PRSA Appoints Heide Harrell, M.A., APR, and Scott Thornburg, APR, as Senior Counsel to 2024 Board of Directors

NEW YORK, January 18, 2024 – PRSA today announced it has named Heide Harrell, M.A., APR, and Scott Thornburg, APR, as Senior Counsel to the 2024 Board of Directors. The announcement was made by Joseph Abreu, APR, CPRC, 2024 PRSA Chair.

Harrell is Director of Communications for Central Arkansas Water, a metropolitan water system that serves almost 500,000 Arkansans in eight counties. Thornburg is Senior Director, Global Marketing and Communications for Sojern, a $100M+ travel technology firm.

“Heide and Scott are experienced servant leaders who have served across all levels of the association,” said Abreu. “They have worked diligently with PRSA volunteers and staff for their entire careers to improve our member experience and elevate the public relations profession. Their continued work with the Board will undoubtedly help advance our mission.”

Harrell has more than 20 years of communications and marketing experience, and her many PRSA roles include serving as a member of the Board from 2020-2022 and as Secretary in 2023. She has contributed to committees and task forces that support PRSSA students and PRSA’s annual conference. Harrell has also been Chair and Director of the Southwest District and President of the Arkansas Chapter.

Prior to Central Arkansas Water, she was vice president and communicators director of the Private Wealth Management division at Stephens, one of the largest, privately held independent investment firms off of Wall Street as well as director of marketing and business development at Rose Law Firm, the oldest law firm west of the Mississippi River. She also spent nearly eight years working for two of Arkansas’s top advertising agencies.

An accredited marketing communications leader with nearly 15 years of global agency and in-house public relations experience, Thornburg’s PRSA experience includes previously serving as Senior Counsel and Director At Large on the Board of Directors; as well as Technology Committee Chair and member of the Strategic Planning Committee.

He has served as a strategic communications adviser for top global brands like Oracle, ExxonMobil, Dell, Cirque du Soleil, Hard Rock, Google, Nasdaq, lynda.com (LinkedIn Learning), among others. He is also currently Chair of the Economic Development Advisory Council (EDAC) for the City of Sausalito.

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.

Media Contact:
Rod Granger
(212) 460-0307
rod.granger@prsa.org