PRSA Midwest District Conference 2023

President and Co-Founder of Blue Compass, Drew Harden has grown and guided the company from a two-person start-up in 2007 to one of the Midwest's leading digital marketing companies today.

He's a published author, has been cited by publications like USA Today and PR News, and has led web projects for clients like Spalding Sports Equipment, NAPA Auto Parts, and the NFL.

Drew serves his team by casting Blue Compass' vision, guiding company direction, and maintaining a positive, nurturing workplace. He is passionate about creating an incredible company culture and providing servant leadership.

Drew speaks at conferences around the country on topics like company culture, leadership, digital marketing, and search engine optimization. He loves positive thinking, motivating people and has a passion for faith, family, & freedom. Drew lives in Des Moines, Iowa with his wife Melissa and sons Ethan and Chase.

Dr. Felicia Blow, APR, is award-winning leader with extensive organizational, strategic planning, leadership and management experience. With a 30-year career spanning work in Manufacturing (Caterpillar, Inc.); Waste Management and Environmental Services (Southeastern Public Service Authority); Telecommunications (Cox Communications); and Higher Education (Paul D. Camp and Tidewater Community Colleges and Hampton University). At Hampton, Dr. Blow led the university’s $150 Million Dream No Small Dreams II Campaign. Currently she serves as CEO and Co-Founder of Walker Blow Consulting – a boutique agency specializing in fundraising/development, strategic communications, and information technology services. 

Dr. Blow is an active member of the Public Relations Society of America, and the Hampton Roads, Virginia PRSA Chapter. Within PRSA, Dr. Blow has served in numerous capacities including but not limited to: former National Co-Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee; former member of the National PRSA Board of Directors as Senior Counsel; former elected member of the National PRSA Board of Directors; Past President of the Hampton Roads Virginia PRSA Chapter; Past Chair of the PRSA Mid-Atlantic District Board; and Past Chair of the National Universal Accreditation Board. 

In her time with the UAB, the Board’s vision of a specialized credential was achieved in the creation of the APR+M credential which recognizes military public affairs professionals’ achievement of this important mark of distinction.  

Finally, Dr. Blow served as the 2022 National Chair for PRSA. She currently serves as Immediate Past National Chair.

Dr. Blow earned her Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media Arts from Hampton University; her Master’s in Business Administration degree from Strayer University; and her Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Old Dominion University. 

She is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America.

Michael Bugeja, distinguished professor of liberal arts and sciences, teaches media ethics and technology and social change at the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, Iowa State University of Science and Technology. He is a dual citizen of Malta and the United States.

He came to Iowa State in 2003 as director of the Greenlee School and served 14 years, earning college and university top administrator awards and the 2015 Scripps Howard Administrator of the Year Award. That year he was elected to the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. The Iowa Newspaper Association honored him in 2017 with the Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Bugeja’s research has been published in Journalism Quarterly, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Journalism Educator, Journal of Mass Media Ethics, New Media and Society, Journal of Communication, American Journalism, American Communication Journal, and other scholarly publications. He was among the first scholars to criticize Facebook in January 2006 with the publication “Facing the Facebook” in the Chronicle of Higher Education, cited more than 280 times according to Google Scholar, which ranks him third with 1158 citations in media ethics/technology and social change. His 2007 investigative articles about the use of Second Life virtual reality in college campuses—“Second Thoughts About Second Life” and “Second Life Revisited”—prompted several institutions to reconsider that platform because of exposure to inappropriate avatars and content. His co-authored book with Daniela Dimitrova, Vanishing Act: The Erosion of Online Footnotes and Implications for Scholarship in the Digital Age (2010), was among the first scholarly works to chronicle linkrot, or how footnotes based on URLs disappear in peer reviewed journals, jeopardizing the scientific method. Drs. Bugeja and Dimitrova recommended digital object identifiers as the solution, currently in use.

Stephen Dupont, APR, Fellow PRSA, is vice president of public relations at Pocket Hercules, a Minneapolis creative and branding firm. Dupont is a public relations/branding professional with 30 years of experience who specializes in marketing communications. He also is a professional futurist who helps organizations strategically communicate their desired future. 

He serves as the editor of Compass, an international quarterly online magazine published by the Association of Professional Futurists. Dupont writes and speaks frequently about the intersection between communications and foresight and is a frequent contributor to PRSA's Strategies & Tactics magazine. To learn more, visit his blog at stephendupont.co or his LinkedIn page, linkedin.com/in/stephendupont.

