new way and to see how we can keep improving and keep moving the profession forward. It can be difficult for us when we do have those clients that have the wrong attitude and view older workers as not up to the task because of our age, but then vice versa. You know, I know that younger people probably feel the same, that they are also unfairly judged sometimes by their youth. And so I think we have to work together as generations to make sure that we are not being discriminatory towards anyone because of age. That we truly are all working towards inclusivity and judging each individual their merits. Michelle Kane (11:55): Yeah. And so how, what are some ways that we can do this as solos? Of course, the easy one is get an intern. The Philly PR Association that I belong to, we're working really hard on this. We have a board level position that is focused on college relations. And it's not just, “Hey, kids come to our event.” It's really looking at ways to interact with these young professionals just entering the profession and creating that relationship. Because we know we all benefit from it. So however that works for you in your solo world, try and seek that out. Sometimes as a solo shop who probably works out of a home office, you may be reluctant to bring an intern on thinking, well, goodness, it's not like they're going to come and sit in my kitchen every day. But there are ways to engage with an intern where that doesn't have to be the case. You don't have to give them a little cubicle next to the copier that doesn't exist because you're not in a traditional office. Karen Swim, APR (13:01): In addition to hiring an intern or bringing on somebody that's a different generation or mentoring. I think also when you're in a situation where there is someone of a different generation, make time to get to know that person and what they care about. And I say that's true of everybody. For me, that's part of my client relations is that I definitely want to understand what's important to the company, what the goals are, what they need. But on an individual level, with every contact at the clients, I really want to understand what's motivating them, what's important to them, what are the things that you're trying to accomplish in your job, because that allows you to really establish that one-to-one connection. And so I think that that is really important. Detroit PRSA is doing an event where they're combining baseball with mentoring the younger professionals that I thought that that was a very cool thing. So maybe you want to get involved in PRSSA too, the student chapters of the PRSA, they are sitting right alongside professionals and learning things. And it's really very valuable for students that are still in college who want to go into the communications field. So yeah, I encourage older workers to, to, you seek out mentoring opportunities. I encourage younger generations to seek those out as well and to be willing to be mentored. But I encourage us all to just be kind, respectful and understand that everyone has something to contribute. Michelle Kane (14:48): I agree. You know what, be a good person is basically our message today. Karen Swim, APR (14:55): I know Solos do that day in and day out. I think that we want to just continue to motivate you to keep doing what you're doing and spread it because while we in the communications field know and practice this, the world around us doesn't always, and so Michelle Kane (15:14): Yeah. Not so much . Karen Swim, APR (15:17): Let some other people in because unfortunately everybody hasn't gotten that memo. Michelle Kane (15:25): Yeah, yeah. So, as we do in many ways blazing the trail lead by example and you know, if enough of us start doing that or continue to do it, there will have to be some kind of ripple effect. I firmly believe that. And I also believe that you are wonderful if you're choosing to spend some time with us today and listen to us, please do share it around. That is probably the nicest thing you could do for us, is to share our content and tell a friend and check us out at soloprpro.com. And until next time, thank you for listening to That Solo Life.
George Huff, CEO of Opal, an innovative MarTech platform, is interviewed by Barbara Stachurska, vice president of brand engagement at PRSSA. Huff shares his story of bringing Opal to life, his keys to success and some advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. If you'd like to give Opal a try, its team created a unique link to access the free trial: opal.show/prssa
Mallory Blair, CEO of Small Girls PR, shares with 2022-2023 PRSSA vice president of brand engagement Nicole Steele about the public relations firm she co-founded in college. As she talks about what it took to start a firm, work culture, successful campaigns, and more, Mallory shares great advice and insights for aspiring PR professionals.
Donna LaVoie, founder and CEO of a leading biotech and life science PR agency in Boston called LaVoieHealthScience, tells 2022-2023 PRSSA vice president of brand engagement Nicole Steele about her company and tips for students entering the public relations industry.
Get the inside scoop of what it means to pick the Public Relations track in the J-School at UNR. Madison Lloyd sits down with Cove Carlson to discuss what it is like to major in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations. They talk about the circumstances that lead to Cove's emphasis change, as well as his involvement in PRSSA and the Bateman Competition.
In this episode of Around the Sphere, two MDJ students, Lauren Blue in the Advertising program and Kaitlyn Finchler in the journalism program, come together to discuss how they feel about graduation, how they are dealing with the job search and their time at Kent State. Also, in this episode, hear from the leader of Franklin Advertising, Rafael, about his recent trip to New York through Franklin Advertising and about an upcoming event with PRSSA, Comm Conn. Learn more about Kent State's Journalism program by https://catalog.kent.edu/colleges/ci/mdj/journalism-bs/ Learn more about Kent State's Advertising program by https://catalog.kent.edu/colleges/ci/mdj/advertising-bs/ PRSSA Schedule: https://www.prssakent.com/schedule.html Rafael's email: rguedesb@kent.edu Cynthia's email: Ckristof@kent.edu
PRSSA member Oakley Weddle and Nicole Steele — PRSSA 2022-2023 vice president of brand engagement — discuss Oakley's story, how to launch a PR firm while in college, ways to use one's PR skills to make an impact, and more. This podcast is also part of a giveaway, so be sure to use our Instagram story template to share one takeaway from this podcast by March 8, 2023 for a chance to win one of three $20 Amazon gift cards.
Zane Landin recently graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication and Public Relations. He was diagnosed as a neurodiverse individual at an early age which led in part to his strong interest in and advocacy for mental health awareness. What I discovered during our interview is that Zane is quite a good storyteller which should serve him well as he enters the job market. As you will hear in this episode, Zane already has accomplished a great deal including starting and operating his own online digital magazine entitled PositiveVibes. PositiveVibes tells stories about mental health, inspiration and wellness. Zane's stories, engaging communication style, and his positive attitude about life make him quite an engaging guest. For a person just out of college he is quite a passionate human being who will help many realize that they are more unstoppable than they think. About the Guest: Zane Landin is a recent graduate from Cal Poly Pomona with a Bachelor of Science in Communication and Public Relations. He is from Chino, California. He has interned at places like USAID, NASA, and General Motors. He is a mental health and disability advocate, queer rights activist, entrepreneur, and positive change maker. He identifies as Hispanic, Queer, and Disabled. He is the founder of PositiveVibes Magazine, which is a digital magazine dedicated to telling authentic stories about mental health, wellness, and inspiration. He attended the first-ever Mental Health Youth Action Forum in Washington, D.C., where he met President Biden, Selena Gomez, Dr. Murthy, and Dr. Biden. Out of hundreds of applications, 30 young advocates across the country were selected to advocate for mental health. He is a passionate storyteller who writes for the Power of Positivity and Entrepreneur about wellness, psychology, and culture. He has been featured on over 50 platforms like Seek the Joy Podcast, Forbes, and Coming from the Heart Podcast. How to connect with Zane: Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zanelandin/ Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zane-landin-b2417a187/ Personal Twitter: https://twitter.com/LandinZane PositiveVibes Magazine website: https://positivevibesmag.com/ About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes Michael Hingson 00:00 Access cast and accessibility initiative presents unstoppable mindset, the podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet Michael Hingson 00:15 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson 01:16 Hello, once again, I'm Mike Hingson, your host for unstoppable mindset. And I have the honor pleasure and joy of interviewing today is Zane Landin, who is a recent graduate of Cal Poly Pomona. Now, many of you may have heard of Cal Poly Pomona in one way or another. One of the stories I know about it is that it is one of two Cal Cal Poly campuses. The other is in San Luis Obispo. And each year, each of the campuses design half of a float for the Tournament of Roses Parade. And then they come together, put the float pieces together and make a whole float that you can see every year in the parade. What a remarkable feat of engineering. These campuses are a few 100 miles apart, or at least a couple 100 miles apart but yet they design these half floats in a way they go. Zane, welcome to unstoppable mindset. Zane Landin 02:21 Well, thank you so much for having me today. Michael Hingson 02:23 Have you worked on floats at all? Zane Landin 02:25 I worked on one copper pipe on a float. Funnily enough, I wasn't a student. I don't remember when it was it was the time I was in high school. It was the buckets and like it was something like that, like the pirates. I did get to sit on the float and you know, help put things on it. So that was super exciting. But I never got involved in both float throughout my time at university. But it is really admirable the work that they do. Michael Hingson 02:51 Well, I know that it Cal Poly, you got your Bachelor's in communications and public relations, which is really pretty cool. So definitely want to learn a little bit about what got you started down that road. But why don't you tell us about little of your stories growing up and all that let's start at the beginning as they say, oh, gosh, a long time ago in a town Far, far away, right? Zane Landin 03:18 Yeah, little quaint town called chino. I've been here 24 years. And growing up, I had, you know, kind of a nuclear family of mother and father and my sister and we had a category. And you know, yeah, of course, I had, you know, a really supportive family, it doesn't mean that we always had everything definitely times or we struggled or my parents definitely I saw stress on their shoulders, but they always gave us what we desired or what we needed. And I'm always grateful for what they've been able to do. And growing up, you know, I'm very open about, you know, having a decline in my mental health very young. And so I experienced what it feels like to have mental health