APR: The Next Step in Your Public Relations Career 

**This is a FREE event, but registration is required.**

Register Now! 

Join PRSA Capital Region for a free informational session on the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) credential.

Presenters Jo Ann LeSage Nelson, APR, Vice President of Client Services for Pierce Communications, and Siobhan Kent, APR, Communications Manager for the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, will discuss the APR credential and process. You'll learn:

• What the Accreditation in Public Relations certification is;
• If getting your APR is right for you and your career;
• How much the APR process costs;
• How long the APR process takes;
• What the steps are in the process.

Jo Ann and Siobhan will leave the majority of the session for an informal roundtable discussion about the APR and the process of achieving one. So bring your most pressing APR questions and get all the information you need in a low-key, pressure-free discussion.  

About Jo Ann LeSage Nelson, APR:

Jo Ann is vice president of client services for Pierce Communications, an Albany-based public relations/public affairs/crisis management firm, is responsible for strategic public relations and communications counseling for Pierce Communications clients.

She is a one of only a few accredited members of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in the Capital Region, having demonstrated broad knowledge, experience, competence and professional judgment in the field.  Before joining Pierce Communications, Jo Ann worked as a vice president at Sawchuk, Brown Associates in Albany where she counseled a wide variety of corporate, not-for-profit, education and association clients.  Prior to that, she served as vice president of communications and government relations at the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, where she played an instrumental role in the creation, development and implementation of the initiative to brand the region as Tech Valley. 

Jo Ann is a member of the National Board of Directors of the Public Relations Society of America, serving a two-year term beginning January 2015. She is also a past Northeast District Chair of the PRSA, serving as the national association’s liaison to seven chapters in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine. In 2010, she served as the co-chair of the Northeast District’s annual conference. Jo Ann is also a past president, Assembly delegate and accreditation chair of PRSA’s Capital Region chapter.

In November 2008, PRSA’s local chapter presented Jo Ann with the first Outstanding Public Relations Practitioner Award, given to a Capital Region public relations professional who has achieved exceptional success, displayed the highest ethics and is dedicated to serving the community and the profession.  She has also received two presidential citations from PRSA for her outstanding contributions to the national organization. 

Jo Ann is a past board chair of the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce and a former board president of Literacy New York Greater Capital Region. She is an active community volunteer and frequently speaks on the topics of media relations, crisis communications and business writing.

About Siobhan Kent, APR:

Siobhan Gallagher Kent, APR, is Communications Manager for the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region. The Community Foundation strengthens the Capital Region through philanthropy. In 2014, the Foundation awarded more than $4.2 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and scholarships to local students.

Siobhan is President-Elect for the Public Relations Society of America’s Capital Region chapter, in addition to serving as accreditations chair.

Siobhan graduated from SUNY New Paltz with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Latin American Studies. She has spent virtually all of her professional life helping Capital Region nonprofit organizations grow and succeed. She served as an AmeriCorps HealthCorps member at Whitney M. Young Health Services, was regional communications manager at the American Red Cross—Northeastern New York Region, and communications manager for United Way of the Greater Capital Region.

In her spare time, Siobhan volunteers for Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless’ Taste of Albany event (April 30—buy your tickets at ATasteofAlbany.com!), and provides volunteer graphic design and marketing/communications assistance to various local nonprofit organizations. She credits strong, delicious coffee with giving her the ability to meet her volunteer and social obligations.