Temple PRSSA recently hosted their annual TU Invitational conference on Saturday, April 9, 2022, at Temple University’s Howard Gittis Student Center on Main Campus. This year’s theme was PuRsuing Philly. Participants were encouraged to engage and network with some of the top public relations and communication professionals in the Philadelphia area, the fourth largest media market in the United States.
With a comprehensive roster of session topics such as tourism and hospitality, sports and entertainment, fashion, government, advocacy, healthcare and technology, there was something of interest for each and every attendee.
Assistant Conference Coordinator Fiona Hitesman (she/her) was particularly interested in the crisis communication session, a panel with Klein alumna Catherine Laughlin, adjunct professor at Klein; and Kate Wilhelm, CCO and SVP for Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy.
“We have speakers coming from all different types of backgrounds; agencies and corporations are [speaking] right now, and we’re even talking about nonprofits,” Hitesman said. “So we have a lot of different areas of PR that are being covered in this event, and it’s really cool.”
In addition to Laughlin, many of these speakers were Temple alumni, such as Jeanie Davey, KLN ‘17, communications specialist at NRG; Kate Kizitaff, KLN ‘20, communications coordinator for Comcast; Alexis Levant, KLN ‘21, assistant account executive at Braithwaite Communications; and Jaime Martorana, KLN ‘15, communications manager for the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The keynote speakers were PRSA President Michele Basso and PPRA President Michelle Sonsino, and their session was moderated by VP at AKCG Public Relations Counselors Adam Dvorin.
Assistant Conference Coordinator Rachael Dickson (they/them) was especially excited about hearing the keynotes at lunchtime. “The speakers we have are big,” they said. “I’m excited to pick their brains, too, and see what kind of insight they have.”
This was the general tone of the event: optimism for the future of the PR industry and all that it has to offer the next generation of young professionals. During the corporate session, Klein alumna and speaker Jeanie Davie (she/her) summarized some of the most valuable components of career advancement in public relations best when she said, “Being authentic is really gonna help your career no matter what you decide to go into. Never stop learning.”