conditions and because I'm, I'm always advocating for mental health, I try my best to be open about it when I was young, but you know, I saw a psychologist very young, I was also put on a 504 plan and, you know, throughout elementary school because I had trouble socializing and concentrating in school, which I'm sure I still have today. And so, you know, I identify as, as neurodiverse and these different aspects. So that was, those were some of the things that definitely shaped me growing up. But it's the getting that support dynamic, very young helped me kind of come to terms with who I am today, and kind of helped me move forward with you know, a job or whatever it is I'm looking for. It always helps it all supported me. Michael Hingson 04:43 How did you and kind of When did you get diagnosed as being neurodiverse or divergent? Zane Landin 04:52 me I had to ticket on a 504 plan. So that was when I was I don't remember the exact time because I wasn't exactly made aware that I was diagnosed I didn't know like, as a kid, I didn't really know. And I kind of found out recently because I never knew really what a 504 plan was when I was in elementary school. But now I learned recently that I was on it, I remember that my parents, my family did tell me that, you know, I am neurodiverse and I had trouble concentrating in class, which definitely makes sense for the sometimes I have trouble concentrating class now. I mean, not anymore, since I'm not in school. But you know, and sometimes I have trouble with time management. So Moyes working to try and fix those things or make myself better at them. But it was, yeah, I don't have the exact age. But it was definitely like when I was maybe in second or first grade, something like that. Michael Hingson 05:40 What is that 504 plan. It was just for me, Zane Landin 05:43 it was a specialized plan that just helped, that gave me accommodations that I needed to kind of be in an equal and equal level playing field with my peers. So I was given like, one on one tutoring, and I was given less homework. And also I was, I was able to see a counselor throughout. If we met every other week or once a week, I'm pretty sure was every other week, there was like a specialized program where I was given, you know, like opportunities to be equal to my peers if it was cheating, or like somewhere, and I have to lie. Michael Hingson 06:16 Do you know why it's called a 504? Plan? No, I am not sure. But I'm wondering if somehow it has to do with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. And that's very well, probably is in a sense where it came from, because that's where a lot of the original issues dealing with disabilities and creating some level of equality and access came from a lot of affirmative action and so on. Right came from there. And that's probably where it was from. But you went to high school and you had support, you had a good support system. It sounds like Zane Landin 06:53 it was interesting. I actually did not I was on I was on a 504 plan in high school. I was in elementary school, and then going to middle school in high school. I was not, and I still did. Okay, so I think the I think I was lucky enough to get good enough resources in grammar school, that were the building blocks for me to kind of succeed in middle and high school. I definitely still struggling in middle school. But I just, you know, my mom helped me a lot in remembering what I was taught and how to, you know, deal with time management and to actually set time aside to study. That helped a lot. Michael Hingson 07:27 And, but you didn't have that. In high school? Do you know why? Just out of curiosity? Zane Landin 07:35 No, I don't know why. No, I think maybe because I think what was gonna happen was, you know, going through middle school, they were going to see if I needed to have a poor, but I was doing okay. And I was doing pretty well enough that maybe they didn't think I needed one. And obviously I didn't know what it was. So I didn't advocate to be on one myself and my parents decided I didn't need it. So yeah, that's kind of what happened. Michael Hingson 07:58 Did you ever get involved in negotiations for an IEP and ended by an individualized education plan? Zane Landin 08:05 No, I never was on an IEP. Yeah. Okay. Well, Michael Hingson 08:09 but you went through high school and you obviously survived it. And then what, what made you go to Cal Poly Pomona? Zane Landin 08:17 Well, I will say a couple of money is very close to the high school I went to I attended one of high school, it's probably like five minutes away from it. And from where I live, it's probably 15 or 20 minutes away. So that was a huge contributing factor to where I wanted to go. And I wanted to attend a university that was very affordable. So I chose Cal Poly Pomona, and I have known about Catholic Moana my entire life. If people know about the famous Winnie living, you know, I remember going on the freeway and seeing that 20 billion I was like, This is the weirdest building, what is that place? And I don't even remember asking as a kid, but I learned I was Chapala. And it was just very nice to actually attend it by digging into other universities like you UCI UCR Chapman, they're all expensive for one and they were pretty far from where I was. So we've been a large community, or I wouldn't live there. But I wanted to help my family save money. And so I ended up attending Catholic Moana and it was great experience. Michael Hingson 09:15 Why was it less expensive to go to Cal Poly than something like one of the UC campuses? Zane Landin 09:21 Well, I'm pretty sure UC campuses are private, so that I think but it's not there. Michael Hingson 09:27 They're not private. They're part of the University of California. It's their state operated, but anyway, go ahead. Zane Landin 09:33 So then they're not private. Nevermind. I don't know. I just they were more expensive. The tuition was a lot higher. I don't know why. But they just were I mean, you know, a lot of Cal States are inexpensive, which I think is great. You know, especially for Michael Hingson 09:47 California state system. Right? Zane Landin 09:49 Yeah. Yeah. All part of the CSU 23 campuses. Of course they're all gonna be different. I don't know the tuition is for all of them. But I like that the CSU is really are Like equitable and they're like creating a lot more opportunities for especially first gen students for people who come from underrepresented backgrounds or low income. Yeah, and Cal Poly has been named many awards for helping people like migrate out of like lower class middle class. That's like something they received like a couple of years ago, which is really exciting. Michael Hingson 10:21 I always kind of remember the Cal State system, my brother went to Cal State Fullerton and I went to UC Irvine. And as I heard explanations, I think, the University California system is kind of higher oriented toward more research and things. And a lot of people told me that the whole California state system as opposed to UC was, well doing research and other things. Also, more teaching oriented, which was, I think, a good thing. I enjoyed UC Irvine. But if I couldn't have gotten there would have been interesting and fun to go to one of the Cal State Systems. I grew up in Palmdale. So I did live at UC Irvine, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, when I went there was a long time ago, there were 2700 students at the campus the first year I was there, so it's a great time to be there. Zane Landin 11:14 Oh my gosh, now universities are a little overpopulated. Even at Cal Poly, there's 27,000. Students. Michael Hingson 11:23 I think there are at least that many at UC Irvine. I don't know how many there are. But I've been back there a few times. And it has grown a tremendous amount. And as you said, they're overpopulated and growing. But Zane Landin 11:37 go ahead. Oh, sir, I was gonna say, and I have heard what you said. I didn't know that CSU was teaching oriented. But I did know that, you know, the UCS were very heavy research oriented. Michael Hingson 11:48 But you know, there's nothing like college life. And you obviously sound like you enjoyed it, and so on. What made you choose to decide to go into communications and public relations as kind of a field and get a degree in that? Zane Landin 12:04 Yeah, it's good question. Because there's a journey with that. I started off couple has a really interesting major called a science, technology and society. And pretty sure it was started in the 70s. At Stanford, I'm pretty sure. And it really is this kind of multi disciplinary look at science, ethics, and stem. It was interesting. And I was really looking into going into some sort of policy career. And the major itself kind of propelled you to kind of go into a science, technology policy kind of position. It was always hard to find positions like that, or internships. So it was always difficult. So I was kind of just looking for general, you know, positions or internships where I could work on policy or legislation, but I never really landed a position doing that. And I think it was, it was going into my fourth year beer. My third year, I was president of the College of Education and integrative studies Council. And they're, they're designed to oversee the clubs in the college. And I wanted to better the communications between the organization and the college. So I worked with the communication specialist at the college. And her name is Ashley Jones. And she also mentioned that she was looking for a intern like munications intern. And I had different internships from different organizations, but I never had an internship base, all around communications, and I had no idea what that meant, or what that looked like. So it was and it was, you know, it's very, you know, it was only two or three hours a week, it wasn't a huge commitment. So I was like, why not? And I really enjoyed working with her. So I decided to, and a lot of stuff that was working on, it was very similar to what I was already doing in my extracurricular activities. And what I will say is, since Cal Poly is that is, you know, it's kind of known as a commuter school, it was kind of hard to find a community there for myself, what I had to do as since I wasn't living in the dorms, or the, you know, residence halls, they call it, I needed to find somewhere I could kind of be myself and find a community. So I just kind of joined, you know, public extracurriculars, I ended up there my entire university career, I was involved in a lot. But you know, at the beginning, I just was involved in the College of Education, and integrated studies councils. Firstly, I joined, and I just really loved it. So, extracurriculars kind of, kind of gave me value and purpose, more so than my classes, because those are classes. And, you know, you go to class and you leave, but there was something that won't I kept me there. Something that, you know, was the culture for me. So, extracurriculars were a huge thing for me, and it really helped me. I honestly would have imagined if I wasn't really involved in extracurriculars, I would have become depressed Just because if I was just going to classes and coming home, I wasn't, I wouldn't be making friends, I wouldn't be building relationships. So a lot of my success comes from the extracurricular activities I was able to do anyways. So, I love doing that. And so when I, when I felt that the work that I was doing for this internship was so similar to the work that I was doing with extracurriculars, that all kind of connected, and I, you know, I talk to her about what is a career in communications look like. And she kind of said, it's kind of what I'm