Geoff Curtis is former executive vice president, corporate affairs and chief communications officer at Horizon Therapeutics. During his nearly 30-year health care communications career, he has worked domestically and internationally in various roles on both the client and agency side including at Abbott Laboratories, Edelman, GCI and W2O Group (now Real Chemistry). Most importantly, Geoff is a first-generation college graduate and experienced social, professional and economic obstacles in college and through the first decade of his career. Based on these experiences, he is committed to removing those obstacles and amplifying the unique first-generation skillset to change the public relations and communication industry dynamic.

Geoff received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Lake Forest College, a Master of Arts from DePaul University in public relations and advertising and was a member of the inaugural cohort of the Leadership and Society Initiative fellowship at the University of Chicago. 

Emily Sammon is a former wealth management executive and family office strategist with over 25 years of experience. Emily’s 20 year tenure at Citi Private Bank included a number of positions from both the client sales and management sides of the business. Most recently, Emily was a consultant for a single member family office investment group, responsible for the entire book of private investments and all related tax and compliance matters.

Emily currently serves on the board of Lake Forest Academy, her high school alma mater. She serves on LFA's executive committee and is the head of the Committee on Trustees and a member of the Advancement Committee.

Emily received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a minor in Spanish Studies from Trinity College, Hartford, CT.

Ron Culp is a veteran corporate and agency public relations professional who 15 years ago was named Professional in Residence at DePaul University where he teaches in the public relations and advertising program. Upon graduation from Indiana State University, Ron began his career in media and government positions in Indiana and New York before moving into senior communications roles at Eli Lilly, Pitney Bowes, Sara Lee and Sears. He then moved to the agency world where he headed the Chicago offices of financial PR firm Sard Verbinnen (now FGS Global) and Ketchum. Ron provides career advice for young pros pursuing careers in public relations on his popular career blog, Culpwrit. 

Dr. Aerial Ellis is a communication scholar and industry leader with two decades of experience merging entrepreneurship and education. 

A two-time PR agency owner, Dr. Ellis has served organizations including Microsoft, Starbucks, Procter and Gamble, Asurion, and numerous nonprofit and higher education institutions. Drawing on her experience as both a practitioner and professor, she founded Advisory 83, a consultancy that helps organizations strengthen strategy, storytelling, and systems through an intercultural lens.

She was named the Wells Fargo Endowed Chair/Distinguished Professor of Public Relations at North Carolina Central University after spending ten years at Lipscomb University, where she taught public relations, strategic planning, and cross-cultural communication.

Dr. Ellis previously served as President of the PRSA Foundation, leading the organization to its highest fundraising year on record in 2022 while expanding scholarships and grants designed to increase diversity within the public relations and communications profession. Her professional service includes leadership roles with the Commission on Public Relations Education, Diversity Action Alliance, Public Relations Society of America, Echo Research, and The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, where she served as a Fellow.

A fourth-generation HBCU graduate, Dr. Ellis is deeply committed to expanding educational access and opportunity for students from diverse backgrounds. She holds a B.S. in Mass Communication (Journalism) from Tennessee State University, an M.S. in Mass Communication (Public Relations) from Middle Tennessee State University, and an Ed.D. from the University of Southern California, where her research focused on intercultural competence in the public relations profession.

Gregg Feistman, M.A. has more than 45 years of business and PR experience. His research interests include the use of emerging technology in public relations education, and corporate social advocacy and activism. He is the co-author, along with Dr. Heather LaMarre, of the book Raising Social Capital (a Tankard Book Award finalist). He is a contributing columnist to PR News and Strategic Magazine.

As Professor of Practice in Public Relations, he specializes in public relations, CSR/corporate social advocacy and activism, reputation management, strategic communications planning, corporate sponsorship, crisis communications, media relations, consulting skills and organizational communication. He has conducted workshops on AI in PR, and been widely quoted in numerous consumer, business, and PR trade media. He has presented at a number of conferences, including the Public Relations Society of America’s international conference, The Institute for PR, and Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conferences, along with industry podcasts, and workshops for The Arthur W. Page Society.

On the undergraduate level, he teaches Crisis Communication, Intro to PR, Law and Ethics of Public Relations, and Industry Essentials for Public Relations (a business acumen course). On the graduate level, he teaches Corporate Social Responsibility, Consulting Skills, Reputation/Image/Identity, and has conducted a PR writing boot camp. Feistman is the faculty advisor for both Temple’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) – one of the oldest and top 10 chapters in the country – and Temple’s nationally affiliated student-run PR firm, PRowl Public Relations. He’s also a past member of the Faculty Senate. He is a Hall of Fame member of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association, and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, where he served as a past member of the Board of Directors.

