Public Affairs and Government Section Leadership

Chair
Lori Croy, APR
Director of Communications
MO Dept. of Commerce & Insurance
Jefferson City, MO
Lori.Croy@dci.mo.gov

Chair Elect
Janelle Guthrie, APR, Fellow PRSA
Communications Director
Building Industry Association of Washington
Tumwater, WA
janelleg@biaw.com

Immediate past Chair/Programming
Jenn Elting, APR
Manager of Community & Media Relations
Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
Cleveland, OH
eltingj@neorsd.org

Secretary
Toni-Anne Blake
Communications Director
New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission
Trenton, NJ
tonianne.blake@crc.nj.gov;
toniblake09@gmail.com

Social Media Chair
Yesenia Reinoso
Digital Marketing & Media Relations Officer
Y Communicate
Fort Lee, NJ
officialyeseniareinoso@gmail.com

Member Recruitment/Retention/Mentoring
Dr. Joe Trahan, APR, Fellow PRSA
President/CEO/International Media Relations Trainer
Trahan & Associates
Hixson, TN
joe_cajun@yahoo.com

Newsletter
Barbara Burfeind, APR+M, Fellow PRSA
Independent
US Navy retired
Fairfax, VA
burfante81@yahoo.com

Summit Co-Chair
Hannah Bourgeois
Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator
CONCEPTUAL COMMUNICATIONS
Jacksonville, FL
hannah@conceptualpr.com;
hebourg@me.com

Programming Chair
Jenn Elting, APR
Manager of Community & Media Relations
Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
Cleveland, OH
eltingj@neorsd.org

Summit Co-Chair
Karla Slate, APR
Communications & Marketing Manager
City of Covington
Covington, WA
kslate@covingtonwa.gov

MVTF Representative
Paula L. Pedene, APR, Fellow PRSA
Owner
Paula Pedene & Associates a SDVOSB
paula@pedene.com

Members at Large

Enrico “Rick” Callender, Esq.
Chief Executive Officer
Valley Water
rcallender@valleywater.org

Jennifer Day, APR
Great Lakes Regional Coordinator
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Jennifer.Day@noaa.gov

Capt. Brook DeWalt, APR+M, Fellow PRSA
Director of Public Affairs Operations
Office of the Secretary of Defense
brook.dewalt.mil@mail.mil; brookdewalt@yahoo.com

Patrick Evans, APR
Public Affairs Officer
U.S. NAVY
patrick@patrickevans.com

Rachael Gibson
Chief of External Affairs
Valley Water
rgibson@valleywater.org

Lauri-Ellen Smith, APR
Owner
CAT 5 Crisis Communications, Inc.
cat5crisiscomm@gmail.com

Debra Walker, APR
Director of Public Affairs
Missouri Department of Mental Health
debra.walker@dmh.mo.gov

Judith Webb, APR
Executive Vice President
International WELL Building Institute
judith.webb@wellcertified.com