doing, you know, writing stories, connecting with people from university planning events. And that's all stuff that I love doing. I just never knew that you could turn that into a career. And I didn't really know much about the communications industry or PR industry, I didn't even know these careers really existed. But it's funny because I actually took a career readiness program, or course, because I really didn't know what I was doing. So my second year, I was like, I gotta take this career course, because I really don't know what I'm doing. And we took like, a career aptitude test. And like, number two, or number four was public relations. But I was focusing on the rest, I was like, I didn't really know what public relations was. So I kind of ignored it. So it was always so funny that it kind of circled back. And I actually did find myself going into PR, and communications and it kind of a natural way. And she taught me kind of everything she knew. I mean, that's a lie. But she taught me a lot about communications and the stuff that she worked on, and I loved the work I was doing. So the year, and my fourth year, I changed my major to communications, and with an emphasis in public relations, and absolutely loved it. I love the classes. I love the professors. And I loved every single part about it and their extracurriculars. Because I got involved in the communications Honor Society, and the PRSSA, which is the PR, Student Society of America. So all that stuff just really helped build my passion for storytelling and communications. And through that, I just got involved in so many more organizations. And that's where I build a passion for communications and disability, because I think that there's kind of a missing link there, that a lot of the times I see a lot of disability organizations are always pushing for, you know, legality or equity, which I'm definitely needed. But I love focusing on the storytelling aspect of how do we actually get people with disabilities on screen on shows, and stories where people just see them, you know, more and see them as people rather than what the stereotypes are out there, or what the ablest ideas are out there. So it's definitely all the stuff I've learned in university about communication says kind of child itself, and so my passion for mental health and disability as well. And that's, hopefully that answers your question. Why decided to major in PR? Michael Hingson 17:44 Well, no, you did. It's, it's absolutely a great answer to the question, and you bring up so many topics with, with that kind of an answer. One of the things that immediately comes to mind for me, and I realized that this is more of probably a blindness oriented thing over other kinds of persons with disabilities. But it's ironic in the world today, how many different ways we're doing more to dispense information. And the ability to do it in an accessible inclusive way exists and we're not doing it. I just watched a commercial this morning, using what is it the Queen song, we will rock you and You here we will, we will rock you. You hear the song for a while, and then it goes away. No talking nothing to say what the commercial is for. So I as a person who happens to be blind, would never know that. It is Qatar airlines. And there are so many commercials like that, while we're creating technologies that make things so much more potentially available to everyone that is to make them to make information and make items inclusive. We're not doing it. We're making them less inclusive than they used to be. And there's no reason for that. So I sincerely hope as you go out into the workforce and get to do more that, you know, you'll you'll keep that in mind because I do appreciate that your disability is different. And that's great. You've got issues that you get to address regarding the things that you deal with on a day to day basis. But we all deal with the fact that we tend to leave out groups that we shouldn't, and there's no reason that we need to do that nearly as much today as we used to do. Zane Landin 19:58 I agree and I don't plays an advocate. So I'm always advocating, because I'm not an accessibility specialist, I do not know much about it. But I will be in spaces where we need it. And so there are times where I say, are we doing accessible communications? Like, is our communications accessible? Do we have an accessibility person here? And if we don't, why not? Why isn't there an accessibility team? So things like that. And there are many companies that don't have accessible, I mean, I love seeing a lot of accessibility drops coming up. But there's, there's still a lot of companies that do not even consider it. And there are many companies that don't even consider, you know, the accessibility and Dei, you know, DIA is becoming more popular. But even when you look at I don't remember the exact percentage, it was like, out of all the DI initiatives coming out of these different companies around 8%, or even 4%. I remember the exact it's very low on it, and how disability is included in di initiatives, saying Michael Hingson 20:56 well, and it's not included in di, which is really the big problem when we talk about diversity and so on. We never include or rarely, rarely ever include the whole issue of disabilities, which is why I like the term inclusion. And the way I'll define it is you either are inclusive, or you're not, you can't be partially inclusive, it really has to be a quantum leap, either you're going to be inclusive, which means you're going to include disabilities, or you're not inclusive. It is it ought to be that simple. I interviewed someone a few weeks ago, and we were talking about disabilities and and this person happened to say, well, there's a problem, we talk about disability. So people think it's a lack of ability. And my response is change the meaning of the word, we've already done it with diversity. The reality is that a disability is a characteristic. And one of the things that I point out to a number of people is, I have yet to find one person in this world who doesn't have a physical disability. That is to say the vast majority of people have eyesight. And what happens when the lights go out, and you don't have a light to guide your way. You're stuck. Thomas Edison provided the light bulb so that people who have liked dependency can see in the dark, but it doesn't change the fact that they have a disability. And can you learn to overcome that? Sure. But we do it mainly with technology, but don't leave other people behind just because you forget your disability and you cover it up. And it is one of the things that we really need to address in society. Zane Landin 22:37 I agree with what you're saying, especially again, language and communications is so powerful. And I know that you will believe that that you know, the word disabled means inability. But I love that there are more content creators and people even on LinkedIn, that are pushing this narrative that it's not that that is disabled, or disability is not inability, and that they are kind of changing the narrative of the term, disability, as empowering as how it's been described before, and how it's been used against people with disabilities. And that was not their choice, that term was, you know, cemented onto them, they were not the ones to say, you know, that this is wrong, that's how they were. But you know, people who didn't have disabilities kind of put that on them. So it was never a choice, Michael Hingson 23:21 we are slowly getting to the point where people are recognizing that I and you and other people are not disabled, we may have a disability. But again, I can point that out for everyone. So there really is a difference between disabled and disability. And the fact is, I am not disabled, I can be a person with a characteristic that classifies me as being a person with a disability. But that's a whole different story than saying that I don't have ability. And it's perfectly reasonable to evolve to take a non verb and make it a verb. Or to make it a different kind of part of the language, but to evolve us into recognizing that disability is an appropriate term to describe any number of people and you talked about the conversation. And the fact that a very low percentage of people in the whole dei world ever talk about disabilities, even though according to the CDC, 25% of Americans have some sort of disability. It's really ironic. Zane Landin 24:33 There's they're running, and you know, and businesses are not, they're losing out on huge market and I'm not saying that's the only reason that they should be engaging and being accessible. But if they're gonna think, with profit in their mind and ways to build more money and build more relationships, engaging in an authentically gauging the disability community is the way to go because it's such a big market. Michael Hingson 24:55 Sure. And the reality is that there have been a number Have reports anywhere from the Nielsen ratings to studies Ability One and the American Foundation for the Blind and others have done that have demonstrated beyond any reasonable belief that when you engage persons with disabilities, you're creating clients and customers or employees or and or employees who are most likely going to stick with you a lot longer than other people, because we know how hard it is to overcome that barrier of 70% of all persons with disabilities who are employable, don't get jobs, because we know that it isn't that we can't work. It is more that people think we can't work. And so they pigeonhole us where they shouldn't. Zane Landin 25:43 Yeah, no, interesting. And for me, when it's hard, because there's not very many companies doing it, when I say a company that is actually celebrating or making things accessible, I know that they're doing a good job elsewhere. Because disability is sometimes the like, most minoritized group where you said, there's 25%, but they're treated as, like, it's, there's point 1% of them in the population when it's a huge community. So when I see a company actually doing the work, and authentically representing people with disabilities, it's safe to say they're doing good elsewhere. But you know, what, you don't want to make sure, but that, to me is when I see that, that that is a good sign in a company that they're doing things right for the AI. Michael Hingson 26:26 And I agree, I think it's wonderful when people really take a position of doing it. Can you talk about any companies specifically that you're thinking of that do a great job? Or is that probably not fair to do or what? Zane Landin 26:39 Fair I will say. I see companies, I mean, I a lot of tech companies, I've been see like, like meta, and Google and Microsoft, of course, are doing a good job. And that's just what I see from the outside. I don't know what's going on. On the inside. I will say from a company that I worked with, I worked at General Motors, I think they're doing a great job, you know, they started accessibility team, and they're doing their disability or G came out very early, you know, like post the ADA signing, which is exciting to see. And I see companies now building disability or G's or organizations or groups, which Better late than never, but it's very impressive to see that General Motors was kind of ahead of the game and started at, you know, post ADA signing, I wish it was before, but even the world at that point, was not ready for that because they were there was still nothing legally wrong with discriminating against the person with disability. Which, and it wasn't even that long ago, if you think I mean, 9090 was not that long ago. And that was actually happening. So the thing like you said, things are moving