About Us Committees, Project Teams and Task Forces Committees, Project Teams, Task Forces

Charge:  To encourage all association members to invest in their professional development by becoming accredited, thereby strengthening NSPRA and the public relations profession, as detailed in NSPRA Policy 225.11. 

Typical tasks to fulfill this charge include:

• Serving as instructors for NSPRA’s national APR Cohort program.
• Supporting and providing advice to NSPRA chapters seeking to provide accreditation preparation programs for chapter members.
• Assisting potential APR candidates in finding mentors by directing them to Mentor Match and by enrolling, when feasible, as a mentor.
• Contributing content for NSPRA member publications on the value and process of accreditation.
• Hosting and participating in APR-focused networking events and learning opportunities at the annual National Seminar.
• Promoting awareness among members and chapters of the Panel Presentation process. 
• Coordinating Panel Presentations for member-candidates as needed in states/regions without local chapter support for the APR process.

Reporting: Committee chair will provide progress reports to NSPRA staff liaison for each scheduled NSPRA Executive Board meeting.

Charge: To review outside auditor's report and make a report to the Executive Board.

Deadline: Board liaison to provide a report to the Executive Board during the November meeting and additional board meetings as needed.

The committee consists of at least three members, composed of Executive Board members and at least one NSPRA member at large.

• NSPRA staff liaison: 
  • Manisha Shingari, Director of Finance and Operations
• Board members:
  • Andrew Robinson, Mideast Region Vice President - Chair
  • Curtis Campbell, President-Elect
• At-large member:
  • Kaela Lewis, Ph.D.

Charge:

• Encourage eligible NSPRA members to consider running for the Executive Board and provide information about the nomination, campaign and election process. 
• Seek out and identify a slate of one or more qualified candidates for each office that will become vacant the following year (2027 vacancies: president-elect, Southeast Region vice president, Northwest Region vice president) and that represents the diversity of NSPRA membership. 
• Committee members shall not write letters of recommendation for potential candidates nor shall they endorse or campaign for any candidate in an election.
• Committee chair to present the slate to the membership during the Annual Meeting at the NSPRA 2027 National Seminar.

Deadline: Chair to submit the committee’s identified slate of candidates to the NSPRA president and executive director no later than May 1, 2027.

The EBSC is composed of eight association members: seven selected to represent each of the seven association regions plus one selected to represent a historically underrepresented group. A committee member’s term will commence on October 1, unless appointed to fill a vacancy mid-term. The term of a committee member representing a region of the association will end in the same year as the vice president from the member's region. The term of the committee member representing a historically underrepresented group will end in the same year as the vice president for diversity engagement.

Committee members must have previously served on the NSPRA Executive Board or as a chapter president within the five years prior to their appointment. Current members of the Executive Board are not eligible to serve on the EBSC except as specified elsewhere in policy. 

When possible, EBSC members should reside in the same state as their current regional vice president. The president-elect shall appoint one member to serve as their chair.

NSPRA staff liaison: Mellissa Braham, APR, CAE, Associate Director

Board liaison: Curtis Campbell, President

Members:

• Northeast Region - Meghan Baule 
• Mideast Region - Thomas Scheidel, APR 
• Southeast Region - Collin Brooks 
• North Central Region - Dirk Tedmon, APR
• South Central Region - Jake Potter, APR 
• Northwest Region - Phil Campbell 
• Southwest Region - Joe Ferdani, APR
• Historically Underrepresented Group -  Lesley Bruinton, APR 

Charge:

• Provide a mechanism for some Executive Board members to become knowledgeable about and to oversee the association’s finances.
• Become acquainted with association finances in enough detail to provide other Executive Board members a knowledgeable resource for making financial decisions.

Chair: Curtis Campbell, NSPRA President

NSPRA staff liaisons:

• Manisha Shinghari, Director of Finance and Operations
• Barbara M. Hunter, APR, CAE, Executive Director

The committee is composed of a minimum of three Executive Board members, elected by the board, and the president-elect, who serves as chair.

• • David Beil, Northwest Region Vice President
  • Michael Schoemer , North Central Region Vice President
  • Christy McGee, APR, Southwest Region Vice President

Charge:

• Annually review the NSPRA Policy Manual to ensure conformity with actual practices and to notify the Executive Board of any material differences found.
• Review the NSPRA Bylaws annually to ensure they meet the needs of the association and are aligned with association policies.
• Recommend to the Executive Board new policies and procedures that the committee feels would benefit and enhance association services and administration.
• Be responsive to requests from the Executive Board and/or other committees regarding current policies of the association.

Board Chair: Kelly Wachel, APR, NSPRA President

NSPRA staff liaison: Barbara M. Hunter, APR, CAE, Executive Director

The committee will be chaired by the Immediate Past President and composed of three Executive Board members, as appointed by the President. The appointment of new Policy Committee members will be approved by the NSPRA Executive Board at its September meeting.

Members:

• Kate Crowder, NSPRA Southeast Region Vice President
• Monica Lester, APR, NSPRA Northeast Region Vice President
• Danielle Clark, APR, NSPRA South Central Region Vice President

Project Goal: To identify best-in-class practices and performance measures for the critical function area of engagement to add to the Rubrics of Practice and Suggested Measures benchmarking publication. 

Project Tasks: Research and identify program components, example strategies and tactics, resources, evaluation measures and glossary terms that will provide school communication professionals with the guidelines and tools they need to determine the effectiveness of the engagement efforts in their school communication programs.

Deadline: Complete the research and submit new content/suggested updates for the publication to NSPRA by spring 2027.

Reporting: Project manager will provide progress reports to NSPRA staff liaison and board team leader for each scheduled NSPRA Executive Board meeting.

The president appoints special committee members, and members serve for one year unless otherwise authorized by the Executive Board. Appointments to the Benchmarking Project Team are made through anticipated completion of the project, with the development of each new function area estimated at two years for project completion.

NSPRA staff liaison: Mellissa Braham, APR, CAE, NSPRA Associate Director

Project manager: Jessica Scheckton, APR, PMP, NSPRA Communication Research Specialist

Project team members:

• Cristin Casper (NSPRA Southeast Region)
• Lee Cole (NSPRA Mideast Region)
• Angela Griffin Ankhelyi, APR (NSPRA Southwest Region)
• Michelle Shue (NSPRA Southeast Region)
• Hatara Tyson (NSPRA Southeast Region)
• Anakaren Cárdenas Ureño (NSPRA Southwest Region)
• Wanda Walker (NSPRA Southeast Region)

Charge: To certify the results of the 2027 election for NSPRA Executive Board offices in the event that there is a contested election and the results of any other votes by membership during their term of service.

Committee Membership

The committee is composed of not fewer than three persons.

Members are typically appointed by the president only if there is a contested election or bylaws vote. The committee is composed of not fewer than three persons.

NSPRA staff liaisons:

• Mellissa Braham, APR, CAE, Associate Director
• Manisha Shinghari, Director of Finance and Operations

Members:

• Michael Cyze (NSPRA North Central Region)
• Mitchell Roush (NSPRA North Central Region)
• Jessica Pupillo, APR (NSPRA South Central Region)