PRSA Leadership Spotlights in Honor of Black History Month, 2025

Posted by admin on Mar. 3, 2025  /  Subscribe 0

During February 2025, PRSA Dallas proudly celebrated Black History Month by showcasing the voices and experiences of three outstanding Black Public Relations and Communications practitioners.

This year, we’re once again “keeping it local” in our tribute to Black History Month, highlighting leaders within our own communities. We invited each of them to share their thoughts on what this month means to them as industry professionals, and their reflections are both powerful and inspiring.

Check out their stories below – we are grateful for each leader for their willingness to share their perspectives, uplift others, and continue making a meaningful impact in our field!

Aquarius Williams, MBA
PR Director, Trozzolo Communications Group
2025 PRSA Dallas Board Member

What does Black History Month mean to you as a PR and comms practitioner?
As a PR and communications practitioner, Black History Month holds deep significance, both professionally and personally. It’s more than a commemorative period; it’s an opportunity to engage in meaningful storytelling and amplify diverse voices.  As a communicator, one of my responsibilities is to ensure diverse voices are heard. It serves as an additional opportunity to advocate for ongoing representation and initiatives.

What can we, as a professional community, do more of to foster more diverse representation for Black practitioners in the industry?
Fostering diverse representation for Black practitioners requires systemic change, intentional efforts, and long-term commitment from the professional community. We can begin by advocating for the promotion of black professionals into leadership roles, implementing blind resume reviews to minimize racial bias in hiring, and actively recruiting from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as well as Black professional organizations.

Who is a Black voice (can be a public person or not) that has used their voice in a way that inspires, uplifts and has made an impact on you. Why was their method or style of communication effective?
Michelle Obama has used her voice in ways that inspire and empower me personally and professionally. Her communication style, which is rooted in authenticity, relatability, and emotional intelligence, will always serve as a blueprint and a guiding resource. I believe in the very essence of her resilience in adversity: "When they go low, we go high.”


A'jae Alvarez-Tyler
Public Affairs Specialist, North Texas Behavioral Health Authority
PRSA Dallas Member

What does Black History Month mean to you as a PR and comms practitioner?
As a PR practitioner, Black History Month offers me a unique opportunity to honor the trailblazers who laid the foundation for my professional journey. It’s a time to reflect on the immense sacrifices and achievements of those who have come before me, enabling me to occupy spaces that my ancestors could have only dreamed of. BHM is more than just a time to celebrate; it’s an opportunity to highlight the Black community's perseverance, resilience, and growth in the face of adversity. It allows us to focus not only on the business world but also on the history, struggles, and triumphs that have shaped the African American experience. This month symbolizes the fight for freedom and equality and the strength and rich culture of Black communities. It reminds us of the leaders who, despite enduring systematic barriers, overcame them with courage, ingenuity, and an unwavering commitment to progress. Black History Month is a call to celebrate and recognize those who’ve shaped American society across every sector, from politics to business to the arts, and to continue paving the way for future generations to thrive.

What can we, as a professional community, do more to foster more diverse representation for Black practitioners in the industry?
To foster greater diverse representation for Black practitioners, we must actively work to bring more minority voices into the conversation. This involves concerted efforts to create inclusive and supportive spaces for Black professionals in the industry. Networking events, conferences, and workshops tailored to the unique needs and interests of Black communicators should be prioritized, and they should be affordable and accessible to ensure that financial barriers don't impede participation. It’s essential that companies and organizations not only recruit diverse talent but also create pathways for career growth and advancement for Black professionals. We must also be intentional in ensuring that leadership tables are truly diverse, ensuring representation across all levels of decision-making. Allies can be better advocates by listening to the experiences of Black practitioners, elevating their voices, and using their platform to amplify the work being done by Black professionals. True allyship goes beyond tokenism. It’s about making systemic changes in hiring, mentorship and creating cultures of inclusion where everyone has the chance to succeed.

Who is a Black voice that has used their voice in a way that inspires, uplifts, and has made an impact on you? Why was their method of communication effective?
One Black voice that has deeply inspired and impacted me personally and professionally is Sarah Jakes Roberts. Her messages have had a lasting effect on my life, encouraging me to grow both mentally and spiritually. Sarah’s method of communication is incredibly powerful because she approaches every message with a level of vulnerability and authenticity that resonates deeply with her audience. She speaks from a place of lived experience, and her words are filled with passion, empathy, and truth. What makes her communication so effective is the content of her messages and how she delivers them. Her tone is inviting yet commanding, and she connects with her audience through every word and gesture. Whether speaking on stage or in a written piece, Sarah’s delivery is both inspiring and transformative, often reminding us that vulnerability can be a strength and that growth often requires embracing the challenges we face.

Thomas Bennett III
Sr. Vice President, FleishmanHillard
2025 National President, PRSA Foundation

What does Black History Month mean to you as a PR and comms practitioner?
Black History Month has a lot of meaning to me personally and professionally. It’s more than a month; it’s about celebrating Black excellence, culture, and history 365 days a year by learning about Black history, supporting Black-owned businesses, and honoring and celebrating Black leaders past and current. As a proud graduate of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Fisk University, Black History Month also has a lot of historical context given the lack of representation and diversity in our PR and communications profession. On a regular basis, I take personal accountability to not only amplify diverse voices but to ensure they’re seen, heard, respected, and valued.

What can we, as a professional community, do more to foster more diverse representation for Black practitioners in the industry?
As a PR and communications professional, there are many things we each can do to foster more representation for Black colleagues. Some actionable things include: implementing inclusive recruiting and hiring practices, working with HR to provide cultural competency training, promoting equal opportunities for advancement, actively recruiting from HBCU’s, and regularly monitoring the diversity among your team and department.

This year, I have the tremendous opportunity to serve and lead as national President of the PRSA Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of PRSA. All efforts of the Foundation focus on providing scholarships, grants, and internship opportunities for diverse college students pursuing a career in PR and communications. These efforts support students from all diverse backgrounds.

Who is a Black voice that has used their voice in a way that inspires, uplifts, and has made an impact on you? Why was their method of communication effective? 
I graduated from college in 2002, and it wasn’t until several years later that I saw someone who looked like me in a director-level or above position in a PR and communications role. At the time, being mid-level within my career, it was hard for me to imagine becoming something that I rarely, if ever, saw. Working now at a global agency, FleishmanHillard, I’ve been inspired over the years by Chris Foster, CEO of Omnicom Public Relations Group (OPRG). He’s currently one of the few Black men leading a global PR and communications agency. He was interviewed a few years ago on the topic of the lack of representation and diversity among agency executives. In this interview, his passion and work on this topic have fueled me to create more conversations and take intentional action while working towards making our profession more diverse and inclusive than what it is today.

Looking for DEI resources? Check out PRSA resources designed to help you champion diversity, equity and inclusion through your public relations work at https://lnkd.in/d_k7djBa
 
Interested in learning more about PRSA Dallas and becoming a member?
Visit our website at https://prsadallas.org/join

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