slowly. But it's nice to see. And it makes me happy to see that. Michael Hingson 27:47 I suppose one could make the argument that even pre Ada, it was legally wrong, because we're covered in the Constitution. But the fact of the matter is that it still wasn't recognized. And so the ADA has helped a lot. Now we are just seeing new proposed legislation that would make it unlawful to not make websites inclusive for all, and that'll be exciting to see happen. Yeah, it was a long time coming. As you know, I work for a company called accessibe. That was created because Israel passed legislation requiring website accessibility in 2017. And the founders of accessibe, who had their own company making websites before then realized that they needed to make their customers websites accessible. And through that created accessibe, and now access to be has grown to a very sizable company in the inclusion world, making websites accessible both through an Artificial Intelligence Component, and the internal staffing component that does the things that the AI system can't do. And, you know, excessively his goal is to make the entire internet accessible and inclusive by 2025. What a great goal. Yeah, wow. And the reality is, it's not just dealing with blindness when you've got an example with accessibe profiles that allow people with ADHD to make websites do things to help them focus more, or people with epilepsy who encounter a website with a blinking hour or a number of blinking elements. And if the website uses accessibe, then they can stop that and they're just a lot of things like that. And but there's a long way to go. It's, it is it's still a bleeding edge technology, but the reality is, it's doing a lot which is which is great. That's making a big difference. Yeah, Zane Landin 29:45 no, I agree. That's great. Michael Hingson 29:46 So you've interned at a few companies. Did you do that while you were still in college or was that after college or what? Zane Landin 29:54 No, as well. I was. I was while I was still in college. I did so much Favorite internships I've done where I did want at General Motors, doing GM brand communications. And that was super exciting. That was kind of that was in the summer of 2021. So last summer, that was really my first internship at, you know, the, the traditional corporate America, because I've never done one like that a lot of my internships, rent nonprofits or small businesses. So I had no idea what it was going to be like, interning at a big company like that. And it was virtual. So there's so many different moving pieces. But you know, I was really engaged and the team I was on, I'm, you know, forever grateful for it, because they really gave me meaningful work, they really had a good direction for me, and they helped me identify my goals. And since I've done a lot of internships, I know when that is a good thing, when that doesn't happen. Because that's, that's happened many times where I wasn't given that support. And also times where I did internships, where there really wasn't a purpose for the internship, it was there to just kind of do the work that the person can't do. Which is, if that's really your goal, then I guess that's fine, but not really, we really want to like authentically engage your interns, like with meaningful work that they're really going to benefit from in sometimes they're going to be doing mundane tasks, that's okay. That's, that's going to be expected. But are there projects that the organization's working on that you can bring them on in, because I think insurance actually offer a powerful voice, that sometimes I don't think organizations tap into that, when you're working on a company, that's all you see is that company, you're not seeing it from the outside, you're not seeing it anymore like that, because you're in the culture of the company. But when you have an intern that's coming for a couple of months, leverage them as a consultant, leverage them as a third party voice, because they definitely bring good perspective. Usually, they're young, or maybe they're older. They mean, sometimes it's usually when they're young. They just, they bring a whole perspective. And sometimes you may not be getting a youth perspective, if your company is for one not diverse with age groups. And also, you want to know what young people are thinking about, especially when you want to market your product, or whatever it is that you're trying to build on your organization that really leverage intern voices, because they're, I think they're really prominent, and sometimes they're not leveraged enough as they could be. So you know, luckily, I did an internship with that, and I did an internship, the next I did for fall in spring and summer, I did an internship at NASA. So that was super exciting. And that was NASA JPL. So Jet Propulsion Laboratory, I didn't get to work on the campus, because it's, it's really nice, and it's apparently bigger than Disneyland. But I got to go to the campus a couple times, just to like receive a badge or for different things I needed to do. But I never worked on the campus was completely remote. But I got to work on so many different cool projects that had to do with astrophysics and exoplanets. Which, if you told me a year before that, we'll be doing that I wouldn't believe you. So it was interesting, the places I landed, and he will forget that every organization needs communication. So whatever you're passionate about, you can find it. If you're passionate about hobbies, or even chess or something, there's organizations out there that may that definitely need PR people to, to market, whatever it is they're working on. So oh, sorry, I was, I wasn't finished. I love that. And then I love the gym internship so much, I asked to come back. And so I did one internship post grad. So you know, I graduated in May of 2022. And then in June, to August, I did an internship at GM, this time doing di communications, which was exciting, because I've never done it before. And it was a, it was great to see that they were engaging the accessibility team and looking at how they can embed accessibility into their communications. So it was really it was it was nice to be kind of a not the big voice. But it was a voice for that. And that actually impressed me the most. Because sometimes I feel like you know, sometimes when you have a disability or you're a disability advocate, sometimes you can feel like you're alone in the room. And sometimes it's awkward to bring it up. It's like, oh, here we go. They know I'm gonna bring it up. Hopefully they're not annoyed that Oh, here they go bring up disability again. Sometimes I have gotten that reaction from some people, not these companies. But other places I haven't get I have received that reaction, that kind of feedback. And so it was really exciting that they were bringing up disability conferences to attend. They were talking about how do we celebrate Disability Pride Month, and I was like, Well, I'm not even saying anything. And I'm used to being the person to say something. And so it was actually so exciting to see that the team was like really pushing the boundaries. And I was like, it was nice that I didn't have to carry that burden, if that makes sense. And I'm not saying it's a burden to be an advocate. But sometimes it can feel that way when you're always the one having to push something when you're in a space where maybe it's not recognized like you wish it would be. Michael Hingson 34:50 Yeah. And it can be a challenge if people aren't listening or don't want to hear it. And more important If they hear you, but then don't do anything about it, then that's a real problem. So I'm assuming when you worked at JPL and so on, you didn't have to do any PR outreach or communications with any Martians or any of those guys, huh? No, no. Okay, well, one of these days. Zane Landin 35:19 I mean, I work with scientists, though. I mean, which was really exciting. So I work with, you know, scientists from JPL, who don't remember the exact location where they, where they call it a specific place where they live. But yeah, the scientists went to like Antarctica for like, six months to work on missions, and different, like, you know, things coming out. And like, you know, actual things are seeing up into space, you know, stuff you kind of see on sci fi movies, you know, people going to Antarctica and working on stuff. And I was like, Oh, this is such a sci fi experience. And when they told me, I was like, Oh, I forget that people actually do that. And it was just, it was kind of unbelievable, to hear from them in their experience going there. And just, it was very intimidating at times, because like, so many people were really, really smart. Michael Hingson 36:05 Well, even if you think about the press secretary for the President, that has to be a fascinating job. Because there's so much that you have to deal with, you have to help and do a lot of the message creation. But there's, there's a whole lot to a job like that. And for anyone who really respects communications, and the kinds of things that you're talking about, it must be a fascinating job to do. Of course, it's a very high pressure job for a lot of reasons, some of which shouldn't have to be there, but they are. But nevertheless, it has to be a fascinating job to be able to coordinate a lot of communications in so many ways. Zane Landin 36:47 I think that job is I can imagine, at least stressful that job is you need to be a very fascinating and compelling storyteller and speaker to just to like communicate everything that's going on, you have to know about everything basically about what's going on, and you need to be confident about it. And nowadays, what I've seen with politicians, and even celebrities or just people, it's like, you can't make mistake anymore. Like you make one wrong. You say one wrong thing, one wrong sentence. And you're completely scrutinized for it. And this happens with tons of press secretaries. Nowadays, it's like, they say one wrong thing. Now they're advocating for this when maybe they had nothing, they didn't even say anything like that. But because of how it sounded. There's just like no room for, like change or anything. It's like when someone says one wrong thing. Sometimes their life is over. And I think that communication is important. But we we also need to recognize that, you know, people make mistakes, and everyone communicates differently. And just, you know, try to understand, try to listen, instead of kind of feeding what you think they're saying, if that makes sense. Michael Hingson 37:56 You ought to be able to tell the difference between a mistake that someone makes it's a legitimate mistake and a trend where someone really is different than that. But I mean, have you kept up with the stuff that that went on? And is still going on with the Los Angeles City Council and the whole debacle going on there? No, I have not. So apparently, there were three people, three council members who were talking about the fact that Latinos needed more representation, and they were talking about how to do redistricting. And they were recorded as making some pretty unflattering remarks about the black child of another city council member. And that's different than a mistake, right? Because because they didn't know they were being recorded. It also took a year to come out. But one of them has resigned and they're growing calls for the other two to resign. It will be interesting to see how it goes. But so often, what you said is absolutely true. There's no room anymore. For conversation. There's no room anymore for understanding. And that's so unfortunate. Yeah. And I really don't know how we get over that. Zane