Feistman is a multiple recipient of the Philadelphia PRSA Pepperpot and Drumbeater awards. He received Temple’s Outstanding Faculty Service Award in 2014, the Klein College of Media and Communications’ Faculty Award for Research in 2026, the Faculty Award for Service in 2019 and 2012, and an Outstanding Service Award from the Department of Strategic Communication in 2011. In 2010, he received PRSA’s prestigious Anthony J. Fulginiti Award for Commitment to PR Education.

Pallavi Damani Kumar is a Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer in American University’s School of Communication and the former Division Director for the Public Communication division. In the fall of 2022, she launched SOC3, an integrated creative agency within the School of Communication to provide students from all SOC majors an opportunity for experiential learning. Past clients have included IHG Hotels and Resorts, Nestle, ALDI, The Home Depot and Expedia among others. Prior to teaching full time, Kumar gained more than 20 years experience in the public relations industry having worked as a vice president in FleishmanHillard's social marketing practice in Washington, DC, a vice president/account supervisor in Ketchum's healthcare practice in New York as well as associate director of international public relations at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (Pfizer) in Philadelphia. She began her career in environmental communication at Ruder Finn in Washington, DC. Kumar co-authored the ninth edition of Public Relations Case Studies published by Cengage. In 2026, Provoke Media named her to the Innovator 25 Americas list. In 2026 and 2023, she was the faculty advisor for a group of students who placed second in the Arthur Page Case Study Competition. In 2023, she was awarded the Outstanding Teaching in a Full-Time Appointment award by American University. PRWeek named her to the 2017 Global Power Book - a list of the world’s most influential PR professionals. In 2015, she received the Outstanding Service to the University Community from American University.  She was profiled in a chapter of the book Diverse Voices: Profiles in Leadership published by the PRSA Foundation and Museum of PR. She has served as a judge for the PRWeek Awards since 2014. She graduated magna cum laude from American University with a degree in public affairs and public communication. She received her master’s degree in public relations/corporate communications from Georgetown University.

Tina McCorkindale, Ph.D., APR, is the President and CEO of the Institute for Public Relations, a nonprofit research foundation that creates, curates and promotes research and initiatives in the public relations industry. She taught as a full-time professor for 10 years and teaches as an adjunct professor at the University of Florida and Cal Poly Pomona. McCorkindale also worked in corporate communication and analytics for 10 years. She is a member of the Page Society, The Seminar, the Commission for Public Relations Education Steering Committee, the Diversity Action Alliance Steering Committee, the AMEC Academic Advisory Board, the University of Florida School of Journalism and Communications Public Relations Advisory Board, and the University of Oregon Strategic Communication Leadership Network. She frequently publishes in academic journals and industry publications about the current and future state of the public relations and communication industry. McCorkindale is the recipient of the 2017 PRSA David Ferguson Award and the 2020 PRSA Puget Sound Professional of the Year award. McCorkindale was inducted in the PR News Measurement Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2019, she was selected as one of 40 national leaders to participate in the 91st Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, the most prestigious public outreach and full immersion program in the Department of Defense.

McCorkindale received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in marketing from the University of Southern Mississippi, a master’s degree in public and corporate communication from the University of South Alabama, and her Ph.D. in communication from the University of Miami. She lives in Seattle, Washington.

Bob Osmond is founder and CEO of FWD STRATEGIES, LLC., a communications, consulting, and coaching firm that helps organizations and their leaders move forward with clarity and purpose. He has more than three decades of experience building brands and leading teams that develop and deliver integrated public relations and communications programs for a range of technology and consumer clients.

He is an ICF-accredited and iPEC Certified Professional Coach (ACC, CPC, ELI-MP), and a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE®). He also serves as a media and presentation trainer and coach to CEOs and executives, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. 

Bob’s agency career includes leadership positions at global holding companies (WPP, OMC), as well as independent agencies (DGC, RPG). His teams have won industry awards, including Cannes Lions, Silver Anvil, PRWeek, and Sabres for B2B and consumer campaigns.

A native of Nova Scotia, Canada, Bob holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy from Dalhousie University, Halifax. He lives in New York City.