Stacey Smith, APR, Fellow, PRSA, has over 40 years of experience working with an extensive range of clients from Fortune 100 multinational operations to small not-for-profits.  As senior counsel and partner at Jackson Jackson & Wagner, she specializes in assisting organizations communicate effectively with key stakeholder groups to build more strategic and solid relationships that influence organizational success. 

A counselor with JJ&W since 1981, Stacey has counseled senior management in government, corporations, schools, universities, hospitals and more on how to communicate in ways that builds long-term relationships with stakeholders.  

As a co-author of the 7th and 8th Edition of Public Relations Practices, Managerial Case Studies and Problems, (Pearson), she has worked to keep the vision of the original authors, Alan Center and Patrick Jackson, front and center for PR students around the world. She is also the author of "The Public Relations Firm" (Business Expert Press), for those wanting to learn how to work with public relations firms. 

A public speaker as well as teacher, she has presented before numerous organizations including the Public Relations Society of America and National School Public Relations Association. She has taught as an adjunct faculty at Antioch University New England, New England College in Henniker, N.H. and the University of New Hampshire. 

She is Accredited and a Fellow in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), a member of American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), sits on the Institute for PR's Behavioral Insights Research Group.  She is Immediate Past Co-Chair of the Commission for Public Relations Education 2020-2022 and serves as now as Immediate Past Chair.  

Ann Lovell, APR, leads global Internal Communications for the International Mission Board and its nearly 4,000 employees.

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Ann is responsible for the IMB’s internal communications function, including developing and implementing a strategic plan to inform, engage and inspire employees.

During her 20-plus-year career with the IMB, she has held a variety of communications roles including director of creative content in Richmond, a media strategist in the Philippines and South Korea, and a writer based in Thailand where she covered stories across Asia.

Over the past 33 years, Ann has worked in a wide variety of communication leadership roles involving PR, crisis management, marketing communications, media relations, social media and reputation management.

Outside of the IMB, Ann has served as the corporate director of communications for LifeSpire of Virginia, a non-profit organization offering continuing care retirement communities for senior adults in Virginia and North Carolina. Earlier in her career, she worked briefly as a newspaper columnist and in different roles requiring top secret clearances, including at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she worked as a program analyst and international trade specialist, and as a federal investigator for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Ann loves storytelling, especially stories of organizations and individuals who are making a difference in their communities. She is the author of seven children’s books and wide variety of published materials. Ann holds a degree from Middle Tennessee State University. She also did post-graduate work in journalism at University of Missouri-Columbia, and she received her APR designation in December 2018.

Scott Ward, of Fifth Estate Communications, is a veteran communications and marketing professional with experience in the nonprofit, agency, government and entertainment fields, and a passion for advancing issues and causes that directly impact people and our planet. He built Fifth Estate on the conviction that strategic communications is a powerful force that can be harnessed to make substantial, positive, enduring change in the world.

He specializes in developing innovative communications strategies driven by clear, measurable goals and aligned with organizational mission; storytelling that crafts complex ideas and technical information into compelling, engaging and accessible content; and reaching across traditional divides to find shared values and common purpose. He is also an industry thought leader, offering professional development trainings, speaking and participating on panels, and placing articles in such trade publications as PR Week and PR News.

Chrysta Wilson, MPA, ACC, is a speaker, ICF-certified coach, storyteller, trainer-educator, podcaster and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategist dedicated to helping leaders at all levels racial justice, equity, and well-being, and create the conditions for people to thrive.

Since founding her firm, Wilson and Associates Coaching and Consulting, LLC, in 2008, Chrysta has educated over 10,000 individuals and provided consultation services to over a 200 organizations, corporations, and government agencies utilizing her proprietary Recipe for Transformation© coaching and consulting framework rooted in dreaming, discovery, repair, and embodiment.

Chrysta Wilson is a passionate speaker and storyteller that has the ability to create inclusive and welcoming spaces to engage the audience in even the most complex topics. Through her firm’s consultation and training programs, such as The DEI Dinner Party and e-course “Disrupt Your DEI”, she has helped clients build the skills required to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as create conditions for thriving.

Carmen Boon is the Vice President for Public Affairs at Food Bank For NYC, the largest hunger relief organization of the New York City area, empowering people to achieve food security for good. With over 20 years of experience creating and implementing proactive public and media relations outreach strategies and integrated media campaigns that have greatly helped increase awareness on government and nonprofit organizations’ programs and initiatives, Carmen is proud and honored to play a role every day in many communities in need across New York City getting life-changing help and support.

Specializing in strategic, crisis and advocacy communications and public sector and nonprofit marketing and public affairs, Carmen uses her experience to manage large-scale and issue-based multi-platform, multicultural and multilingual public awareness campaigns to influence policy and public opinion.

With a portfolio in areas ranging from affordable housing and social services to workers, human and immigrant rights, public health care, food security, poverty and economic mobility, Carmen's strengths as an outreach campaign strategists and producer have garnered her and her teams some recognition by the Shorty, MarCom, PRWeek Purpose and AVA Digital awards, among others. She is a former member of the Hispanic PR Association Board of Directors and a current member, mentor and volunteer at CHIEF (Executive women network), NY Women in Communications and Public Relations Society of America.

Prior to Food Bank For NYC, Carmen served as Senior Director for Strategic Communications at NYC Health + Hospitals where she led strategic communications for NYC Care, the largest health care access municipal program in the nation for people not eligible or unable to afford health insurance. She was also part of the team leading all communications for 2020 pioneering initiatives connected to the COVID-19 response including testing, tracing, workforce support, and vaccination.