PadillaPrep Leader and Presentation, Media and Leader Communications Coach and Senior Director, Padilla’s Corporate Advisory Group  

As one of Padilla’s veteran coaches and corporate strategists, Kris saw firsthand the unique communications challenges clients experienced as a result of the pandemic. To address these challenges, she initiated an agency-wide effort to create PadillaPrep, the agency’s industry-leading coaching curriculum that combines the best of Padilla's expert coaches with the newest best practices, tools and techniques for successfully communicating in today's virtual, hybrid and in‑person landscape.
 

Kris has helped hundreds of clients across multiple industries immediately improve their communications skills, from leadership communications and presentation skills, to media interviews, panel discussions and crisis media management skills. Her unique background as a national broadcast journalist, multimedia corporate strategist, author and public speaker make her a unique force in the industry and an invaluable resource for Padilla clients. 

Morry Smulevitz has nearly 30 years of progressive and award-winning communications and corporate affairs leadership experience, advancing and protecting corporate reputation and the competitive position of iconic healthcare and consumer brands for Fortune 500 companies. He is known as a proven architect of high-performing teams.

Prior to joining Exact Sciences, Mr. Smulevitz served as Vice President of Global Corporate Communications for Walgreens Boots Alliance, the largest retail health and pharmacy across the U.S. and Europe. Before joining WBA, Mr. Smulevitz led U.S. Public Affairs at AbbVie. He also served in numerous global communications leadership roles at Eli Lilly and Company. At AbbVie and Lilly, he supported the launch in major countries around the world of more than 20 new medicines, indications and devices across the most significant areas of the healthcare industry.

Mr. Smulevitz earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Indiana University and completed executive education programs at Columbia University and Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is a frequent guest speaker in the communications industry and was a two-time appointed member of the Indiana Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport.

Brooke Worden, APR, Fellow PRSA joined Carmichael Lynch Relate as an executive vice president in 2021. She currently leads the agency’s work for Hostess Brands, which includes responsibility for both corporate and consumer PR. Prior to joining CL Relate, Brooke counseled clients for over 20 years as part of global firm Weber Shandwick’s corporate and financial services practice. 

Based in Minneapolis, Brooke was a journalist for Twin Cities Business before starting her agency career. She has received national recognition for her work, including an InSabre2 award for Innovation and multiple PRSA Silver and Bronze Anvils. She led the agency PR team for H&R Block’s “A Fair Shot” campaign, which was recognized as the 2023 Campaign of the Year by PRWeek. Brooke is a past president of Minnesota PRSA and previously served on PRSA's Board of Ethics and Professional Standards (BEPS). She is accredited in public relations (APR) and was named a member of PRSA’s College of Fellows in 2020.

As director of public relations at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Sandra is responsible for the strategic direction of the public and media relations efforts for AEM, as well as four trade shows owned or managed by the organization. This includes the largest B2B trade show in North America for the construction industry where she manages over 600 media in attendance at the 5-day event. 

Sandra has over 30 years of experience in public relations, including time with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Fortune 500 financial institutions and marketing agencies. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, earning her APR in 2001. She is also active in the National Agri-Marketers Association, where she serves on the Badger Chapter Board as well as on the National Student Marketing and Sales Competition Committee. Sandra has been recognized for her work by PR News, The Public Relations Society of America, National Agri-Marketers Association, Ragan’s PR Daily and the League of American Communications Professionals. She has also served as a judge for various Public Relations award competitions.

Jason Sprenger has 20+ years of experience using the entire spectrum of strategic communications to transform organizations and amplify/accelerate their impact. He founded Game Changer Communications in September 2012, and since then he has brought full-service PR/communications services to more than 50 clients from local nonprofits to international, billion-dollar industry leaders. He specializes in helping small to medium-sized B2B and tech organizations find their voice and accelerate their holistic growth, and also building and implementing unique programs that optimize sales, launch products/businesses and increase corporate value. Tactical strengths include: comprehensive PR and brand strategy; media relations; social media/digital strategy and execution; executive counsel; and leadership/increasing team efficiency and production. He has held Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) since 2009, and introduced the Umbrella Model for Public Relations in 2015.