Landin 39:17 I don't either. I mean, it's it's obviously a huge, complex challenge. But I think it just, I don't know, I think it just has to kind of do with try to remove yourself from your echo chambers, try to go outside, try to have actual decent conversation with someone. And if disagreement happens, I think that's actually I think that's great. That's actually I think that can be empowering as long as you respect one another as people. I think we forget that because we, we, I say we as a collective that, you know, people now have these strong assumptions that this person does this. They voted for this. They believe this one thing, equals they're a horrible person, and they keep that in their mind and so So, of course, if you think that by each other, it's like, it's very easy to not respect one another, but you forget, we forget that people are multifaceted beings that may believe one thing may believe this thing. And I think that a lot of people commonly are good. And we forget that and we convince ourselves that they're not because they're not on our side, or they're on this side. It's very unfortunate. And I think we just need to the like core of it is just recognize that were people, and then when you start treating her like that, and that people can make mistakes, people can sometimes say the wrong thing. Again, it's different when you're intentionally saying really harmful stuff. But you know, even just making a mistake, or just trying to make your point across, and it doesn't mean that they're horrible, it just means that this is what they're trying to say, I think we just need to be understanding. And I always try my best to listen to whatever anyone has to say. Michael Hingson 40:47 And that's important to be able to, again, that's the whole concept of the art of conversation, which is, which is pretty, pretty important that we do need to do more with, well, you have said that you identify as Hispanic queer, and you have a disability, we've talked about your disability and so on. And, and all three of those categories are ways that you, you can be observed as being and so on. And none of them should be interpreted in any kind of a negative way, although that I'm sure happens. Zane Landin 41:24 Absolutely. Michael Hingson 41:27 So you know, it is it is still one of the things that that all too often we have to deal with, which goes back to the whole concept of we're way less tolerant than we really ought to be. We need to become a little bit more open in our mindsets to to dealing with that stuff. And I hope we get there. So I Zane Landin 41:48 do. And I also will say just my perspective and just my experience, not so recognize that people have experiences, even if they don't seem like they do. And so what I mean by that is some people may look at me and say, I don't have a disability, it's not really their parents to tell me if I do or not. But looking at me when think that I think people forget that there's non apparent disabilities. And I think that there are non apparent racial identities. Getting if you look at me, you're not going to think I'm Hispanic, some very light skinned. Yeah, there's a lot of whites can Hispanics is actually a lot, quite a few I see a lot, actually. And there's plenty of my family. And there's plenty of my family that are darker, you know, so you have you have many different shades of culture and, you know, racial identity. And I think that people forget that. We don't want to feed into the stereotype, again, the stereotype that all Hispanics speak Spanish, to all Hispanics are darker, it's like, well, there are light skinned Hispanics, there are some that don't speak Spanish. That's me, you know. And so that doesn't make me any less or more Hispanic, it just makes it different. But I'm still Hispanic in this country. And you know, I have gone through termination, if it's, it was people who don't take me seriously as Hispanic because I'm light skinned, or if it's people that are white, that will see me as someone who is Hispanic and not taken seriously that way. It's very, there's very different dynamics. But I've been in spaces that are geared around the Hispanic experience, and they definitely perpetuate the, like colorism and discrimination because they may not see me as Hispanic, or, or I'm not authentically Hispanic, because I don't share certain attributes with them. Which isn't fair again, because like it's Gamber, ignoring the intersectionality, that every experience of being Hispanic is different. Just like being queer is different for everyone, just like there's just so many different disabilities and experiences. Why can't that be the same for different, you know, Hispanic identities, you know, someone who is someone who is blind, it's gonna be very different from someone else who's blind and very different experiences all makes up who they are. And so, for me, we still need to recognize that there's still a person who is blind, and don't treat them any differently. So recognize I'm still Hispanic or queer, and don't treat me any differently even from my own communities that I want to be a part of. And sometimes I don't, I feel neglected. And does that make sense? Michael Hingson 44:06 It does, have you ever felt that you have faced real, overt discrimination? And there's no right or wrong answer to that. I'm just curious if you think that's really ever happened? Zane Landin 44:21 No, I don't think so. I mean, depends. I mean, I only have ever just experience over discrimination. For like any racial identity. I have been assumed to have certain identities that I don't have. That's not definitely discrimination, but making the assumption is kind of wrong. I mean, I have been in spaces where I have heard that being queer as, you know, horrible. I have heard that growing up. But it was never aimed at me. So I wouldn't say it's over discrimination against me, but I have heard over discrimination against groups and it has definitely impacted how I feel about myself, and how I've navigated anatomy those identities. Michael Hingson 44:56 Probably if you faced any it was misconcept shins regarding the the neurodiverse disability. Yeah, that's him. And, like with anything, it's all about prejudice. It's really all about a lack of education and understanding. Zane Landin 45:15 miNo, absolutely. Michael Hingson 45:16 Which, you know, which we have to deal with? Well, you started a magazine somewhere along the way, when did you start it? And when did you start? Not all that happened. Zane Landin 45:26 I started in May of 2020, I was taking a copy editing class. Yeah, copy editing, and it was a class need to take. And that was when I kind of just switched to communications, actually, because 2020 was my fourth year. So it's one of my first communication classes I was taking in spring. And as you know, the pandemic end 2020. And, you know, as someone who experienced mental health, it definitely there was a time where it was a big change. And it got kind of worse during the pandemic, which it did for millions and millions of people across the globe. But the unfortunate thing was, then when I wanted to see was the mainstream media take a lead in sharing those stories. And I don't know what I was expecting, because the mainstream media has ever really pushed the storytelling for the mental health community. And if they did, it was always in a non in a good way, or a negative way. So that's something I've always wanted to see. And I don't, I see more happening today, but still not as much. And even when I do see something, it's sometimes for not a good reason, or it's mental health month. So of course, let's share straight mental health that we forget, it happens, you know, all the time, those identities don't go away. So I would like to see more of a more initiative in terms of that. So anyways, I wanted to, for the final project of the Creator and publication, so I wanted to create something, I had an idea, but I decided not to do it. But I decided to change directions and choose a magazine dedicated to mental health stories. And there's plenty of platforms out there, but this is what I wanted to see. And I want it to be based on positivity and strength and optimism. Because sometimes when you hear about mental health, you think the negative that, you know, this is what they're lacking. This is what's wrong with them. This is why they're depressed, and sort of, you know, kind of celebrating what their experiences are. And showing that just because you have a mental condition doesn't mean you're, it's the end of the world, because I feel like, sometimes miss all this pain, it's so negatively in the media that when you think of itself, you think of these extreme things. It's like I would never want, you know, mental health is so extreme. I don't want to be around that. And it's like, it's, it's not, you're forgetting that. So regular experience, actually. And there are TV shows that are portrayed in a good way. One of my favorite shows growing up was Degrassi. And you know, they had teens in the show experience when tough conditions, and they're still regular teens going through life. And they're not, you know, what we see in the media, you know, very extreme. And I think that you need those stories, you definitely need the stories of, you know, this is, this is what untreated mental illness could lead to this extreme. But then you also remember that, it's not all like that. And there are people with mental health conditions that just have this regular experience. And for some, it's worse. And for some, it's, it's not as bad. But they all need to be taken very seriously. And so I was I started because I wanted to see the mainstream media do that. And I'm really hoping they do one day, I would really love to see a mental health segment on a news channel. I don't care which one it is. But if it's on Fox News, or at CNN or MSNBC, or ABC, whatever it is, it'd be cool if they had just like maybe a half an hour or an hour segment just on mental health news. And they're sharing stories of mental health and awareness and bring on guests to talk about it. I know I've seen like, Good Morning America, I know they've done stuff like that, where they bring on doctors and stuff. But I think that that's still a certain audience. And I think the mainstream media really impacts a large amount of people even larger. And so I would love to see more stories on that. So that makes sense. And so it started like that. Started with social media. And then we just started featuring people. And then very fortunate that we featured over 80 people, we're still growing and we still have a lot more stories to release. But it just saddens me how incredible people's journeys are. And we, for the ordinary people that have these incredible stories we don't get to hear. And I love hearing stories of people who are just going through life they may not have, they may not have done something huge, like I don't know, like serving in the government or going to the White House or whatever it is that they've done. Things like that, but they they really impact their communities. And I think that's the most important I've ever seen anyone had the like the local heroes. I love seeing that. I just wish there was like a upskill of that. You know that we see more? Michael Hingson 49:39 Yeah, we we have some of that on Channel Seven in LA. But I hear I hear what you're saying and it would be great to have more. It's really unfortunate that we have media programs like the view that celebrate Hispanic awareness and Latino Awareness Month, African American or Black History Month, I have yet to see them ever discuss, cover or bring to the forefront national employment, National Disability Employment