CONFERENCE SESSIONS AND SPEAKERS

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How PRSA Hustles – A Conversation with PRSA

Matt Marcial, CAE, APR – Chief Executive Officer, PRSA

Heide Harrell, MA, APR – 2026 Chair, PRSA; Director of Communications, Central Arkansas Water

Moderator: Ray Day, APR – Immediate Past Chair, PRSA; Vice Chair, Stagwell

Join us for a candid, free-ranging discussion with the two leads of our national society to learn about the state of the agency, the three “Rs” of PRSA (Revenue, Retention and Recruitment), along with another important “R” – Relevance – and how PRSA is adapting for the future. Bring your questions for Matt and Heide! 

Matt Marcial, APR, has over 15 years of leadership experience in driving growth and innovation for trade and professional membership associations.

He has successfully grown key business areas including sales and marketing and provided strategic consulting to associations and nonprofits. He served as CEO of the National Association of College Auxiliary Services and held executive roles with The Institute of Internal Auditors, Meeting Professionals International (MPI), NAFA Fleet Management Association and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Since leading PRSA in March 2025, Matt has traveled the country meeting members and listening to their concerns, and earned his APR. His top priority has been redefining the value of PRSA membership in a climate of advancing technology and competition and strengthening the organization with an emphasis on membership growth.   

Heide Harrell, APR, is director of communications for Central Arkansas Water, a metropolitan water system serving 500,000 Arkansans in eight counties.

She has more than 20 years of communications and marketing experience, and her many PRSA roles include serving as a board director 2020-2022, secretary in 2023 and as senior counsel in 2024. She has contributed to committees and task forces that support PRSSA students and the PRSA international conference. Harrell has also been chair and director of the Southwest District and president of the Arkansas Chapter. In 2023, she was awarded the Crystal Award, the highest award presented by the chapter’s Past Presidents Council, recognizing contributions to the profession and PRSA. Before Central Arkansas Water, Harrell served in communications roles at the Private Wealth Management division at Stephens, at the oldest law firm west of the Mississippi, and at two top Arkansas advertising agencies. Her goal as chair is to sustain and grow PRSA with emphasis on the “3 R’s” of membership: revenue, retention and recruitment. 

Ray Day, APR, is vice chair of Stagwell, focused on communications, public relations, corporate affairs, reputation and serving as senior communications counsel for major clients around the world.

Before joining in 2020, Day was IBM’s chief communications officer and served 28 years with Ford where he was group vice president of communications and head of Ford’s European Public Affairs, living in Germany and the UK. Ray’s roots are in the East Central District and Detroit. He is a Wayne State University graduate who served as a reporter and editor in the Detroit area before joining Ford. He is a past chair of The Seminar, an annual global forum for senior communications leaders and executives, and a member of the Page Society, Institute for Public Relations and PRSA Foundation. As 2025 PRSA National Chair, his goal was to make PRSA the premier organization serving the PR profession by appealing to people across the spectrum of communications, from students to agency CEOs. He received the PRSA East Central District Platinum Award in 2025 for demonstrating outstanding professional service.

AI in PR: What’s Next and How to Prepare for It 

Amanda Carl-Pratt, Head of External Communications, Google DeepMind 

AI is, no doubt, the most talked-about topic in the communications and PR industry today. Yet do we all really understand the unique opportunity and risk AI presents? Join one of the leading AI minds in communications – from Google DeepMind – to hear where AI is today and implications for communicators, where AI is headed, which skills we need to be developing and honing, and how we can prepare for what’s to come –

including the reputation challenges and opportunities of today’s “tech lash.” 

Key takeaways:

  • Practical ways to integrate emerging tools in your team’s day-to-day, while still prioritizing human authenticity 
  • Skills you need in 2026 and beyond, including the core competencies every PR leader needs to sharpen to stay competitive and relevant in an AI-first landscape
  • Why human intuition, strategic narrative building and ethical oversight remain more critical to PR strategies today than ever

Amanda Carl-Pratt has more than 18 years of communications leadership experience at Google DeepMind and IBM, and five years of agency experience.

She is head of external communications at Google DeepMind, having built the company’s first-ever executive and policy comms functions. Amanda has led numerous award-winning teams, is a member of the Page Society, and frequently speaks at industry events, including PR Week, The Executive Communications Council, PRSA and PR Daily.  She co-authored PRSA’s AI Prompting 101: A ‘Start Here’ Guide for Professional Communicators released in November 2025. Amanda was recognized as a 2025 “Woman to Watch” by PRWeek and a “Top Woman in PR” by PR News, as well as a 2026 Ragan’s Top Woman in Communications.

