Yankee Chapter Offers Walk & Talk Events Across New Hampshire

Join us for a casual conversation, fresh air and networking with fellow communications professionals. We’ll be hosting Walk & Talk meet-ups in Meredith Bay, Manchester and Durham.

Please register by Wednesday, August 12.

Meredith, NH

Whether you’re looking to network, decompress from your desk for an hour, or just chat about what’s happening in our industry, we’d love to have you join us for a morning of casual conversation and fresh air.

• Date: Thursday, August 20, 2026
• Time: 8 a.m.
• Location: Laverack Nature Trail, Meredith, NH
• For questions or more information, contact: Clark Dumont, APR, Fellow PRSA at 603/809-1467 or clarkdumont.apr@gmail.com

Laverack Nature Trail is located on beautiful Meredith Bay. It is an idyllic 1.2 mile round-trip stroll through wetlands and forest canopy — an informal, low-key opportunity to get outside, stretch our legs and talk shop. There’s no set agenda or case study this time; instead, we’ll simply be discussing current PR topics and trends as we walk the nature trail together. It’s a great chance to swap ideas, catch up with colleagues and meet new faces in a relaxed, no-pressure setting. Wear casual clothes and comfortable walking shoes!

Manchester, NH

Please join us on Thursday, August 20, for a morning of casual conversation, fresh air and networking with fellow communications professionals.

• Date: Thursday, August 20, 2026
• Time: 8:30 a.m.
• Location: Livingston Park, Manchester NH
• For questions or more information, contact: Kristen Lestock, Cookson, at 603-782-8192 or kristen@cookson.agency

This is an informal, low-key opportunity to get outside, stretch our legs and talk shop. There’s no set agenda or case study this time; instead, we’ll simply be discussing current PR topics and trends as we walk the park’s trails together. It’s a great chance to swap ideas, catch up with colleagues and meet new people in a relaxed, no-pressure setting. Wear casual clothes and comfortable walking shoes! We look forward to seeing you on the trail.

Durham, NH

Please join us for an after-lunch walk through College Woods, a PR Ethics discussion and a Health Sciences Simulation Center Tour! This event combines thoughtful conversation, networking and a behind-the-scenes look at one of the state’s premier healthcare education facilities.

We’ll begin with an interactive professional development experience in UNH’s beautiful College Woods. Guided by a facilitator, participants will discuss a real-world public relations ethics case study that will be shared in advance. As we walk the trails together, we’ll exchange perspectives, explore ethical decision-making and consider practical applications to today’s communications challenges — all in an informal setting that encourages meaningful conversation and connection. Wear casual clothes and comfortable walking shoes!

Following the walk, we’ll head to UNH’s Health Sciences Simulation Center for a tour of one of New Hampshire’s most advanced healthcare training facilities. You’ll experience realistic patient care environments, sophisticated simulation technology and lifelike patient simulators that prepare future healthcare professionals to practice clinical skills, teamwork and critical decision-making before caring for real patients.

Whether you’re looking to sharpen your ethical decision-making, connect with fellow communications professionals or experience one of UNH’s most innovative learning environments, this event offers a unique combination of professional development and discovery.

• Date: Friday, August 21, 2026
• Time: 1–3:30 p.m.
• Location: University of New Hampshire College Woods and Health Sciences Simulation Center, Durham
• For questions or more information, contact: Tom Bebbington, University of NH, 603/498-5881 or tpbebbington@mac.com.

PRSA Greater Worcester & PRSA Boston Chapter Present A Night Out at the WooSox

Join PRSA Greater Worcester and PRSA Boston Chapter for a night out at Polar Park as we take in a WooSox game, share a meal from Fresh Off the Grill, and connect with fellow PR and communications professionals who are navigating the same challenges you are.

Fewer reporters. Tighter newsrooms. A 24-hour news cycle that never stops. Sound familiar? Come swap notes, share strategies, and exhale for a few innings.

• Tuesday, August 25, 2026
• First pitch 6:05 PM vs. Scranton (Gates open at 5:30 p.m; Short welcome and buffet dinner begin at 5:45 p.m.)
• Members $50  ·  Member guests $50  ·  PRSSA Members $30 · Non-members $60
• Polar Park, Worcester, MA — Shaw’s Visitors Bullpen Terrace

REGISTER HERE

Lunch and Learn

• Wednesday, June 3, 2026
• 12-1 p.m. ET
• Virtual

Marlana Trombley, operator and growth specialist at Prosper Peak, will teach participants five powerful psychological principles that influence audience behavior, media engagement, and brand perception in this interactive, one-hour virtual lunch and learn.