Awareness Month or national blindness Employment Awareness Month, which is October, or white cane Safety Day, which was October 15, to talk about the contributions that people with disabilities and of course, from my perspective, blind people in specific have dealt with. We, for example, there have been, I believe, as I recall, two blind people who were Senators of the United States and one blind congressman, maybe it was the reverse, but I think it was two senators who happen to be blind in one, Congressman, but that was all before 1940. We don't do any of that now. And it would be a real challenge because of the prejudices today for that to occur. Fortunately, we've got some persons with disabilities in government, Tani. Tammy Duckworth from Illinois, of course, was a veteran, is a veteran and is in a wheelchair and so on. But we don't deal with the issues. And it continues to be as much as anything, I think, a fear issue, which goes back to our conversation about words disability, as opposed to disabled, and we need to remove that blind people are considered blind or visually impaired. And there are two problems with that, visually. I didn't think that I was really different because I happen to be blind from a visual standpoint. So you could change that to vision impaired, but then you still have impaired, why is it that eyesight has to be the main judge by which people are viewed, I think a much more appropriate term would be low V would be yellow vision, sort of like deaf and hard of hearing. A person who happen to be deaf or hard of hearing would probably hit you over the head if you said deaf or hearing impaired, because they recognize the problem with impaired. But we haven't dealt with that with blindness, which has been a disability that the Gallup polling organization has even said, has been more approached by fear than any other disability, which is unfortunate. But people think that eyesight, it's the only game in town, and somehow we've got to change that Zane Landin 52:25 is interesting. I mean, like, it is nice that they're celebrating, you know, if it's LGBTQ Pride Month, but they never focus on disability, and I hope they do one day, Michael Hingson 52:41 I hope it changes. Certainly disability groups are calling for more of it. But hopefully, we'll we'll see more of it happen, which is, I think the the big important part. So you went to the mental health Youth Action form. Tell me a little bit about that. I mean, at first, what it is and what it was like and all that. Right. So it was Zane Landin 53:09 this really big program that MTV hosted. And they worked with several mental health nonprofits. And these are like some of the biggest like Jed foundation active mines. Pretty sure the Trevor Project, I'm pretty sure I'm not actually sure that, but you know, just anyways, but big organizations like that, and I was involved in active mines. And I first heard about this opportunity. And I was like, Oh, my goodness, you know, it was at the White House. It wasn't virtual. So it's like, okay, is it we're going to the White House, is it virtual? I mean, that's not that big of a deal. It is still big deal. But nothing like being physically there at the White House, that it was, you know, you're physically there. And so I ended up I applied, and I was like I really, since I started the magazine, I became more of a mental health advocate more so than before. I was involved in different organizations before. But the magazine really opened my eyes to more of what's out there and what people experience and the different dimensions of what people experience and their stories, all that stuff. And it just also the form was all about how do we actually influence mental health with media that's all about what I was trying to do with the magazine and trying to achieve. So I wanted to bring that experience forward with this. So I definitely spoke on that stuff. But the application was brief. There was like three questions, and you had like 100 words to answer. So it was very brief. And I hadn't heard back for like month or month and a half and I checked my spam. And I was excited to see that, you know, I was moving forward as a semifinalist. And there was never an interview, which is really interesting, like how they chose people. And there wasn't even a video so it was interesting when they were going to do how they were going to choose that way. Maybe it was maybe that is the most best way they could do it. So there wasn't bias, but anyways, they ended up filling another form out and And, you know, I spent hours on it. And then I think it was a couple weeks later I found out I got in, which was a surreal moment. Because again, I was just like going through my day. And then like just going to my email, and then it went right to my email that, you know, I was selected, and I was kind of just hit me. And I was like, or, actually, maybe it didn't hit me at first, I think it hit me later, I was like, Oh, my gosh, I'm actually going to the White House. And I don't know who I'm going to meet. I don't know exactly who's gonna be there yet. Because there's all this stuff happening. So they did tell us that. In the press release, we knew that Selena Gomez was going to be the keynote speaker basically, and which is good, because she actually has a history of mental health. And she's definitely a strong advocate for it. So I'm glad they brought an influencer that actually has a story with it. And I, Dr. Murthy was going to be there. And Dr. Biden. So very interesting people, very people high up in the government I've never met before. And I didn't know too much about. And you know, the forum happened. And it was three days, it was kind of over that he was pretty sure, May 16. Two days, if this were the exact date, there was three days and there was just so many different things happening. So and I hadn't been in DC for a while. Because last time I went was like an eighth grade for this trip. So it was interesting to be there again. And it was nice to connect with people because like throughout the forum, we met virtually, like, was it every other week, and learning about different topics and connecting before we actually went to the forum in person. But yeah, like most of the time, we were just practicing soy cheese. We got there Monday, and then Tuesday came around. We were practicing because there was like two parts of the forum. So on Wednesday, we were gonna do like this interactive dialogue, you know, with Selena Gomez, Dr. Murthy. And it was it was just like a broadcast event. And then some people actually saw it on television, which was really cool. So the first part was that the second part was we were presenting ideas that we started on our own as groups, and we pitched it to media companies like Pinterest, and Spotify. So big media partners, really excited to see I mean, of course, MTV has these partners. But that was great. But I mean, the the best part was, of course, being in the White House, you know, seeing where the President gives his speeches, seeing where, like Abraham Lincoln stood, and seeing all of this, the sculptures and the art that they have their and just so much history made. It was it was it was definitely a lot of Michael Hingson 57:30 people attended the conference. There was only 30. Zane Landin 57:33 I mean, okay, wait, so the the event were 30 advocates, us we're on stage, but people in the audience, there's probably like 100 people. And it was, I think people from like very, you know, walks of life, very different levels of government, the places of advocacy, and I didn't see people with disabilities there that was like, yes, like, I'm excited to actually see people here excited about mental health, and also bring in the aspects of disability as well. Because they definitely correlate and all intersect. And yeah, so after the event, I wasn't chosen as a speaker. Because those 30 of us were not going to speak that would be too much. They chose six speakers, that was so great to be on that stage and just hear their stories. And know that there was a lot of people watching at the time. And it was exciting to walk in the doors. So right before the event started, and we walked to our seats, like people were clapping. And it was just exciting. It was like, this is probably the only time I'm gonna experience like paparazzi. It was fun. It was it was a great experience. And I learned a lot. And after the event, we were like kind of like waiting in the Blue Room where we were before. And President Biden did show up. He just kind of showed up randomly. And I don't think he was supposed to be there because even the MTV people were kind of super over the top excited. And, and excitement that I don't think they anticipated. Like I don't think that they were like, low. It's a prison. I think they were like, Whoa, what the heck, we had no idea the President was actually going to be here. And because he's touched his schedule is so tight. I think that he made efforts of either, which is really exciting. But I don't think he was supposed to be there. I didn't feel like he was supposed to be there. But it was just so cool to see. And like he talked to us a little bit and we were like huddled around him like we were kids. It was super fun. It was great to hear from him. And it was just so baffling. That was like, like just a couple of like inches almost away from the President. You know, and then even like one of his people were like, Oh, Mr. President, it's time to go and it's like, oh my gosh, like I've heard that like in movies like that exact verbiage. And you hear it I was like, Oh, it's just so it was just so exhilarating. So that was that. So that was the entire experience and even now, it's just nice to be connected to MTV. And like there's still there's still bring forth opportunities left like going back to the White House, but like they're trying to opportunities. Because I, because Selena Gomez was there, her company where beauty and proceeds from her company go to mental health organizations
This week's episode of PR Hangover features GV Students, Maddie Zimmerman and Madey Lutenski. Both students are involved with GrandPR and PRSSA. Dedicated to their studies and passionate about their niche PR specialties, this week we learn about advocacy and insight into influencer marketing. Maddie Zimmerman is a junior majoring in Advertising and Public Relations. Maddie is a member of PRSSA and is the Associate Media Coordinator of GrandPR, Grand Valley's student-run PR firm. In Maddie's spare time, you can find her thrifting, recording for her own podcast, sipping on matcha, and playing with her rescue cat, Manon. Maddie hopes to pursue a career in social media management or journalism/writing after graduation. Madey Lutenski is a senior studying Advertising & Public Relations with a minor in Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. Madey interns for the GVSU Career Center and Experience Grand Rapids. She is also the firm editor of GrandPR. Madey explores GR with her roommates and volunteers with Reproductive Freedom for All! Connect with Maddie Z: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madison-zimmerman-1313a3230/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5y8FTd4oArBTWRuvQC44Fi?si=aabbcc16c2624175 Connect with Madey L: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelynnlutenski/ IG: MadeyLutenski
Gina Laughlin, director of global employee engagement & recognition for Delta Air Lines and past national PRSSA president, chats with 2022-2023 vice president of brand engagement Nicole Steele. Gina discusses how PRSSA has impacted her career, successful internal communications campaigns, how to leverage PRSSA Champions, and more.
