Our Blog

For our latest Meet the Board, let us introduce you to Katina (Tinka) Bush, APR our Director of Awards.

Tell us about yourself and your current role.

I have been quite fortunate in this industry. With stints both in-house and with agencies, covering brands big and small across several industries, I’ve had no shortage of experiences in various verticals of public relations. Over the last several years, I pivoted to strategic and leadership positions within nonprofit and higher education institutions. I’ve also spent significant time consulting with small, women-owned businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area implementing brand communications strategies and …

PRSA-SF is taking you deeper inside our chapter awards program, to learn more about each winner – what makes them tick, how their winning entry came about, how much work went into it, and more. 

We are excited to introduce you to the 2020 Foggies' Professional of the Year winner, Curtis Sparrer. 

Tell us more about yourself.

Curtis Sparrer is a principal and co-founder of Bospar PR.

His client work spans B2B, B2C, and every permutation in between. He has delivered stellar results for such clients as PayPal, Unisys, Tetris, and the alien hunters of the SETI Institute.

Business …

We are excited to introduce John McCartney, Director-At-Large for our second installment of “Meet the Board.” John has been a valuable member of PRSA-SF and served on the board in various roles over the past several years.

Tell us about yourself and your current role.

I'm going into my sixth and final year on the PRSA-SF board, and this year will serve as Director at Large, following other roles on the board, including Chapter President in 2019. In 2020, I moved to Los Angeles and started my first business, Jmac PR, a consultancy that works primarily with tech …

PRSA-SF continues our Q&A's with another exceptional 2020 Foggies winner. Join us as we go deeper inside our chapter awards program to learn more about each winner – what makes them tick, how their winning entry came about, how much work went into it, and more. 

We are excited to introduce you to the 2020 Foggies' Midsize Agency of the Year winner, Highwire PR. We went in-depth with Kathleen Gratehouse, Principal at Highwire PR, to learn more about their win. 

Tell us more about yourself

I am one of the principals at Highwire working on both enterprise and consumer …

Written by Curie Sevilla, APR, PRSA-SF Director of Mentorship, Business Strategist, Stanford Conferences

It's pure luck or incredible timing.

When I thought the pandemic was a death knell to our mentorship program, it turned out to be a fantastic opportunity instead.  Perhaps, it's pure luck AND incredible timing. Let me start from the beginning.

I was involved in mentoring First-Generation/Low-Income, or FLI, students at Stanford University for the last few years.  Learning from these talented students has always been the high point of my mentoring experience.

When I pursued my APR, PRSA mentors such as Michelle Horaney, Mitchell Friedman, and David Vossbrink guided …

Over the coming months, we are going to be introducing you to our 2021 Board of Directors. We are excited to learn more about them and share their experience and expertise with you. Please meet our Director of Ethics, Mitchell Friedman, Ed. D., APR.

Tell us about yourself and your current role.

I teach full-time for the Naval Postgraduate School, located in Monterey, Calif. My students are primarily in the US Navy, but other branches of the US military are represented as well. My classes cover management communication, organizational behavior, and leadership. I also advise a lot of students …

As 2021 kicks off, we are continuing to highlight our winners of PRSA-SF’s annual Foggies Awards. We are taking you deeper inside our chapter awards program, to learn more about each winner – what makes them tick, how their winning entry came about, how much work went into it, and more. 

Please meet the 2020 Foggies' Campaign of the Year winner, Ketchum, and their partner, the California Milk Advisory Board. Learn more about how they created the “Farm To You Virtual Field Trip.” 

Tell us more about yourself.

Ketchum is a global marketing communications consultancy, structured by industry …

A new year is upon us, bringing with it new opportunities, new challenges and a new list of accomplishments for our Chapter. While many of us want to wash away 2020, let’s not forget that it showed us how strong and resilient we are. 2020 taught us to embrace our mental and physical health, the value of gratitude, the importance of personal accountability and the power of relationships. My goals for the new year are to ensure you know your membership is valued, and continue to be a resource to our members. 

I’m humbled and honored to be your next …

The Public Relations Society of America San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (PRSA-SF), one of the five founding PRSA Chapters, has announced its 2021 Board of Directors. The latest board members are leaders in their fields and comprise a distinguished group of directors committed to supporting the public relations industry during the many new challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond. Committed to advocacy, mentorship, diversity and inclusion they are ready to give back to the industry in their volunteer roles. 

The 2021 directors bring with them years of experience and multiple members have accreditation in public relations. They …

It is indisputable that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of nearly every job in the country. Public relations is no exception to this rule. In fact, the field of public relations has had to be incredibly adaptable in a world of crisis and constant breaking news. This is particularly noticed among our PR colleagues who navigate the realm of media relations. Those colleagues who previously had to think creatively to grab the attention of always-busy and on-the-go reporters now must be even more dynamic and innovative to stand out to reporters whose inboxes are overflowing. What is more, …