“PPRA has always been a welcoming organization. We support one another as members, we support one another in our careers,” said Senior Director of Communications Deirdre Childress Hopkins, KLN ’23.
Since 1972, the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) has inducted one Philadelphia-based public relations professional into their Hall of Fame. On October 11, 2023, Hopkins became the first African American woman to be inducted.
Hopkins joins Klein College of Media and Communication Assistant Dean for Community and Communications David W. Brown, Adjunct Professor Lisa Simon and Associate Professor of Practice Gregg Feistman in receiving this prestigious honor.
Past inductees review nominees for each new induction year, and Brown was adamant that Hopkins should join him to become the third African American professional in the Hall of Fame.
“How could we be a minority-majority city and have so few practitioners of color in the Hall of Fame?” Brown said.
Hopkins first got involved with PPRA in 2011, around the time she began her work as the Strategic Communications Manager for the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Before that, she worked in journalism at the Philadelphia Inquirer and other publications. Hopkins served as the first African American president of PPRA in 2019.
After Hopkins was confirmed to be this year’s inductee, Brown knew that he had to be the one to plan her induction luncheon. While planning, Brown made very intentional choices, such as holding it at the African American Museum in Philadelphia and hiring a Black-and-female-owned caterer to reflect Hopkins’ values.
One thing Brown always noticed about events like these, though, was that there weren’t enough opportunities for students or rising professionals to attend. Surely, there are always people who are invited and cannot go, so Brown set to reaching out to those people to see if they would sponsor a young African American woman from Klein College to attend in their place. In addition to attending the event, these 11 “Dee’s Diamonds” would network and establish a relationship with their sponsor.
At the luncheon, Brown took a moment to recognize the group of Dee’s Diamonds. “To visually see that as a representation of our future, to me, was a powerful moment,” he said.
From interns at the Inquirer to new staff at Temple, Hopkins considers her mentorship of the next generation of professionals to be one of the highlights of her career. The presence of Dee’s Diamond’s at her induction made her feel so good, she said.
Hopkins first came to Temple in 2020, to work at The Hope Center at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, and loved the work she did there. After a year and a half, she heard about a job opening in strategic communications on the main campus.
“We were looking for someone to complement the team that had experience in communications and media,” said Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Impact Valerie Harrison, CLA ’07 ’14.
Harrison noted that Hopkins is the kind of person you “want to be in the trenches with.” That is, Hopkins’ work ethic, confidence and poise serves her well in any situation that comes her way.
“She has never shied away from taking on a challenge,” Brown said, adding that although Hopkins is the newest inductee to the PPRA Hall of Fame, she has had so many other “hall of fame moments” that should be recognized.
Most recently, Hopkins marched at Klein College’s winter commencement ceremony to accept her master’s degree, after not being able to in the spring due to the passing of her husband, Alvin.
In addition to her staff role with strategic communications at Temple, Hopkins has also served as an adjunct professor for Klein College and earned her master’s in communication management from the college in May 2023. During the fall 2022 semester, Hopkins could say that she was a student, faculty and staff at Temple.
“To be able to interact with our Temple community this much has really been a highlight in my life,” Hopkins said.