In this week's episode of PR Hangover, we will learn about National Millennial and Gen Z Community and the recent opportunity it provided for members to attend Los Angeles, and the potential it holds for young professionals. These opportunities would not have been possible without Bill Imada and the connection he has made with the National Millennial and Gen Z Community. This episode will cover the legacy of Frank Blossom a GVSU Alumn and professor, who has left a remarkable impact on the Advertising & Public Relations program at GVSU. This episode features Hanna Ziesel, a senior at GVSU who is the COO of GrandPR, E-Board Member of PRSSA, and a member of the National Millennial and Gen Z Community. Futuristically, Hanna would like to move to California to work in the entertainment industry. Connect with Hanna: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanna-ziesel/ Connect w/ Olivia: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliviadolley/
Are you a transfer student worried you are too late in getting involved with your majors' extracurriculars? Good news, it's never too late. This week's episode features Alex Lucaj, a transfer student-athlete from the University of Concordia Ann Arbor, who shares her experiences on how she took initiative to get involved in PRSSA and how you can too. Being her first year at GVSU, she immediately takes action to get involved with leadership roles. We also spoke with Paige Bodine, a transfer athlete from GRCC who has made her impact by being involved with GrandPR and PRSSA. Being VP of Member Services and an Account Executive on 2 GrandPR teams is an impressive workload. Paige is also involved with the ROTC program. She shares her experiences with how to make an impact and get involved. Connect with them via LinkedIn: Alex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-lucaj-031119251/ Paige: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paige-bodine-b0a7a21b0/ Want to be on the show? Connect with Olivia: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-dolley-a78198221/
This year, we celebrate PRSA's 75th Anniversary. Listen in as the 2022-2023 Vice President of Brand Engagement, Nicole Steele, interviews PRSA National Chair Dr. Felicia Blow, APR about PRSA and PRSSA. Dr. Blow talks about everything from past PRSA milestones, to PRSSA, to recent PRSA announcements.
Making the leap from college to a communications career can be daunting. Whether you're a communications major with multiple internships under your belt nearing graduation, an undeclared first year student, or looking to make a mid-career switch with continuing education, this conversation is for you. In this week's PRSA Silicon Valley Friday Forum, San Jose State University alumni will delve into the ins and outs of making the most out of college and embarking on a career in communications.Caylee Tompkins, president of the San Jose State University chapter of PRSSA moderates this lively discussion. Three San Jose State alumni have joined me to discuss the ins and outs of making the most out of college and embarking on a career in communications.Alannah McDermott, a senior account executive at Lumina Communications and project manager for PRSA Silicon Valley's Media Predicts 2022.Sierra Fatlowitz, a corporate communications specialist at eBay who previously worked in local government as well as for a tech PR agency. Jazmin Eusebio, who is a Senior Account Executive and Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Specialist at Highwire PR as well as a PRSA-SV board member. Take a listen!
Join us for an interesting look into internships on this week's episode of Around the Sphere! Senior public relations major Hannah Mayer interned with Live Nation and senior journalism major Reegan Saunders interned with the San Francisco Chronicle. Both had amazing stories and advice for students just starting to look for internships. Also in this episode, hear from PRSSA about what they are, and what meetings are coming up!
The National Millennial / Gen Z Community was founded in 2016 to change the conversation about two constantly misrepresented, career-ready generations. Today NMGZ represents more than 44 colleges and universities in over 40 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam. The Kent State NMGZ chapter is a subcommittee of PRKent's PRSSA and represents all of Ohio when our students talk to executives across the country in person and online. Chapter Chair Mia Cadle recently visited Boston with the group and member William Dakin traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area to meet with Fortune 500 companies and students from across the country. Also in this episode, KentWired brings summer news and a special thank you to our student project and production managers for their hard work this past year.
In today's Pulse Profile we talk with Alexis Martina, President of Susquehanna University's Public Relations Student Society of America, about what PRSSA is and their recent organ donation campaign! To keep up with PRSSA's goings-on, be sure to follow them on instagram @susquprssa!
The Nugget Bar & Grill has postponed their planned opening date due to staff shortages. They are hiring for hosts, chefs and department leads and offer competitive pay and flexible hours. The American Marketing Association on campus and the Public Relations Student Society of America linked up to clean the beach in Long Beach and shared how exciting it is to create events for students to participate in person after being virtually distanced for so long. Students have complained about poor Wi-Fi connection on BeachNet+ but tech support at CSULB says Eduroam is the safer, more reliable option that requires a sign on and ensures a stronger connection. Edited by: Cindy Aguilera Thank you to our sponsors Southland Credit Union, Long Beach Transit, and Long Beach Water. www.southlandcu.org/join/welcome-long-beach-state/ ridelbt.com liveh2olb.com/ New episodes will drop every Monday. Like, comment, and follow us on your favorite platform for more content! Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beach-weekly/id1488484518?uo=4 Google Podcasts https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9kMzEwMjEwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4HJaqJep02kHeIQy8op1n1 Overcast https://overcast.fm/itunes1488484518/beach-weekly Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/daily49er
On this semester's last episode of Around the Sphere, we're looking inside the November 1st PRSSA meeting focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace. Learn tips to help make sure that everyone feels a sense of belonging while sitting at your table, and how to find a career that authentically values diversity and inclusion. Hear from experts AJ Leu, CCI's Director of Diversity Initiatives; Daria Gaither, Communications Manager at FedEx Custom Critical; Phylicia McCorkle, Manager of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Major League Baseball; Amanda Hayes, Director of Corporate Communications, Diversity and Inclusion at JoAnn Stores; and Joy Smith, Inclusion and Talent Manager at Marcus Thomas LLC. Also on today's episode, learn more about student photography organization Focal Point, and the history of student-powered design agency Ideabase.
On this episode of Around the Sphere, the Honorable Mention-winning 2021 Bateman Blue team sits down with Bateman advisor and Professor of Public Relations, Stefanie Moore, to discuss their campaign on Civility in PRSSA's National Bateman Competition. Hear about the team's successes, challenges, and how it felt to get that exciting “Congrats!” email. Plus, hear from Student Media Sales Manager Jenna Gobrecht for updates from the Advertising office and learn more about MDJ's history. Apply for Student Media Leadership: https://kentstatestudentmedia.com/involvement or reach out to Kevin Dilley kdilley@kent.edu with any questions. Email us with comments, audio, feedback at MDJPodcast@kent.edu
Copper State of Mind: public relations, media, and marketing in Arizona
In this episode, https://hmapr.com/team/abbie-s-fink/ (Abbie Fink) and https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianmcintyre/ (Dr. Adrian McIntyre) talk with https://www.linkedin.com/in/olsoncomm/ (Michelle Olson), APR, chair of the https://www.prsa.org/ (Public Relations Society of America), the nation's leading professional organization serving the communications community. With nearly 30,000 members, PRSA is the principal advocate for industry excellence and ethical conduct and provides members lifelong learning opportunities and leading-edge resources to enhance professional connections and support them at every stage of their career. Michelle began her tenure as national chair of PRSA in January 2021, having previously served on the national board of directors and as a leader at the chapter and regional levels. As chair, Michelle aims to help equip PR practitioners to identify and combat mis/dis/malinformation, break down barriers for diverse students and professionals to enter the industry, and set the tone for civil discourse across the country. With more than 30 years in public relations and integrated marketing, Michelle has served clients across the U.S. and internationally, and has significant experience in corporate communications and issues management across industries. She is managing partner of Lambert, a full-service integrated communications firm with offices in Michigan, New York, Houston and Arizona. The nationally recognized firm works with clients ranging from global brands to emerging leaders in a variety of industries including automotive and mobility, consumer, education, financial, B2B, and food and beverage. Michelle leads the firm's automotive and mobility practice. PR News named Michelle to the 2020 and 2021 classes of the Top Women in PR. She was named one of Arizona's Most Influential Women in Business by BizAZ Magazine in 2018 and in 2003, she received the Phoenix PRSA chapter's prestigious PERCY Award for her achievements in the public relations industry. Michelle is a past chair of Counselors Academy, PRSA's international section for agency owners and leaders and served for two years as an advisor and mentor to the organization's nearly 10,000-member student body, PRSSA, providing counsel to its national committee. If you enjoyed this episode, check out the https://www.prgnpodcast.com/ (PRGN Presents) podcast, hosted by Abbie Fink, featuring conversations about PR, marketing, and communications with members of the https://prgn.com/ (Public Relations Global Network), "the world's local public relations agency.” Additional Resources https://voices4everyone.prsa.org/ (Voices4Everyone) by PRSA https://hmapr.com/prsa-combat-misinformation/ ("How To Combat Misinformation") by Scott Hanson https://hmapr.com/control-misinformation/ ("How to Control Misinformation") by Annelise Krafft https://hmapr.com/fake-news-crisis/ ("Are you being fed fake news during the coronavirus crisis?") by Marissa Baker "What is “News Literacy” in This Age of “Fake News?" by Scott Hanson Need to hire a PR firm? We demystify the process and give you some helpful advice in Episode 19: https://copperstateofmind.show/episode/how-to-hire-public-relations-agency-phoenix-arizona ("How to Hire a Public Relations Agency in Arizona: Insider Tips for Executives and Marketing Directors") Copper State of Mind is a project of https://hmapr.com/ (HMA Public Relations), a full-service public relations and marketing communications firm in Phoenix. The show is recorded and produced in the studio of https://phx.fm/ (PHX.fm), the leading independent B2B podcast network in Arizona.
