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Preconference 2022 An in-depth look at this year’s sessions & presenters
Preconference2022
Each year, conference attendees gather on the Monday prior to the week’s kick-off to enjoy some indepth, intensive learning from industry experts and professionals. This special day has quickly become a must-do for conference goers, and this year is no exception. It only costs $100 and is worth every penny. Check out these powerful topics for this year’s conference and join us to take your professional development to the next level.
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It Takes A PRo: Putting APR in YOUR Professional Portfolio
Danielle Clark, APR, Harris County Department of Education, and other TSPRA APRs
School PR is tough. Come find out how getting your APR can put your career and daily job tasks on a path you never imagined! Affectionately referred to as #It takes A PRo, getting your APR is an investment in yourself, your career and your future. Don’t let another year pass without adding this prestigious credential to your professional portfolio. This session will provide you with a roadmap to earning your APR and hook you up with a mentor to support you through the process. You will get insight into the APR process, see how it will change the entire way your approach your job and meet with an APR mentor to get a jump start on the process with your portfolio project.
Danielle Clark is the Chief Communications Officer for the Harris County Department of Education in Houston. In this capacity she oversees all internal and external communications, strategy, public relations, media relations, video production, social media, marketing and website content management as well as IT network, software and customer support for all systems.
Clark has 22 years of experience in school communications in urban, suburban, rural school districts as well as an education service agency setting. She has a background in journalism and advertising and is an active member of the National School Public Relations Association. During her 22 years, Danielle has held leadership roles in three state SPRA chapters and was named one of four NSPRA front-runners in the country in 2017.
Danielle earned her APR in 2017.
Finding the Time - How to Manage Social Media in Under One Hour Per Day
Andrea Gribble, #SocialSchool4EDU
Struggling to make time for social media? Andrea will share tools, tactics and boundary-saving tips to help you make a bigger impact, while also saving you a ton of time. We’ll even spend time taking action – to help save time once you get back to the office!
Gribble’s passion is helping schools recognize their daily awesomeness and sharing that story with the world. She’s built a team that celebrates hundreds of schools across the country! #SocialSchool4EDU provides full social media management, offers an intensive Social Media Bootcamp, and runs a vibrant online community that provides ongoing professional development for school social media champions.
“I love the TSPRA event! It’s a chance to surround myself with the BEST school communicators across the state of Texas. I learn as much in the casual conversations with attendees as I do in the sessions. You make everyone feel so welcome and I can’t wait to reconnect in 2022 with an even bigger group!” Gribble says.
Rookie Boot Camp
Kim Hocott, Executive Director of Communications Department Pearland ISD
Every school PR professional needs tools to help navigate school communications. TSPRA Rookie Boot Camp will provide you with some basic tools, tips and techniques to finding your way through the day-to-day adventures we all face. Get to know your fellow rookies and meet some veterans who will help maximize your TSPRA experience.
Hocott has been in school PR in Pearland ISD since 2008, serving as the Executive Director of Communications for the district since 2012. Prior to joining the Pearland ISD Communications Department, Kim taught journalism, photojournalism, broadcast journalism and graphic design for 14 years in another district. Kim serves on the TSPRA Executive Committee as the Houston-Beaumont Region Vice President and previously served as TSPRA Parliamentarian. Kim and her team have earned numerous TSPRA Star Awards, Best of Categories and a Crystal Commendation. Kim holds a MA in communications and a BA in English.
“I love the relationships and friendships I've built with other school PR professionals from all over the state through being a part TSPRA. It's awesome to have so many go-to people who understand what you do and can offer advice or feedback on ideas. Strong relationships are the foundation of any organization and TSPRA makes it easy to connect with others who just ‘get you,’” says Hocott.
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The Building Blocks of a Successful Bond
Program
Amy Jones, Jessica Bazan, O’Connell Robertson Architects
A successful bond election requires a strong foundation. As communication leaders for your district, understanding the required building blocks to support this effort is essential. This workshop will provide information on facility issues that prompt a building program, planning and design terminology, how facilities impact educational instruction, project team members and roles and strategies for stakeholder engagement and communications.
Amy Jones
With 23 years in the A/E industry, Amy’s focus is on client relations, strategic partnerships and community engagement while overseeing the implementation of the Firm’s mission and vision. She is actively engaged in regional education initiatives. For more than 25 years, she has been engaged in school public relations in Texas and leads the stakeholder involvement and communications processes for the Firm’s bond planning services.