The Communication Evolution: From Public Relations to Integrated Marcomms

Peter Van Dyke – CEO and Founding Partner, VVK PR + Creative  

As the communication landscape rapidly shifts, public relations professionals must evolve beyond the traditional PR function to think like integrated marketers. This workshop breaks down how to make this transition happen and introduces an interactive strategy to guide the process. This session provides actionable steps to help traditional PR practitioners build integrated, multi-channel strategies for their organizations or clients.

Key takeaways attendees will learn:

  • The value of growing/structuring your department or agency from traditional PR to integrated marcomms
  • How to build team infrastructure and processes to make the shift real
  • Mapping an interactive initiative to ensure a seamless transition 

Peter Van Dyke is the CEO and a founding partner of VVK PR + Creative, where he oversees business strategy and growth and remains actively engaged in the agency’s public relations services.

Under Peter’s leadership, VVK PR + Creative has grown to nearly 30 team members and expanded its reach from a strong Michigan base to a national footprint. This growth includes leading the acquisition of Stern Strategy Group’s public relations division, establishing VVK PR + Creative as a nationally recognized PR firm with a presence on the East Coast. The agency serves a diverse roster of clients ranging from local nonprofits to global corporations. A Wayne State University graduate, Peter is actively involved in the Detroit community, serving as chair of the Board for Wayne State University’s College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts, chair of the board for Detroit Public Theatre, and a member of the board of directors for the Wayne State University Foundation. He also serves on the executive committee of PRSA Counselors Academy and is chairing its 2027 national conference.   

Navigating a Polarized Public Arena: When to Speak Out and When to Keep Silent 

Karen Swim, APR – Founder, Words For Hire

Public trust in institutions is fractured, and the pressure on brands to weigh in, or stay out, has never been higher. Using a real-time contrast between two major brands that made opposite bets under identical political pressure, this session gives PR professionals a practical, research- backed framework for deciding when to speak, when to act quietly, and when silence is the right call. Drawing on current trust data, recent case studies, and crisis communications best practice, attendees will leave with a repeatable decision model they can apply immediately, whether they’re advising a Fortune 500 board, a client roster, or a solo practice.

Attendees will learn:

  • A three-question framework for deciding whether to engage on a divisive issue, so the decision is made on strategy rather than instinct or panic.
  • How to build an internal issue map and escalation process before a flashpoint hits, so the organization isn’t improvising its response under deadline pressure.
  • Why silence is never actually neutral, and how to tell the difference between strategic silence and simply freezing.

Karen Swim, APR, founder of Words For Hire and president of Solo PR Pro, a membership community for independent PR professionals and micro agencies, brings two decades of strategic communications and healthcare marketing leadership experience.

Karen has built her career on a simple belief: real communications strategy comes from understanding the whole business, not just the messaging. That perspective, built on trust earned at every level of an organization, is what she now brings to executive communications, crisis navigation, and the leaders and teams who rely on her to see the whole picture.

On the Record: Journalists Debate the Future of Media (and What PR Pros Must Know)

  • Mike Lee – Managing Editor, Crain’s Detroit Business
  • Phoebe Wall Howard – Contributing Columnist, The Detroit News and Creator, “Shifting Gears” Substack 
  • Katrease “Kat” Stafford – Global Race and Justice Editor, Reuters
  • David Welch – Detroit Bureau Chief, Bloomberg

Moderator: Dr. Alicia Nails – Director, Wayne State University’s Journalism Institute for Media Diversity

Traditional and emerging news media are evolving into an interdependent ecosystem where they both compete and cooperate, relying on each other to survive and expand their reach. At the same time, AI is reshaping media relations for journalists and public relations pros. And reporters and editors are stretched now more than ever. As a result, the competition to get the attention of journalists has intensified. How can public relations professionals stand out when pitching reporters story ideas moving forward? What is the future of media in the next five years? Our media panel will offer important takeaways and more. 

Michael Lee has served in a variety of roles with Crain’s since 1999 in addition to his current position as managing editor, also spending eight years as an editor on the national business desk of The Associated Press.

Katrease “Kat” Stafford leads coverage of race, identity and social justice across the world for Reuters.

She also was a national investigative race writer and global investigations correspondent for the Associated Press. Kat has received the National Press Club Journalism Institute’s 2023 Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism and the 2024 Spirit of Diversity Award from Wayne State University’s Journalism Institute for Media Diversity. Kat was a 2022 University of Michigan Knight-Wallace fellow, where she published a five-part investigative multimedia series examining how health inequities have impacted generations of Black Americans. She is a mentor and advocate for newsroom diversity, supporting the development of emerging journalists and advancing efforts to build more inclusive newsrooms and coverage. Kat is a board member of the National Association of Black Journalists’ Investigative Task Force and the University of Southern California’s Center for Health Journalism’s advisory board.