Attendees will leave with knowledge on how to apply these concepts strategically across earned media, thought leadership, influencer partnerships, and crisis communications.

Register

New Hampshire Hospital Association and Yankee PRSA Forum

Join the New Hampshire Hospital Association and Yankee Chapter PRSA for two dynamic panels on the topics of AI Adoption and Building Trust.

Schedule:

• 10:30 – 11:15 a.m.: “Empowering AI Adoption: How Communications Teams Are Leading the Way,” featuring Karen Ingraham, Sr. Director of Strategy, Planning & Communications, St. Paul’s School, and Brianna Allard, Director of Communications, Southern New Hampshire University
• 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: “Building and Rebuilding Trust,” featuring Jean Hitchcock, Sr. Health Care Advisor, Yes&
• 12:15 – 1 p.m. – Lunch

Details:

• Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2026
• Time: 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Location: New Hampshire Hospital Association, 125 Airport Road, Concord, NH 03301
• Cost: $25 for PRSA Members

REGISTER HERE

Meet the Panelists

Empowering AI Adoption: How Communications Teams Are Leading the Way

Karen Ingraham
Senior Director of Strategy, Planning and Communications
St. Paul’s School

Karen joined St. Paul’s School in 2021 and is now the Senior Director of Strategy, Planning and Communications. Prior to her employment with St Paul’s School, Karen worked at Phillips Exeter Academy for 13 years, where her responsibilities included oversight of a broad range of Exeter’s strategic communications and digital platforms. She also served as editor of the school’s quarterly alumni magazine. Before working in independent schools, Ingraham dedicated part of her career to nonprofit communications, including freelance writing and serving as editor for AMC Outdoors, the magazine of the Appalachian Mountain Club. She also taught a first-year writing course at the University of New Hampshire while working on her MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing. Her thesis, “Pulp,” is a collection of essays exploring her relationship to the North Country woods where she grew up.

Topic: Use of AI, particularly around GEO/SEO work. Will also hit on AI as tools in appropriate use cases and not letting these emerging technologies “do the thinking for us.” It’s the line between productivity and using AI to do what humans cannot easily do and the need to retain critical thinking, analysis, and writing that is human generated.

Brianna Allard
Director of Communications
Southern New Hampshire University

Brianna is a strategic, mission-driven marketing and communications leader with 20+ years of experience spanning nonprofit, higher education, and corporate environments. She brings deep expertise in branding, multi-channel marketing, social media, content development, creative direction, agency management, and strategic communications, with a proven ability to translate complex initiatives into compelling narratives that engage diverse stakeholders and drive measurable results.

Prior to joining SNHU, where she has advanced from a Channel Marketing Manager to Assistant Director, Segment Marketing, to her current position as Director, Communications, Brianna was a Digital Marketing Manager for Planet Fitness World Headquarters.

Topic: GPTs (Generative Pre-trained Transformers), a type of large language model that is used in generative AI chatbots), and their use in the development of messaging, the testing of messaging, and how it will resonate/be perceived

Building and Rebuilding Trust

Jean Hitchcock
Senior Health Care Advisor
Yes&

Jean is a visionary marketing and communications leader who blends considerable consulting and corporate experience in health care. She has strong relationships in — and deep knowledge of — all aspects of the healthcare and hospital industry. Jean advocates bringing the patient’s voice into internal communications and marketing discussions. Jean managed, survived, and succeeded through mergers and acquisitions, system rebranding, meaningful use, crises, too many to mention, and has a Ph.D. in working with physicians. Jean served on the SHSMD, MASHMD, and Michigan PRSA Boards. An alumna of MedStar Health, Scripps Health, OhioHealth, and Corewell Health (Spectrum Health), Jean is currently an advisory board member to Doctivity Health and Digital Health Strategies, and a senior advisor to Yes& a marketing and communications agency in Alexandria, VA.

Topic: Building and Rebuilding Trust

• Trust is gained in moments and lost even faster. This session will reveal how to build and sustain trust, internally and externally, so you can weather any reputational hit from any direction.
• A comprehensive communications strategy that includes all constituents is essential.
• With more than 25 years of experience in health care marketing and communications, Hitchcock will share best practices and lessons learned. In health care, it is not a matter of if, but of when the next crisis will hit an organization.