Lamiya Cotton and Meseret “Mercy” Mehzun wrap up this season by sharing the very beginning of their careers. From screenagers to AI’s influence in their work, Lamiya and Mercy talk about a new generation of PR pros and how the pandemic caused a major content evolution. 

Links: 

What Now? With Trevor Noah: https://www.youtube.com/@WhatNowPodcast 

Baby, This is Keke Palmer: https://www.youtube.com/@BabyThisisKekePalmer 

Code Switch: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch 

Bospar blog: https://bospar.com/insights/blog/ 

Damaryan Benton: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damaryanbenton/  

Emily the Recruiter: https://emilydurham.org/ 

Connect with Lamiya: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lamiyacotton/ 

Connect with Mercy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meseretdmehzun/ 

Erin McCabe leads communications at cloud platform OpenText. We talk acquisitions, international communications, values and how a comms team can have a common AI understanding. Plus, we hear how her appreciation of storytelling leads to a better understanding of everything from SaaS to murder mysteries. 

Links: 

Cold Blooded: Mystery in Alaska true crime podcast: https://abc.com/news/c913cd14-fac1-471b-aa41-7970b25eda18/category/1138628

The 65 podcast:  https://www.sixfivemedia.com/podcast

Arthur W. Page Society: https://page.org/

AI-generated art seen in the OpenText lobby: https://www.instagram.com/p/DC6834CNsZa/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== 

Gerry Corbett is a PR thought leader and former PRSA chair and CEO. We follow his five-decade career from the beginning, when he reeked of garlic and spent his days in wind tunnels, to a fruitful corporate comms stretch working with 17 CEOs. He led PR for large farm equipment, heavy industry, real estate and aerospace companies. In this episode, we hear why it's difficult for older PR pros to find work, how to nurture your creative side and why Congress doesn’t like expensive hammers.

Links: 

The Borowitz Report podcast: https://www.borowitzreport.com/podcast

Scott Monty podcast: https://scottmonty.com/podcast 

PRSA Seasoned Professionals & other affinity groups: https://www.prsa.org/about/diversity-equity-inclusion#affinity 

Gerry’s PR Job Coach blog: https://prjobcoach.blogspot.com/ 

Gerry’s nature photography: https://www.instagram.com/sun_tography/ 

Meghan Fintland runs PR at the cybersecurity firm Rubrik. We hear how she finds motivation in causes close to her heart and cuts through tech jargon by focusing on the human element in storytelling. She also discusses expanding channels for thought leadership and how to activate a communications plan during a crisis. Bonus: We find out why Meghan’s happy place probably has fence lines and a good nonfiction book.

Links: 

Reality Life with Kate Casey: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/272-reality-life-with-kate-cas-27910385/

Becca Chambers on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beccapchambers/ 

Tara Thomas wears many hats, some of them at a C-suite level and some of them counseling those at the top. She specializes in marketing and events, and in this episode Tara talks to us about what it takes to run a small business, how to get into CEO minds, and she shares how events have evolved since the pandemic.

Links:

Julius Solaris / Bold Push: https://boldpush.com 

Jason Limkin / SaaStr newsletter: https://www.saastr.com/the-new-and-improved-saastr-newsletter/ 

Smart Meetings: https://www.smartmeetings.com/ 

MPI blog: https://www.mpi.org/blog 

PCMA business events industry association: https://www.pcma.org 

Jazmin Eusébio credits the Jonas Brothers for her career, and she’s spent that career building community. As a DEI comms specialist, Jaz talks about the complicated times for that area and gives advice for young practitioners who want their voices heard.

Links:

Vibe Check: https://open.spotify.com/show/6r4uD6EuT70XHmhcqByNPa 

NPR Culture: https://www.npr.org/sections/culture/ 

Hispanic Public Relations Association: https://hprausa.org/ 

AMD's Mike Sanchez explains why promoting cannabis and AI chips actually have more in common than you'd think. Plus, you'll hear how flashcards and a backpacking trip through Southeast Asia taught him invaluable lessons in strategy and tactics that keep him adaptable in today's tech industry.

Links:

Professor G. https://www.youtube.com/c/TheProfGShow-ScottGalloway

Theo Von: https://youtu.be/o_B5vful8KQ?si=rrk03uj3nQHm2-Vp 

Techmeme: https://www.techmeme.com/ 

Jeannie Entin (our chapter president) kicks off the Friday Forum reboot. We learn about communications in the venture capital world, talk about helpful AI agents and get a preview on what’s to come this year for PRSA. 

Links:

Learn about (and donate to support) our chapter’s Diversity and Multicultural Scholarship: https://www.prsa-sv.org/news/prsa-silicon-valley-opens-applications-for-diversity-and-multicultural-scholarship-fund-for-the-5th-consecutive-year 

Yahoo Finance Opening Bid: https://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/

Cliff Worley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliffworley/ 

Friday Forum is back! We're here for the summer bringing you podcast-exclusive content with interviews from some of Silicon Valley's most fascinating communicators. New episodes every Friday, starting July 11.

PRSA-SV #FridayForum: “Salary Negotiation Strategies for PR Professionals”

PRWeek’s PR/Talent Salary Survey revealed that 22% of PR pros changed jobs in the past year, and 79% increased their salary with their new role. Listen to our conversation to hear strategies on negotiating your salary from career experts and PR professionals.  Moderating is PRSA SV Board Member Jazmin Eusebeo, Jazmin is a justice advocate who is consistently identifying ways to create equitable opportunities for underserved communities. 

Our panelists include: Nicole Balsam Nicole brings over 8 years of Executive Search experience to her current role as an Associate Partner at Eastward Partners. Judith Cushman As President of Judith Cushman & Associates, Judith uses her 30 years of experience in this field to provide retained search and consulting services exclusively filling the full spectrum of Communications, Public Relations, Public Affairs, Marketing Communications, and Investor Relations Positions.  Gideon Fidelzeid of PRWeek  Gideon heads up all custom content activations, as well as some legacy editorial projects, including the annual Salary Survey.