Carmen arrived in NYC from her native Venezuela as a Fulbright scholar to pursue a Master of Arts in Media Studies at The New School. She lives with her husband Dan, son Simon and her daughter Callista in Verona, New Jersey.

Tiffany Taylor is an award-winning public relations & communications professional with over 15 years of experience in corporate and agency communications. She is an authentic and innovative strategist successful at spearheading corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and campaigns that increase community engagement among diverse audiences, (two-way symmetrical benefits for companies and stakeholders) and positive brand awareness.

Tiffany is a biomedical communications specialist on the American Red Cross’ national biomedical communications team. In her role, she leads the national communications efforts for the organization’s enterprise-wide Sickle Cell Initiative. She also serves as a spokesperson and helps to bolster the organization’s communications efforts by engaging diverse populations in the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross through blood donations.

Recognized as a respected leader in communications, Tiffany is a graduate of the University of Alabama where she holds a bachelor’s in communications and a bachelor’s in English. She recently obtained her Master of Science degree in media and communications from Middle Tennessee State University, and holds two Diversity, Equity and Inclusion certifications from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business.

Jon Goldberg is the founder and chief reputation architect of Reputation Architects Inc., a reputation risk management advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations build, protect and restore their reputations in a world of evaporated trust and unprecedented stakeholder engagement.

Trained as a journalist and a frequent speaker, author and media commentator on reputation risk and crisis management topics, Jon founded Reputation Architects in 2009 after more than 25 years as an advisor to corporate, nonprofit and public sector executives and boards and a senior leader at some of the world’s most prominent communications firms.

Prior to founding Reputation Architects, Jon was partner and director of the Corporate Affairs practice of Porter Novelli. He previously served as executive vice president, general manager and national director of crisis and litigation communications at Edelman; held senior client management roles at J. Walter Thompson Company; and was manager of corporate media relations and a principal spokesperson for Prudential Financial.

Jon is a member of the executive committee and a past chair of PRSA’s Counselors Academy, and he serves as a board member and U.S. ambassador-representative of the International Association of Risk and Crisis Communication

Leonard S. Greenberger is Vice President at AKCG – Public Relations Counselors and heads the firm’s Washington, D.C.-area office. Leonard provides strategic planning, issues/crisis counseling, branding and marketing communications, and media training services. He has particular expertise working with 501(c) organizations in the energy, science and construction sectors.

Prior to joining AKCG, Leonard was a partner at Potomac Communications Group, where he led the firm’s 501(c) practice and specialized in risk and crisis communication. His work included branding, repositioning and marketing communications services for numerous trade associations and professional societies, as well as crisis communications and community engagement counsel for corporations and government agencies across the country.

Leonard serves as Chair-elect of the Public Relations Society of America’s Association/Non-Profit Section Executive Committee and is the author of What to Say When Things Get Tough: Business Communication Strategies for Winning People Over When They’re Angry, Worried, and Suspicious of Everything You Say. He also hosts an eponymous podcast designed to help people communicate effectively in difficult situations, both professional and personal.

He earned a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the University of Michigan.

Cynthia Zhai is a Voice Coach, Professional Speaker (CSP) and Best-Selling Author.  Cynthia has been a professional speaker and coach for the past 21 years and her engagements span 21 countries on five continents. She has helped executives and professional speakers to develop their powerful voice that holds the room, engages and inspires people to embrace change and take action. Her audience members vary from senior executives to sales professionals, from scientists to soldiers, from trainers, teachers to college professors, and many more.

Amanda Jarrett, MBA, an experienced professional in the field of communications and marketing, currently serves as the director of the communications and marketing department at the National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC) in Huntsville, Alabama. In her role, she oversees a wide range of responsibilities, including public outreach, marketing, branding, and social media management for the NCAC. Her journey with the agency began in May 2018.

Before her tenure at the NCAC, Amanda spent 15 years in the dynamic world of television news at WAFF in Huntsville, where she held various pivotal roles. Her career at WAFF included positions such as weekend producer, 5:00 p.m. news producer, assignment manager, investigative producer, executive producer, and brand manager. These roles equipped her with a diverse skill set and valuable experience in the realm of communications and media.

Amanda's educational background is rooted in marketing. She earned her bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama, and later pursued a Master's in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing from the University of Alabama Birmingham Collat School of Business.

Reggie Johnson, MA, is Digital Media and Content Manager, Fort Worth Country Day. He is a strategist, creator, and manager of digital media and content, with over 20 years of experience sharing brand-shaping stories that increase interest, engagement, and revenue.

He takes a wholistic approach to the web, focusing beyond a brand’s website and on the organization’s entire digital footprint. He specializes in strengthening the complete online expression of the brand with strategies for digital marketing, websites, SEO/SEM, social media, advertising, blogs and online listings.

Having worked primarily with nonprofits his entire professional career, he is currently the Digital Media and Content Manager at Fort Worth Country Day and serves as Vice President for Programs with the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). He also co-hosts an international, weekly cutting-edge marketing chat about AI, Innovation and Ethics in Business and Marketing, every Friday from 7-7:30 a.m. Central Time on LinkedIn and Clubhouse.

Reggie is known for his positive attitude, his dedication to ongoing learning, and his reluctance to omit the Oxford comma.