AI and PR: Sparking Curiosity, Removing Fear
Wednesday, May 29, 2024 at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications, located at the NH Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, 5 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester, NH
Hosted by:
Nackey S. Loeb School, PRSA Yankee Chapter and PRSA Boston Chapter
Schedule of Events:
8 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. Registration and Networking Breakfast
8:45 a.m. – 9 a.m. Opening Remarks & Introductions
Laura Simoes, Executive Director, Nackey Loeb School, Yankee Chapter PRSA
Kelly McFalls, Boston Chapter PRSA President
9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA: Taking Your AI Strategies To The Next Level, Part I
9:50 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Coffee Break
10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. Rebecca Emery, APR: Taking Your AI Strategies To The Next Level, Part II
10:50 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. AI and Ethics Panel Discussion moderated by consultant Todd Van Hoosear with Rebecca Emery, Mark McLennan and Jim Schachter, NH Public Radio
11:50 – Noon: Closing Remarks and Announcement of Prizewinners
Robin Schell, APR, Fellow PRSA, Yankee Chapter PRSA President
THANK YOU TO OUR PROGRAM SPONSORS!
Biographies Of Today’s Speakers
Rebecca Emery, APR is founder of Seacoast AI and a marketing communications executive with more than 25 years of experience working for corporations and agencies in B2B and B2C markets, including telecommunications hardware, development software, SaaS, internet security, mobile monitoring software, K-12 education, tourism, and aviation. She successfully led communications efforts for multi-million-dollar acquisitions and helped launch new products and startup companies, and is also a versatile hands-on marketer. She founded Seacoast AI to help teams, agencies, and companies harness the potential of AI through expert training, consulting, and workflow automation development. Rebecca earned an M.B.A. from Webster University and is accredited in public relations. She is a member of the Maine Public Relations Council Board of Directors and previously served on the Board of the Florida Public Relations Association and the MIT Enterprise Forum of South Florida.
Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA is General Manager (Boston office) of C+C, a communications agency that helps good causes and purpose-driven brands. He also teaches PR ethics at Boston University and was the 2016 National Chair of PRSA. In 2023 he co-led the development of the PR Council’s Ethics Guidelines on Generative AI. His book, “Ethical Voices – Practicing Public Relations with Integrity” was released by Business Expert Press in 2022 and for a time was the #1 PR book on Amazon. It includes more than 100 real-world ethics incidents with advice from global industry leaders at companies including Starbucks, Lenovo, the TSA, the Federal Reserve, Harvard Business School, IBM, CDC, and the world’s largest public relations agencies.
Jim Schachter, CEO and President, NH Public Radio, leads a team of more than 65 staff in advancing NHPR’s public service mission. Jim joined NHPR in October of 2019, after decades as a journalist and newsroom executive with some of the nation’s leading media organizations, including WNYC public radio, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, where he was on the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1992 civic uprising. Jim and his wife Pam, a special educator, live in Concord and have four adult children.
Todd Van Hoosear is a consultant and educator and a 25-year veteran communicator with extensive industry experience both in public relations firms and in marketing roles at organizations. His award-winning work has included brand management, media and analyst relations, content marketing and executive visibility programs. In addition to serving in senior positions on the client and agency side (most recently as Senior Vice President of Marketing Communications for the Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce), Todd has created, grown and sold his own business. He has served in leadership and volunteer roles in various industry organizations, including the Public Relations Society of America, the PR Club and the Social Media Club. A Society for New Communications Research Fellow, Todd has studied the impact that new media and social networks have had on organization behavior and structure. He serves as the Faculty Internship Coordinator for Public Relations undergraduate and graduate programs. Todd earned his Master’s Degree in Communication from Michigan State University.