Once again in 2023, the Public Relations Division Professional Freedom & Responsibility committee organized two popular annual events for division members. Below we recap the news from 1) the Offsite Tour at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and 2) the fourth annual Community Giveback Day.
Offsite Tour: National Portrait Gallery
Thirty members of the PRD joined the National Portrait Gallery’s Head of Communications, Concetta Duncan, for a discussion about marketing and communications tactics for the museum. Concetta described the unique challenges and opportunities the gallery has as part of the Smithsonian system. She also described the ways they leverage social media, media relations, and other communication tools to promote their collections with limited staff and budget and to distinguish the museum from other destinations in the Capitol district. Unfortunately, due to severe weather, the museum closed unexpectedly and the visit ended before receiving a docent-led tour of the galleries. We are incredibly grateful to Concetta and her staff for their time and expertise!
Community Giveback Day
The PRD Community Giveback Day was created in 2020 as a way to make a small impact in the communities where we gather for our annual conference. This year on Aug. 1, 15 PRD members and six representatives from DC-based nonprofits for a communications consulting day. Participating nonprofits included Girls Rock! DC, Teaching for Change, and The DC Center for the LGBT Community. Discussions included how to brand an upcoming anniversary year, to strategically integrate fundraising communication, to revamp web presence, and to reach a wider audience of supporters. During the conference, a few members met for happy hour at City Tap with Teaching for Change Associate Director, Keesha Ceran, to continue the conversation about communication challenges in our polarized political landscape.
The 2022-23 PF&R Committee (chair Virginia Harrison, vice chair Melissa Adams, members Sun Lee, Queenie Li, Cheng Hong, Chuqing Dong, Hao Xu, Nahyun Kim, and Michail Vafeiadis) would like to thank the members who participated in these events with enthusiasm and thoughtfulness. We can’t do this without you! We’d also like to welcome incoming 2023-24 PF&R chair, Tyler Page, and vice chair, Queenie Li.
By: Virginia S. Harrison, 2022-23 PF&R chair