Successfully Navigating Corporate Culture as a Young Professional

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Successfully Navigating Corporate Culture as a Young Professional

Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Noon until 2 p.m.
The Library
2302 East Carson Street, Southside, Pittsburgh, PA 15203

This panel discussion will offer insight into successfully navigating corporate
culture and politics. Discussion will highlight three distinct levels of experience —
the young professional, the mid-level practitioner, and the experienced senior-level
pro. The program will also examine differences among different career paths such as
agency vs. non-profit.

Students and young professionals with five or less years PR experience encouraged to attend.

Panelists:

Kristan Allen, Account Executive, Ketchum Midwest
Shellyn Shoenthal, Director of Community Relations & Fundraising, Mars Home for Youth
Barry Finkelstein, Senior Vice President, Director of Public Relations, MARC USA

Price:
$15 (Sign up with five or more people and receive the discounted rate of $10 per person)

REGISTRATION FULL

Speaker Bios:

Barry Finkelstein
Senior Vice President, Director of Public Relations
MARC USA

Barry Finkelstein directs the PR practice of MARC USA, one of the nation’s largest independent, fully integrated marketing firms. He brings more than 20 years of PR and agency management experience to his role, which includes serving on the agency’s senior leadership team.

In addition to directing MARC’s team of PR professionals, Barry also provides senior-level counsel to such clients as Rite Aid Corp., Krups, All Clad, Culver’s Restaurants and Lanxess Chemicals. He also represents the agency to several business and industry groups, including chairing the Pittsburgh Council of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and serving on the board for the Pittsburgh chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Prior to joining MARC USA, Barry was VP/Director of Integrated Marketing for Erwin-Penland in Greenville, S.C., part of Interpublic’s Hill Holliday. He oversaw the agency’s public relations, interactive and event marketing teams, serving such clients as Verizon Wireless, Wachovia, Michelin, BMW and Milliken & Co.

Previously Barry was vice president of public relations for the Atlanta office of The MRA Group, whose clients included The Athlete’s Foot and Rheem/Ruud HVAC. Before that he ran the corporate practice in the Atlanta office of global public relations firm Manning, Selvage & Lee and spent four years in the Atlanta office of Fleishman-Hillard, where his duties included overseeing all Southeast PR activity for Anheuser-Busch.

A graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, Barry is extremely active in the community and the PR profession. He is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, a graduate of Leadership Greenville, and has served on a number of non-profit boards in Atlanta, Greenville and Pittsburgh.

Shellyn S. Shoenthal
Director of Community Relations & Fundraising
Mars Home for Youth

In her role as director of community relations & fundraising for Mars Home for Youth (MHY),Shellyn is responsible for all communications, development, marketing, as well as a volunteer program. For the past two years she has re-branded MHY, engaged hundreds of volunteers, developed PR and marketing standards and spent countless hours connecting the community to MHY.

Prior to MHY, Shellyn was the PR specialist for Jewish Family & Children's Service, an account executive for Jack Horner Communications and and assistant account executive for The Adams Marketing Group. During her agency tenure she manage clients such as Development Dimensions International, Microsoft, GNC and Vocelli's Pizza.

Shellyn is a graduate of Robert Morris University. She is the current treasurer of PRSA Pittsburgh, a member of the Cranberry Area Chamber of Commerce and Butler County Chamber of Commerce.

Kristan Allen
Account Executive
Ketchum Midwest

Kristan has a wide variety of experience strategizing and pitching new food products and industry initiatives. She is a member of Ketchum’s Global Media Network, a group of 100 members in more than 30 Ketchum/affiliate offices around the world. This group provides specialized media counsel to Ketchum accounts across the globe. Kristan is also a member of the Midwest Media Team, where she provides more targeted media support and execution to several clients, including Kellogg Company, the Canned Food Alliance and ConAgra Foods.

Kristan has achieved dozens of placements in top-tier media outlets, including NBC’s “Today Show;” New York City’s “CW11 Morning News;” Good Housekeeping; Prevention; Family Circle; Health; Fitness; InTouch Weekly; Shape; Parenting; Quick & Simple; Woman’s World; Seventeen; CosmoGirl!; Men’s Fitness; AOL.com, WebMD.com; SheKnows.com, one of the largest online networks for women; About.com, Los Angeles Daily News; Washington Post-Express and numerous others.

Kristan developed and instituted the process of internal media monitoring and reporting for Kellogg Company, one of the Food and Nutrition practice’s largest clients. Her daily reports are not only sent to key members of Kellogg’s communication department, but they are also shared with Ketchum’s internal network of team members.

She continues to keep the client informed on important issues and brand coverage in the media. As a result of this, Kristan has a thorough understanding of the latest issues and trends affecting the food industry and its key players. To further strengthen her background in food and nutrition, Kristan earned her certification in nutrition from Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

Kristan is a member of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, where she has held a position on its executive board for the past two years. Serving as Programming and Professional Development Chair, she was responsible for planning and hosting educational events for members of the Pittsburgh PR community. During her tenure as Programming and Professional Development Chair, she has brought several prominent names to the Pittsburgh area, including two nationally recognized speakers: Laura Ries of Ries & Ries; and Peter Shankman of “Help a Reporter Out.”

Kristan continues to serve on the PRSA Pittsburgh executive board as Director-at-Large. She was also awarded the PRSA Pittsburgh Rising Star Award, which is given to an individual with less than five years of experience and has made a significant contribution to the field of public relations.

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