What you don’t know can hurt you. But what you don’t know you don’t know can be even worse. It’s a cliché, but a useful one. And it has proven itself true time after time as I make every conceivable and inconceivable mistake in my PR efforts. It’s the same lesson, over and over again, in different flavors: don’t make assumptions.

In the hopes of giving the PR professionals out there some insight into the minds of their clients, I’d like to share with you some of the key assumptions that only hindsight has taught me not to make.

“A …

In our latest edition of ‘Meet the Board Mondays,’ a series to help you get to know your 2019 Board of Directors, we bring you PRSA-SF Bay Area Director of APR, Mitchell Friedman, EdD, APR. In his day job, he's a Visiting Associate Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, an Adjunct Professor at USF and a consultant, trainer, and coach on individual and organizational issues.

Give us a P-R-S-A!

P: PERSON  

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a native New Yorker, which I proudly proclaim even after living in the San Francisco Bay Area …

In our latest edition of ‘Meet the Board Mondays,’ a series to help you get to know your 2019 Board of Directors, we bring you PRSA-SF Bay Area Director of Student Affairs, Mike Sanchez. In his day job, he's an Account Executive at Edelman.

Give us a P-R-S-A!

Path to APR: Q&A with Beverly Butler

Tell us about yourself and your professional life — Wells Fargo, Firemans Fund, etc. 

My career has been a bit unconventional.

I started out in television news in Michigan (writer, producer, reporter) straight out of college (with my theatre degree in hand!). Next I was executive producer at a video/film production company, and from there I went to corporate America. I headed up marketing communications for Brooks Shoes and Apparel (a Division of Wolverine Worldwide best known for Hush Puppies), and moved to Boston to be VP of Marketing Rockport Shoe Company prior …

In our latest edition of ‘Meet the Board Mondays,’ a series to help you get to know your 2019 Board of Directors, we bring you PRSA-SF Bay Area Director of Social/Events, Ellen Kiehl. In her day job, she's Communications Lead at Affirm.

Give us a P-R-S-A!

P: PERSON  

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’ve been involved with PRSA for a number of years and joined the board last June. A St. Louis native, I moved to San Francisco nearly five years ago after graduating from Texas Christian University where I studied strategic communications and minored …

As part of PRSA’s mission to advance the PR profession and the professional, we bring you our next Meet the Media Q+A profile. In this Q+A, we speak with Marisa Kendall, Housing Reporter at The Mercury News to learn more about the work she does on a daily basis and to learn more about her hobbies and interests.

How did you end up in journalism?

In our latest edition of ‘Meet the Board Mondays,’ a series to help you get to know your 2019 Board of Directors, we bring you PRSA-SF Bay Area Director of Communications, Brooks Wallace. In her day job, she's West Coast Lead at Hollywood Agency.

P: PERSON  

Tell us a little about yourself.

Hi, I’m Brooks Wallace, a new board member this year. A Boston native, I moved to SF two years ago to build out our agency’s west coast office and to enjoy a California lifestyle! I should explain that despite our agency's name, we don't …

Path to APR: Q&A with Catherine Brozena

To celebrate APR Month this April, we're bringing you testimonials from APRs themselves. Meet Catherine Brozena, Owner and Creative Director of ColorThisWorld Communications, who shared her path to earning an APR with us. 

Why you decided to seek accreditation?

While I spent many years working in a public relations and communications capacity, much of my understanding of these fields has been gained through experiential learning. I did not come into this work with a formal education in public relations, communications, journalism, or related fields. Until recently, I created communications plans and …

In our latest edition of ‘Meet the Board Mondays’, a series to help you get to know your 2019 Board of Directors, we bring you PRSA-SF Bay Area Director of Programs, Cherise Adkins. In her day job, she's a Media Supervisor at Edelman.

P: PERSON 

Tell us a little about yourself.

I consider myself bi-coastal. I was born and raised in San Jose, California, but have spent most of my adult life on the East Coast, including Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia – so my personality is a mix of West Coast charm and East Coast edge! Public relations …

March is Women’s History Month and to celebrate, the PRSA San Francisco Bay Area chapter this year recognizes a local woman in PR who has more than 20 years of experience in public relations, internal communications, marketing, and journalism, has worked for two of the biggest technology companies in the world - Google and Facebook, has been a PRSA member since 2004, and has previously served as PRSA San Francisco Bay Area Chapter President. We are proud to announce that the 2019 PRSA San Francisco Bay Area Chapter PR Woman of the Year award goes to Netta Conyers-Haynes, Head of …