PRSA 2026 IPA VirtuCon

Agenda

Discover new ways to strengthen your business, sharpen your expertise and connect with fellow independent practitioners nationwide. This year’s lineup includes:

State of PRSA: An Update from Our CEO

Matt Marcial, APR, CEO, PRSA

Matt will join us again this year for the annual “CEO’s update” on the state of PRSA – where we are and what’s ahead for our association.

Profit First: How to Build Greater Profitability into Your Indie Business

Michelle Scribner, CEO, Sum of All Numbers

You had a great quarter. Revenue was strong. Your P&L shows profit.  But when you go to pay yourself, it seems there's barely anything left in the bank account.  Where did all the money go? As an independent practitioner, cash flow is always on your mind. In this session, we’ll examine a cash flow system that fits easily into your regular business owner habits. We’ll also explore:

• Why traditional accounting fails small businesses (and what to do instead)
• How the Profit First system works (the bank accounts, the percentages, the rhythm)
• How to set up your allocation percentages (based on YOUR business, not generic rules)
• The account structure that makes it automatic (so you don't have to think about it)
• How to implement without disrupting operations (start small, scale up)

Indie Trends: Six Years of Opinions, Priorities & Perspectives

Gina Blume, APR, president, Out of the Box Public Relations, Inc. and past IPA Chair

From emergency preparedness and long-term financial planning to work-life balance and favorite Halloween candy, Gina’s polls offer a revealing—and sometimes entertaining—look at what matters to PR pros and how your own opinions compare.

From Media Databases to AI: Five Lessons from a Decade of Watching PR Technology Evolve

Gina Milani, founder, PRToolFinder and president, Milani Marketing & PR LLC

From media databases and social media to remote work and AI, PR technology has changed dramatically over the past decade—but the principles behind choosing and using it wisely haven’t. Drawing on more than a decade of watching the PR tech landscape evolve,  Gina will share five lessons to help you cut through the noise, choose tools that fit your indie business and keep professional judgment at the center of your technology decisions.

Practical AI Workflows for Solo Practitioners

Kami Huyse, APR, CEO, Zoetica

AI is showing up in more client work, but not every idea or use case makes sense when you're running a shop of one. This session is for PR and communication solo practitioners who want realistic ways to use AI in their work without losing judgment, trust, or control.  Kami will walk through her Framework Method App, the five levels of AI adoption from prompt libraries through custom assistants and automation, and where to set guardrails so disclosure and professional judgment are protected.

Bring your ideas and leave with a plan to turn it into a tool you own, one that moves with you from client to client instead of locking you into a single platform.

Clarity Reset: How to Step Back, Refocus and Move Your Business Forward

Jona Ohm, APR, founder, Middle America Communication Solutions

Sometimes what your business needs isn’t another course or another to-do list—it’s protected time to step back and focus on the work that keeps getting pushed aside. Drawing from her Clarity Reset retreat, Jona will share an executive-summary version of her simple framework for identifying priorities, creating focused work time and adding accountability so you can clear the clutter, tackle what’s been lingering and move your business forward. 

And because VirtuCon is about more than presentations, we’ve also built in a few Stretch & Refill breaks so you have time to stretch and refresh your beverage and snacks, along with two facilitated networking sessions where you can meet and interact with fellow attendees, exchange ideas and talk about what you’re learning throughout the day.