About the Podcast The Stevens Group has been presenting the PR Masters Series Podcast for almost two years now. This series is part of the ongoing partnership between The Stevens Group and CommPRO to bring to PR, digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession. Today's special guest is Lynn Appelbaum. Lynn is one of the great PR educators of our times. As head of the City College of New York Ad/PR program, which she largely built as its head for more than twenty years, she has spawned a generation of diverse PR professionals entering our industry. In this PR Masters Podcast, Lynn shares her views on diversity, the threat of burn out, the way PR has changed and grown – and above all how the training of our aspiring professionals has helped shape the PR profession. Lynn was PR director of “The Today Show” before joining CCNY as its first professor of public relations and brings the perspective of both a practitioner as well as an educator. Lynn is a familiar face in PRSA, PRSA-NY and the PRSA Foundation. You won't want to miss what she has to say. About Our Guest Lynn Appelbaum, APR, Fellow PRSA, has over 30 years' experience as a public relations professional and educator, working in public and private sectors in media relations, strategic planning and communications. Through her research and advocacy for her students, she is a long- time proponent of fostering diversity within the PR profession. Lynn joined the City College of New York faculty in 1993 as professor in the Advertising and Public Relations in the Department of Media & Communication Arts. As Ad/PR program director (2001-2016), she built a highly competitive program with 200 majors. She created significant scholarship opportunities for talented students, in addition to building strong relationships with leading agencies for student internships and entry-level hires. She is a founding faculty member of CCNY's master's degree program in Branding and Integrated Communications (BIC), which launched in 2013. Lynn organized CCNY's first PRSSA chapter in 1996 and served as faculty advisor for 20 years. In 2008, she received The City College Alumni Association's Faculty Service Award and CCNY honored her in 2014 by creating a scholarship in her name. Lynn retired from CCNY in January 2021. She continues to mentor students and young professionals independently, and through the CO OP Apprentice Program. A strong advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in PR, Lynn co-authored a national study in 2014 (with Dr. Frank Walton) on the experiences of young black and Hispanic PR professionals in the workplace, funded by a PRSA Foundation grant. The study updates her 2004 research (with Dr. Rochelle Ford) on diversity in the PR profession. She has written about mentoring and crisis communications for PRSA's Strategist and Tactics and is co-author of a textbook chapter on global corporate reputation. Prior to coming to City College, Lynn was Press Manager for NBC News Today show, Director of Public Affairs for The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, and Marketing Director of Merkin Concert Hall. Other clients have included MSNBC, The New York Public Library, Lighthouse International, New York Road Runners Club and Hudson Guild Settlement House. Lynn served on the PRSA Foundation Board of Directors (2014-17) and has held director posts for PRSA's national board (2008-10), and on PRSA NY's Board of Directors, where she chaired the committee for New York metro-area PRSSA chapters. In 2015, she was honored by PRSA as Outstanding Educator of the Year and with PRSA-NY's President's Award. Lynn is the recipient of the 2016 HPRA BRAVO Award for her contributions as an educator to promote inclusivity in the PR profession and is the recipient of PRSA-NY's 1999 ...
Welcome back to The Queen of Comm Podcast! This week, Paisley is joined by PRSSA National President, Rachel Meltzer, to talk all things PRSSA! From their podcast series for students, opportunities as a member, and her perspective as a member of the National Board, Rachel will share her tips and experiences with the organization. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/queenofcommpodcast/message
Caitlin Egan, Training and Development Specialist at Fleet Farm, joins us. Caitlin is a 2019 UWGB COMM Grad. During her time at UWGB she was the social media manager for the COMM Department, COMM Week Planning Team Member and treasurer for PRSSA. Today we will speak about a variety of topics including her experiences in PRSSA and college, her current career, how training has changed during COVID-19 and why employees are so important for any business. H: Matthew Knoke G: Caitlin Egan --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/uwgbprssa/support
This week Cory was joined by Cara Finger. Cara is a 2011 graduate of the UCM PR Program. She has spent most of her professional career working with Associated Wholesale Grocers. She is currently serving as the AWG Cares Foundation Chair. In this position she works with 11 other AWG employees and the employees as a whole to raise funds and distribute them to causes nominated by AWG employees. She is also teaching a class at her alma mater and aids their PRSSA chapter as a professional advisor. We already have our next guest lined up so follow our social channels to stay up-to-date! Twitter - @AlumniStories Facebook - @CMASPodcast Instagram - @centralmissourialumnistories
Abby Reich, Marketing Coordinator for H.J. Martin and Son, joins us. She is a PRSSA alumna from the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh (UWO). During her time at UWO she was president for their PRSSA chapter. In addition to being a very involved student she did multiple internships. On this episode she discusses her college experience with us, shares why PRSSA is the org to join and explains how marketing and social media has changed in the construction industry during COVID-19. H: Matthew Knoke CH: Jaeden Langenberg --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/uwgbprssa/support
Welcome back to the Queen of Comm Podcast!! In this week's episode, we will be covering everything PRSSA! Paisley will be joined by her chapter's President, Jenny Bradford, to talk about everything that a PRSSA membership has to offer. Jenny will also share insight into what it was like to be interning in NYC just as the pandemic broke out, and her life as a college student. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/queenofcommpodcast/message
Student members of the University of Nebraska/Omaha won a record 17 public relations awards at the 2020 Nebraska Public Relations Society of America's Paper Anvil Awards event. Three of the winning awards competed against professional firms. They also won the "Best of Show" award in the Student Division. Eleven of their awards received "Awards of Excellence." Listen to hear these students, and their instructor, explain their road to public relations success. Look out world, here they come!!Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=RFN4XQNRFSW74&source=url)
Overview The Stevens Group has been presenting the PR Masters Series Podcast for almost two years now. This series is part of the ongoing partnership between The Stevens Group and CommPRO to bring to PR,digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession. Today's special guest is Ron Culp, PRAD Professional in Residence, Instructor and Professional Director, Graduate Professional Program Director - Public Relations and Advertising at DePaul. About Our Guest Prior to joining DePaul and becoming an independent public relations consultant, Ron Culp held senior public relations positions at four Fortune 500 corporations and two major agencies. Ron's career spans a broad range of communications responsibilities in government and industry sectors including business-to-business, consumer products, pharmaceutical and retailing. Ron's two agency stints include being partner and managing director of Ketchum's Midwest offices and head of the agency's North American Corporate Practice. Prior to Ketchum, he opened and served as managing director of the Chicago office of Sard Verbinnen and Company, a leading financial communications firm. Previously, Ron was a corporate officer and senior vice president, public relations and government affairs, at Sears. During his Sears career, Ron managed internal and external communications, marketing public relations support, state and federal government affairs, community relations and the Sears-Roebuck Foundation. Earlier in his corporate career, he held senior communications positions at Sara Lee Corporation, Pitney Bowes and Eli Lilly. Following graduation from Indiana State, Ron began his career as a reporter for The Columbus (Ind.) Republic before moving to the New York State Assembly where he served as director of member services (the public relations support unit) under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Ron is active in several civic organizations including the Economic Club of Chicago where he is a former board member and past vice chair. Culp serves on the board of Gilda's Club Chicago, Public Relations Museum and Library, PRSA Foundation, Indiana State Foundation and the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, which he also chaired for five years. He was listed in Crain's "Who in Chicago Business" from 2009 to 2017. Culp is the only individual to receive both the Distinguished Service Award and the Hall of Fame Award from the Arthur W. Page Society, which is comprised of senior communication professionals, agency heads and leading academics. In 2011 he was honored with the John W. Hill Award by the New York Chapter of Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and a year later he received the PR Professional of the Year from the Chicago chapter of PRSA. He also is featured in the PRSSA book, “Legacies from Legends in Public Relations” (2007) and was named to the PR News Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2012, Ron received the David Ferguson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Relations Education by a Practitioner, and in 2017 he received PRSA's Gold Anvil, the organization's lifetime achievement award. Ron and his DePaul colleague Matt Ragas are co-authors of a business basics book for PR professionals entitled “Business Essentials for Strategic Communicators” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) and they jointly edited "Mastering Business for Strategic Communicators" (Emerald, 2018). Also in 2018, Ron compiled and edited an eBook entitled, "The New Rules of Crisis Management." Ron and his wife, Sandra, fund a scholarship at their alma mater, Indiana State, for first-generation college students. In addition, Ron sponsors an annual PRSSA scholarship for student mentors. Visit Ron's career blog, Culpwrit,
On this week's episode of NEW PR, VP of Treasury for UWGB PRSSA, Megan Roshak and PRSSA member Ashley Dax discuss their summer internships with Midwest Communications and current jobs with the company. Hosted By: Megan Roshak Guest: Ashley Dax --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/uwgbprssa/support
During this episode we sit down with the UWGB's PRSSA E-Board to discuss different reasons of why students should join this organization. Produced & Hosted By: Matthew Knoke Co-Hosts: Megan Roshak, Melissa Hamilton, and Janie Hodny --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/uwgbprssa/support
What is COM Day? In short, something you should know about and attend! For more info, here's a chat with Faith Hoffman, one of the coordinators of COM Day and an amazing Lamb School undergraduate.
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