Before Sprenger founded Game Changer, he worked at FICO as Public Relations Manager for North America. For nearly two years, he led all public relations activity for the company in the region and all retail PR activities for the company worldwide. Prior to FICO, Sprenger worked at privately held data storage company X-IO Technologies (formerly Xiotech), and built its corporate PR department from scratch. Before his time as a corporate practitioner, he worked in three Minnesota PR firms and had most every kind of client there is. A short list of former clients include Target, Coca-Cola, Airstream, Lawson Software, Qwest, the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Twins, U.S. Trust, Medtronic, the United Health Foundation, etc.  

The University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication awarded Sprenger its 2017 Above the Fold Award, honoring him for “achieving great distinction and prestige before the age of 40.” He was the 2016 President of the 400-member Minnesota Chapter and the 2020 Chair of the Midwest District of the Public Relations Society of America – and served in Board offices on both levels for a combined 10 years. He has been a member of the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) Advisory Board and the Board of Directors of Minneapolis-area nonprofits Bolder Options and The LEAD Project. He teaches public relations as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, and frequently speaks around the nation, judges awards competitions and mentors students and young professionals. 

Natan Edelsburg is the Chief Partnerships Officer at Muck Rack, the software platform that enables thousands of organizations including Google, International Rescue Committee, Golin and Duolingo to find the right journalists to pitch, report on media coverage and prove the value of their work. In this role, Natan is responsible for leading and cultivating strategic industry partnerships and driving international expansion. Previously, Natan was Chief Revenue Officer at Muck Rack, where he led the Sales and Customer Success teams. He joined Muck Rack in 2009 as the company’s first employee and held several positions including Chief Operating Officer, helping to build the business to what it is today. Natan is a member of the Board of Trustees for the PRSA Foundation. He is a frequent speaker on social media, PR, journalism and the future of TV. He’s been honored as one of PR News’ Rising Stars and one of PRSA’s 15 Under 35.

Natan’s a frequent speaker on social media, PR, journalism and the future of TV. He’s moderated panels or given presentations at SXSW, PRWeek, Social Media Week, Collision, Web Summit, Digital Hollywood, PRSA, Ragan’s and Cannes Lions You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @natanedelsburg.

Eileen Wixted is a nationally recognized strategic communications and crisis management veteran with core competencies in the financial services, nuclear energy, agribusiness, and health care industries. As a strategist and communication trainer, she has helped clients navigate brand damaging issues as well as coached them to face hostile media interviews and government investigations. 

An experienced executive coach, Eileen prepares clients for investor conferences, shareholder meetings, quarterly earnings conferences and congressional testimony. She has prepped executives for interviews with national and international news outlets, including TODAY, MSNBC, Squawk Box, Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and many others. Companies and organizations across the country turn to Eileen for expert communication counsel that drives business goals as they face sensitive issues.

Eileen uses the same business-driven approach while assisting professionals working in nuclear energy, manufacturing, finance, health care and non-profit organizations. She provides counsel to two-thirds of the commercially-owned and operated nuclear power plants in North America as well as a significant number of the nation’s hospitals.

Eileen is the principal of Wixted & Company and was named the Business Record’s 2016 Women Business owner of the Year. She also served as interim senior vice president of communications & government affairs for Advocate Health Care, the largest health care system in Illinois.

Prior to Wixted & Company, Eileen spent more than a decade as a broadcast journalist receiving an Emmy Award. Eileen is a graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in mass communications. She is a native of Brooklyn, New York and the mother of four children.

With years of newsroom and public relations experience, Dan brings his many talents to Wixted & Company. As Communication Advisor and Trainer, Dan uses his mixed background and expertise to help clients engage with their audience and tell a great story.

If there’s a job in television, Dan has probably done it: At stations across the Midwest, Dan has worked as a reporter, anchor, producer and photographer. Dan spent more than three years at KOLN-TV (Lincoln, NE), where he won awards as a sports reporter and anchor, including a Heartland Chapter Emmy Award and Best Sportscast from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association.

Before joining Wixted, Dan worked as a Marketing, Media and Public Relations Specialist at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals in Lincoln, where he helped grow Madonna’s brand by focused attention on building relationships with both business leaders and media members. Dan did all the basics – including press releases, media pitches and message development – though he made his mark by filming inspiring patient stories and producing content for the hospital’s magazine.

Dan is a graduate of Morningside College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications.