MILWAUKEE (Dec. 13, 2022) — The Midwest District of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has elected its executive leadership for 2023. Patrick McSweeney, APR, Fellow PRSA, of Milwaukee will serve as chairman. The District represents more than 1,400 communication and public relations professionals in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The Midwest District is comprised of 12 PRSA chapters (Central Illinois, Chicago, Greater Kansas City, Iowa, Madison, Mid-Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northeast Wisconsin, Southeast Wisconsin, Southwest Missouri and St. Louis). The District promotes both the Public Relations profession and PR professionals by providing educational and leadership development opportunities and programming that complement activities at the national and local chapter levels.
“Being selected by my peers to lead the Midwest District is a great honor,” said McSweeney. “We are able to leverage the knowledge and experience of some of the top public relations professionals throughout the Midwest to improve the programming and operations of 12 PRSA chapters. This results in the most cost-effective continuing education and professional networking opportunities for our members.”
The District’s 2023 Executive Leadership Committee is:
· Chair – Patrick McSweeney, APR, Fellow PRSA, managing director of McSweeney Public Relations, LLC (Southeast Wisconsin chapter)
· Chair-elect – Joshua Kauffman, APR, chief transformation, communications and marketing officer / founder of KraftComm Consulting Group, LLC (Chicago chapter)
· Treasurer – Norita Taylor, APR, director of public relations for Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (Greater Kansas City chapter)
· Secretary – Erin Van Zee, APR, communications director for RDG Planning & Design (Nebraska chapter)
· Immediate Past Chair – Eva Keiser, APR, principal, Plural I, LLC (Minnesota chapter).
During 2022, the District hosted a two-day in-person conference in Minneapolis as well as two professional development webinars, provided scholarships to recently accredited (APR) members and reinstituted its Platinum Award recognizing an individual’s contributions in advancing the profession and community service. The District plans on further expanding the number of professional development programs in the coming year.
About PRSA Midwest District
PRSA’s Midwest District is one of 10 PRSA Districts and includes 12 Chapters serving members in nine states. The Midwest District’s goal is to support Chapters and their members by offering professional and leadership development at a regional level that complements national and local programs. For more information, visit www.prsamdc.org.
About PRSA
For 75 years, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has empowered its members to succeed at every stage of their careers through a wide breadth of professional development, networking and leadership opportunities. Guided by its Code of Ethics, PRSA is collectively represented by 110 Chapters and 14 Professional Interest Sections, as well as on nearly 375 college and university campuses in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Argentina, Colombia and Peru through its student organization, the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). For more information, visit https://www.prsa.org.