Phoebe Wall Howard writes about business, U.S./Canadian politics and competitive sailing.

She is a contributing car culture columnist at The Detroit News and a guest columnist for The Windsor Star. Her “Shifting Gears” Substack column was honored in 2026 by the Society of Professional Journalists Detroit for automotive coverage, breaking news, enterprise and watchdog reporting. Experienced in radio, TV, print and digital media, Phoebe also worked at the Detroit Free Press covering the auto industry, consumer trends and fraud. She provides industry analysis for the BBC, CBC, NPR, ABC News, PBS NewsHour and Fox Business.

David Welch is Detroit bureau chief for Bloomberg, where he writes and edits stories about the auto industry and manages Bloomberg’s Detroit staff. 

Alicia Nails is director of Wayne State University’s Journalism Institute for Media Diversity that trains and advocates for outsider voices in the media.

A professor of teaching, Alicia has taught a variety of journalism courses at WSU, including Reporting on Race, Gender and Culture. She is an Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist with more than 40 years of experience in television, radio and print/electronic media. She was named the Journalism Educator of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) at its 2018 national convention in Detroit. This year, the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Crisis Communication: Faster with AI, Better with Humans

Bill Nowling, Professor of Practice & Director, College of Communication Arts & Sciences, Michigan State University; Rian English Barnhill, Vice President of Government and Community Affairs, Olympia Development 

Crisis communication remains a fundamentally human endeavor—even as generative AI reshapes how PR practitioners monitor issues, analyze stakeholders, and draft responses. AI can simulate the language of empathy and cultural awareness, but it cannot listen, share a community’s lived experience, or accept accountability for an organization’s actions. Bill will examine where AI is taking the profession and how it can strengthen crisis work; Rian will draw on her career experience to show why relationships, local knowledge, and credible action remain decisive. Together, they’ll challenge practitioners to use AI’s many hands to create more time for the judgment and human connection only people can provide when navigating crises.

Key takewaways:

  • Understand where AI is taking the profession. 
  • Turn efficiency into human capacity. 
  • Keep trust and accountability human. 

Bill Nowling brings a rare dual perspective to risk and crisis communication: more than 25 years as a public relations and strategic communication executive, paired with current academic work on how organizations communicate when trust is broken, reputation is damaged, and legitimacy is in question.

Now a strategic communication professor at Michigan State University, Bill studies how organizations use signals, sensemaking, and public commitments to respond during periods of high uncertainty and public scrutiny. His work connects the realities of executive communication practice with the rigor of communication research, giving PR professionals a practical, research-grounded view of what makes crisis responses credible. 

Rian English Barnhill is a real estate development executive committed to building meaningful relationships, generating innovative solutions, and increasing access to opportunity for Michiganders.

As vice president of government and community affairs for Olympia Development, she is responsible for creating strategies to increase stakeholder buy-in to ensure The District Detroit is an inclusive and equitable development project.  Additionally, she works to secure public financing at the city, state and federal levels for transformational development projects. Most notably, Rian secured $800 million in incentives for 10 projects in The District, including a mix of residential, office, hotels, restaurants and retail. Rian is deeply involved in the Detroit community, serving on boards of the Detroit Public Schools Foundation, TechTown and Charles H. Wright Museum for African American History. She earned her MBA from the Yale School of Management and is a 2023 Crain’s 40 Under 40 recipient. 

Managing the Hustle: Practical Strategies for Thriving in a Rapidly Changing Profession 

Adria Moses – Writer; Trauma-Informed Facilitator; Founder, The School of Radical Healing 

Communications professionals are navigating unprecedented change. From AI and evolving skill sets to increasing workloads and constant change, many professionals are asking the same question — How do I continue to grow without burning out? This interactive workshop will provide practical tools for managing stress, adapting to change and building sustainable career resilience. Through a short guided reflection, coaching exercise and audience participation, attendees will leave with actionable strategies they can immediately apply to their professional and personal lives.

Participants will:

  • Recognize common stressors affecting today’s communications professionals.
  • Learn practical techniques for navigating change and uncertainty.
  • Develop a personalized resilience plan for continued career growth.
  • Leave with tools to better manage energy, mindset and professional transitions.

Adria Moses is a writer, trauma-informed facilitator, and the founder of The School of Radical Healing, where she has spent six years teaching nervous-system-informed approaches to wellbeing, resilience and sustainable work.

Her facilitation blends somatic practice, trauma-informed frameworks, and practical tools people can use the same day. She is the author of the debut collection Towards What Hurt. Adria works with individuals and organizations navigating change, burnout and the question of how to keep growing without running themselves into the ground.