PR Masters Series

From our host, Art Stevens...“I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with Fay Shapiro and CommPRO these past four years and hosting the PR Masters Podcast Series.  We’ve had the unique opportunity to interview close to eighty leaders and legends in the PR industry and share their views on the state of the PR profession. Not to be outdone, the new season is starting off with a bang.  We’re privileged to start it off with Jen Prosek whose firm Prosek Partners has grown dramatically over the past ten years.

--Art Stevens

Managing Partner

The Stevens Group

Liz Kaplow is a visionary entrepreneur, a trusted advisor to the C-suite, and a champion for communications practitioners across every industry.  

The Stevens Group is pleased to host this podcast, whose mission is to bring to PR, digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession.  Today’s special guest is Liz Kaplow, Founder and CEO of Kaplow Communications.

Patrick Ford has earned recognition as a public relations leader, innovator and passionate advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion. In 2016, IPR chose Pat as the 19th recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Medal, its highest award, which “honors PR professionals who have made major contributions to the practice of public relations…. while living the values of integrity, humility, commitment and stewardship.” In 2014, he received the Plank Center’s Milestones in Mentoring Legacy Award, which “recognizes those who have touched the lives of countless public relations professionals over the course of their exceptional careers.”

The Stevens Group is pleased to host this podcast, whose mission is to bring to PR, digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession.  Today’s special guest is Patrick Ford, Professional in Residence at University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications

Valerie Di Maria has earned recognition as a communications and marketing leader and executive coach in both the corporate and agency worlds.

As an advocate for the public relations profession, she was influential in starting the PR Council, the industry’s trade association, and was a member of its Client Advisory Board.  She is a member and former Trustee of the Page Society, the preeminent organization for CCOs, and co-led the task force that produced Page’s “The Authentic Enterprise,” a definitive report on the evolving role of communications and its strategic importance to CEOs and reputation.

The Stevens Group is pleased to host this podcast, whose mission is to bring to PR, digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession.  Today’s special guest is Valerie Di Maria, Principal, the10company.

Larry Parnell has played as much of a role as to how public relations is being taught on both the undergraduate and graduate levels in colleges and universities as anyone in the world of academia. 

The Stevens Group is pleased to host this podcast, whose mission is to bring to PR, digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession.  Today’s special guest is Larry Parnell, Associate Professor & Program Director, Masters in Strategic Public Relations, The George Washington University.

The Stevens Group is pleased to host this podcast, whose mission is to bring to PR, digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession.  Today’s special guest is Rosanna Fiske.

Michael Steele is a game changer.  His views on where our country is headed can be heard on various TV talk shows, including Meet the Press, Face the Nation  and others.  His candid observations on the state of our nation can now be heard on interview number 71 of the PR Masters Podcast series.   

Michael Steele is a former Lt. Governor of Maryland and chairman of the Republican national Committee.  He has been a visible force in helping to persuade the nation that some of our better days are behind us and that there’s work to be done in restoring traditional American values.  

Art Stevens, managing partner of The Stevens Group conducted the interview, as usual, and helped bring out Michael’s candor, transparency and honesty. You must see this Zoom presentation.  You’ll learn things about our country – and about Michael Steele – that you never knew.

About the PodcastThe Stevens Group has been presenting the PR Masters Series Podcast for more than two years now. This series is part of the ongoing partnership between The Stevens Group and CommPRO to bring to PR, digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession. Today’s special guest is Stewart Hall, CEO & Managing Partner of Public Policy Holding Company Inc.

About Our GuestStewart Hall is CEO & Managing Partner of Public Policy Holding Company Inc., which he co-founded in 2014, and co-founder and Chairman of Crossroads Strategies, LLC (CRS).

Stewart began his career as Legislative Director to Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) from 1992-1996. During this time, Stewart acquired a substantial background in defense policy, appropriations, financial services, and Senate procedure. In 1999, he co-founded Federalist Group, LLC as his first private sector venture.

Under his guidance as CEO, Federalist Group was ultimately acquired by Ogilvy Public Relations, a WPP company, in 2005 and proceeded to double in size during the four years after the transaction under his continued leadership.

In 2010, Stewart co-founded CRS and in 2014, CRS was merged to form PPHC – the first full-service organization dedicated to synthesizing all disciplines of the public policy economy in a multi-brand, horizontally integrated company.

As Managing Partner of PPHC, Stewart has overseen an organization that has achieved a 30% plus compound annual growth rate each year through merger, acquisition, and organic growth and has grown to over 200 employees nationwide.

Stewart is a graduate of the University of Alabama and earned an MA and Ph.D. in Government from the University of Virginia.

