PRSA Announces Nomination of Ray Day, APR, Vice Chair of Stagwell, as 2025 Chair
Jul. 26, 2023
Eight Members Recommended for Officer and Director Positions for Board of Directors; Candidates to Stand for Election at Leadership Assembly in October
NEW YORK, July 26, 2023 – PRSA today announced the nominees for its 2024 Board of Directors. Officer candidates include Ray Day, APR, Vice Chair of Stagwell, nominated for 2025 Chair, Jessica M. Graham, APR, Fellow PRSA, President, Fionix Consulting, LLC, proposed for the role of Treasurer and Sam Sims, APR, Fellow PRSA, President, Sims Grp, recommended for Secretary.
Membership delegates will vote on the nominees and any petitioning candidates at the annual PRSA Leadership Assembly on Saturday, October 14, in Nashville, Tennessee, prior to ICON 2023. If elected, the nominees will begin their term on January 1, 2024.
“I was honored to lead the process for selecting this year’s nominees for PRSA’s Board of Directors,” said Michelle Olson, APR, 2023 Nominating Committee Chair. “Serving on the Board is an opportunity to guide PRSA’s future direction, as well as serve as an influential voice in the broader communications community, and each candidate is eminently qualified to do just that. I thank them all for their dedication to the task of helping our members continue to grow and expand their success.”
The PRSA Nominating Committee also announced their selections for the open Director positions for the 2024-2025 Board. The Committee’s selections are:
Midwest District Director
Jason J. Sprenger, APR
Game Changer Communications
Southeast District Director
John Gregory Clemons, APR
Clemons Communications,
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
and Loyola University-New Orleans
Southwest District Director
Patricia "Reace" Alvarenga Smith, APR
LIBERTY Steel Group
Sunshine District Director
Christina Morton, APR
Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association
Director-At-Large
Michael A. Brown Sr.
Alaka'Ina Foundation Family of Companies
North Pacific District Director
The Nominating Committee has not put forth a nominee from the North Pacific District. Qualified candidates may apply by petition.*
Officers serve one-year terms and Directors serve two-year terms.
Rounding out the Executive Committee for 2024 will be Joseph Abreu, APR, Chief Communications Officer, Clerk of the Court & Comptroller, Lee County (Fla.), who was confirmed as the 2024 PRSA Chair at the PRSA Leadership Assembly in 2022, and Michelle Egan, APR, Fellow PRSA, Chief Communications Officer, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., who will serve as Immediate Past Chair.
*Candidates by Petition
Article VIII, Section 5 of the PRSA Bylaws provides: Nominations may also be made by petition for all positions by at least 10 Leadership Assembly delegates and filed with the Secretary of the Society at PRSA Headquarters at least 30 days prior to the annual meeting of the Leadership Assembly. Immediately upon receipt of any such nominations, the Secretary shall send a notice of such nominations to all members.
All applications by petition must be submitted no later than Thursday, September 14 for consideration. For more information on how to petition for a Board position, please visit the Member Resources page on the PRSA website.
Officer Biographies
Day is a recognized voice and leader in communications and public relations. He joined Stagwell in February 2020 with more than three decades of experience and insights as a chief communications officer. Prior to Stagwell, he served as IBM’s CCO, leading the company’s global Communications and Corporate Citizenship teams in more than 170 countries. Before IBM, Day was Group Vice President of Communications and served 28 years with Ford. His accomplishments include transforming Ford’s communications model working with then CEO Alan Mulally. He was also cited as a key part of the Ford transformation in the American Icon business book.
Graham has 30 years of experience in virtually every aspect of communications in a variety of industries. Prior to founding Fionix Consulting, she served as vice president, chief communications and community officer for Belk, Inc., where she handled public relations; community outreach; corporate, community, fashion and store events; internal communications; and diversity and inclusion. She has been an active member of PRSA since joining in 1999 and has served on the Board since 2022. She was recently honored by PRNEWS with a 2023 Top Women Award.
Sims has more than 20 years of public relations and marketing experience in architectural, engineering, energy, medical, science, automotive, technology, and arts industries where he has realized successes in strategic planning, communication, development, media relations and crisis situations. Currently PRSA Treasurer, he has also served on the organization’s Technology, Governance and Strategic Planning committees, and is also the Past President of PRSA’s Oklahoma City Chapter.
About PRSA
PRSA is the leading professional organization serving the communications community through a network of more than 400 professional and student chapters in the U.S., Argentina, Colombia, Peru and Puerto Rico. Guided by its Code of Ethics, PRSA empowers its members to succeed at every stage of their careers through a wide breadth of premium professional development programs, exclusive networking events and leadership opportunities. Signature events include the Anvil Awards, and ICON, the premier annual gathering for communications professionals and students. For more information, visit www.prsa.org.
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Media Contact:
Rod Granger
212-460-0307
rod.granger@prsa.org
