Events
June Chapter Luncheon - More than words: Realigning inclusive communications and values-driven PR with Dr. Karen Lindsay, Assistant Professor of Strategic Communications at Elon University
When: 6/28/2023
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From responding to a crisis to promoting executive thought leadership, PR practitioners are expected to be the keepers of an organization's reputation and image. Dr. Karen Lindsey, PR scholar and practitioner will discuss trends and offer insights for practitioners seeking advice on aligning and creating inclusive communications. How can PR practitioners have conversations with their leaders that include more than just using the right words? How can practitioners ensure inclusive communications connect to overall business strategy? How can identifying your organizational archetype and values foster meaningful conversations and actions?
Dr. Karen Lindsey is a PR scholar-practitioner and leadership communications consultant. She currently serves an Assistant Professor of Strategic Communications at Elon University in North Carolina. She is owner of Lindsey Consulting where she advises corporate executives, university presidents, and their leadership teams on aligning internal and external communications, conducting crisis communication response planning, and inclusive communication business practices. She moved to North Carolina in 2021, after serving as a visiting lecturer at Texas Christian University where she taught campaigns, public relations, strategic writing, and inclusive communication courses.
Dr. Lindsey is an experienced public relations practitioner. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dr. Lindsey has 20 years of combined corporate communications, higher education, media relations, and marketing experience. Prior to teaching, she was Vice President of the Higher Education sector in the Dallas, Texas office of Edelman. Her primary clients included Arizona State University, Denison University, The Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, and Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. In this role, she and her team helped university presidents establish thought leadership in digital and print media and improve their personal and professional brands. She created crisis communication plans, conducted media coaching, provided overall reputation management strategies, and led the work of account executives in New York, Washington, D.C., Austin, Houston and Dallas.
She served as Director of Field Development for Northwestern Mutual, a Fortune 500 financial services company headquartered in Wisconsin Additionally, Dr. Lindsey held corporate communications, media relations, and marketing positions with the Chicago Tribune, U.S. Bank and Wisconsin Gas (now WE Energies). She served as a leadership communications consultant to the U.S. Army and U.S. Department of Defense where she completed assignments in Washington, D.C. and Germany.
She is a frequent conference speaker, podcast guest, and facilitator of topics on Authentic Leadership Communication, Leadership Identity Development, and Women of Color in Leadership. In 2023, she was awarded Elon University's School of Communications inaugural DEI academic excellence award. In 2021, she served as a speaker at the PRSA Corporate Communications Symposium in Nashville, TN. In 2020, she was selected to present at SXSW in Austin, Texas on the topic of intersections of gender, race, and leadership. Dr. Lindsey presented a TEDxTalk on counterintuitive career advice for college students in 2015. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), International Leader Association (ILA), a fellow with the Women in Leadership Development Institute (WLDI), a University Leadership Scholar Fellow, and a former member of the National Association for Professional Women (NAPW), the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE). Dr. Lindsey's community service work includes the Alzheimer's Association, Meals on Wheels, and Girl Scouts, USA.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Wisconsin, a Master's in Corporate Communications from Mississippi College and a doctorate in higher education administration from Azusa Pacific University with a research emphasis on organizational leadership and the formation and emergence of leadership identity in women of color in higher education, public relations agencies, and other corporate environments. She is co-authoring a book this summer on incorporating inclusive, strategic communications throughout an organization's planning process.
Dr. Lindsey believes that equity and inclusion is more than a workshop or a speech and begins on an individual level by embodying our espoused personal values, examining our similarities, respecting lived experiences, and acknowledging historic realities. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @drklinzy
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