The Stevens Group has been presenting the PR Masters Series Podcast for more than two years now.  This series is part of the ongoing partnership between The Stevens Group and CommPRO to bring to PR, digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession.  Today’s special guest is Eric Mower, Chairman, & Chief Executive Officer, Mower.

Eric Mower has guided the privately-held Mower (formerly Eric Mower + Associates) over the past 54 years, growing it from a single location with a staff of four to one of the largest independent, digitally integrated, full-service marketing, advertising and public relations firms in the United States. Mower functions from ten US cities: Albany (New York), Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York City, Rochester (New York) and Syracuse.

Earlier this year Mower was named Midsize Agency of the Year for B2B by the Association of National Advertisers.

In the last decade, Ad Age magazine twice-named the agency one of the Top-10 “Best Places to Work.”

In addition to serving as Mower’s chairman and CEO, Eric served the Business Council of New York State as co-chair of the board for two years followed by two years as chair of the board. He and his firm joined the Business Council in 1986.

Eric is chair emeritus of the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council (ASRC) and a past director and secretary/treasurer of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), and he continues to serve in his 30th year as chair of the 4A’s Government Relations Committee.

0ther board leadership positions include seven-years as president of the International Network of Advertising Agencies (IN); director of the International Council of Better Business Bureaus; director of the American Advertising Federation; eight years as the Founding Chair of the federal Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission.

In addition to being inducted into the Association of National Advertisers’ B2B Hall of Fame in 2019, Eric has been recognized by Ernst & Young as a Master Entrepreneur of the Year, and by City & State Reports, which bestowed on him the Lifetime Achievement Award and later named him to its “Responsible 100” list. In 2022 City & State Reports designated Mower as number 14 on “The 2022 Political PR Power 50 in New York.” Also in 2022, 100 Black Men of New York honored him with its J. Bruce Llewellyn Excellence in Philanthropy Award.

Over many years Eric provided leadership to, and was recognized by, numerous community philanthropic and civic organizations in Upstate New York, including the SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse, United Way, Community Foundation of CNY, Centerstate CEO, Syracuse Stage, Everson Museum, Boy Scouts, Junior Achievement, the Syracuse and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and others.

Eric earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences in 1966 and a master’s degree in public relations from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1968. And he serves as a Life Trustee of Syracuse University and sits on several of its committees (Academic Affairs, Advancement and External Affairs, Athletics, and Facilities). He is also a member of the university’s Subcommittee for Marketing and Communications. Mower joined SU’s board in 1990 and served as Vice Chair from 1997-2001. In 2018 he received the Dritz Life Trustee of the Year Award for outstanding Board service.  His Syracuse University service includes ongoing membership on the Newhouse Advisory Council and he is a former member of the Whitman School of Business Advisory Council. Mower is a 2015 recipient of the George Arents Award, the University’s highest alumni honor, and a 2012 co-recipient with his wife, S.U. trustee Judith C. Mower, of the University’s Orange Circle Award.  He also received the University’s Outstanding Alumni Award in 1995.

The Stevens Group has been presenting the PR Masters Series Podcast for more than two years now.  This series is part of the ongoing partnership between The Stevens Group and CommPRO to bring to PR, digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession.  Today’s special guest is Helen C.  Shelton, Global Chief Diversity Officer at Finn Partners.

Helen C. Shelton is the Global Chief Diversity Officer at Finn Partners. She created the firm’s award-winning Actions Speak Louder program in service to its 1,300 employees and strategic partners around the world to advance DEI at Finn Partners and for its clients across multiple business sectors. At FINN, Helen leads a 100-person DEI Committee, managing four strategic pillars: Inclusion and Employee Engagement; Volunteerism and Civic Engagement; Recruitment and Higher Education; and Thought Leadership. In addition, Helen is head of multicultural marketing and is responsible for consumer engaging programs for a variety of sectors, with a particular expertise in health, technology and consumer goods. 

Helen is a passionate and dedicated DEI strategist, serving as a trusted point of counsel for corporations and brands facing DEI challenges and crises both internally and externally. She works tirelessly in the industry not only to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in both the corporate and non-profit sectors, but also to advance important causes, ranging from health and education disparities, domestic violence, voter education and access to the arts and culture for underserved communities. , disparate unemployment, health disparities and disease awareness initiatives. 

Named one of the 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business by The Network Journal magazine, Helen is a 2021 inductee into the PR Week Hall of Femme, Trustee of the PRSA Foundation and a Director of the New York Urban League.  She is a member of the social service women’s organization, The Links, and a Charter Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Helen is a graduate of Dartmouth College and holds an M.S. degree from Boston University. She is featured in the seminal book, Diverse Voices and regularly writes about DEI in industry trades, most recently PR News and Triple Pundit.

Helen is a native New Yorker, and in her spare time enjoys Italian cinema, museums, reading and cooking.