Jessica Bazan
Bringing over 10 years of experience in marketing and communications in the architecture, engineering and construction industry, Jessica provides strategic messaging and graphic design support for bond communication campaigns. Jessica’s knowledge of social media and virtual presentation platforms supports community engagement and public relations for bond programs and client events.
Mastering the Visual Code (EMP)
Telling a compelling video story is dependent on knowing a hidden visual language that has been with us since early cinema days. The language is ‘hidden’ because it is a visual code embedded in every TV show, every video message and every movie you have ever watched. Although it is ever present, this visual code is easy to overlook simply because it is visual. Julie Jones, director of the National Photographers Association’s (NPPA) News Video Workshop, will introduce you to this language and show you how to harness it so you can build better stories from the concept all the way through to the last edit.
Julie Jones is an associate professor at Gaylord College, a co-founder of OUStormCrowd, national chair for the National Press Photographers Association News Video Workshop, and, in 2012, was one of ten professors nationwide named as Kappa Alpha Theta’s Outstanding Faculty. Jones earned her doctorate at University of Minnesota in 2010.
A former television photojournalist and producer, Jones brings a wealth of professional experiences to her academic work. Her research is focused on the participatory nature of online news and visual platforms. Her work has been published in New Media and Society, ACM publications, PBS MediaShift and she is an active member of AEJMC’s Communication Technology division.
“I love TSPRA for its community. This is a group of people dedicated to improving their skills to serve their school districts better. And they really like coming to be together in their pursuit,” says Jones.
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Listening and Change Management: Better Engagement with Diverse and Minoritized Audiences
Jacqueline Lambiase, PhD, CPC, TCU
Using change management principles and better listening strategies, how might your district improve its engagement with all audiences, especially with people who may be underrepresented in decision-making spaces? In this interactive session, we’ll inventory your district’s listening architecture and create new pathways for communication through old and new channels. How might you build listening ambassadors inside your district, and how might you welcome new ideas and change along the way, as you begin to hear more about your stakeholders’ needs? How do you use change management systems to spark new programming, activities and community engagement in new ways?
Dr. Jacque Lambiase is a professor and chair of the Department of Strategic Communication in the Bob Schieffer College of Communication, where she teaches campaigns, senior seminar, diversity, writing, research, ethics, case studies and advocacy. For more than 15 years, she has consulted with or spoken to diverse groups about earning their share of discussion in social media and public relations opportunities, including TAMIO, 3CMA, NACIO, TSPRA, the Texas Municipal League, the Texas City Management Association, the Dallas Regional Chamber, communicators with the City of Austin, managers for the cities of Abilene and San Angelo, Children’s Medical Center-Dallas, the American Heart Association, Texas Instruments and the U.S. Department of Labor. She is a co-founder and organizer of the DFW/TCU Nonprofit Communicators Conference, now in its 12th year. Her research focuses on public-sector communication, public relations ethics, social media and representations of gender and sexuality in media and marketing. She has co-authored and co-edited two scholarly collections, as well as published more than 30 book chapters and refereed journal articles. Before her life as an academic, she served as spokeswoman for an East Coast electric utility and worked as a wire editor, business reporter and news editor for daily newspapers in Texas.
Get Your Google On! Measurement (Analytics) Intensive Workshop
It’s time to take your measurement and analytics skills to the next level. If you’re not already harnessing the power of Google Analytics (GA) to evaluate and enlighten your communications footprint, then this workshop is for you.
In this 3-hour, hands-on workshop you will learn: • The types of data you can see using Google Analytics and how communicators can use that data • How to navigate the default reports in GA and what they mean for communicators • Where your web traffic is coming from – social media, newsletters, search engines or referrals and why it’s important to see those sources • How to set up custom and recurring reports and how to share them with leadership • How to set up a basic dashboard to report on and share what you’re seeing in GA • What the future outlook of measurement is using GA.
Requirements: Your personal computer, access to your organizations’ Google Analytics environment.
***This workshop will include a one hour Zoom presentation in advance of the TSPRA conference, to make sure that all registrants are prepped and ready to take full advantage of the interactive elements of the workshop.
Fran Stephenson, APR, is principal of Step In Communication, a virtual boutique agency she has managed for more than ten years. She and her team specialize in strategic planning, social media management, influencer marketing, measurement and crisis communications. Previous clients include Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, Visit Plano, Galveston Convention and Visitors Bureau, SQH Sports, Northside Independent School District, Texas Travel Industry Association, Texas MedClinic, Visit South Padre Island, San Antonio Sports and ChildSafe. Current clients include Visit San Antonio, The Tennessee Department of Transportation, PMG Tastings, Barbara Greene & Associates and the New Braunfels Convention and Visitors Bureau.
