Corporate Communications and Organizational Culture Expert, Dr. Patricia Whalen, to Lead Presentation
Contact: Muffy Lavens
248-909-2793
media@cwcfpra.com
| SARASOTA, FL – March 14, 2025 – The Central West Coast chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (CWC-FPRA) is hosting a conversation with Dr. Patricia Whalen, a renowned expert on corporate communications and organizational culture, to help local marketing and communications professionals learn strategies for navigating change. The event will be held at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation Philanthropy Center on Thursday, March 20 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch is provided. Tickets are available now at cwcfpra.com/events. During this event, Dr. Whalen will share key communications strategies to help public relations professionals manage and implement organizational change initiatives – from integrating new technologies (such as AI), to layoffs and facility closings, to implementing a merger or acquisition. Using current and past examples of change initiatives, she makes the case that their success or failure is driven by how well internal communications is integrated throughout the organization. “Navigating change can be tricky; communicating change can be even trickier, and when the stakes are high, PR and marketing professionals have to be ready to meet them,” said Hunter Carpenter, APR, President of CWC-FPRA. “Dr. Whalen’s talk will leave all attendees with clear, actionable ways to be better communicators and counselors to the C-Suite when faced with turbulent times. Because the words ‘change is coming’ no longer have to elicit concern but rather opportunity for your organization’s most valuable audience: your employees.” CWC-FPRA meets monthly for professional development and networking events. These events are designed to expose attendees to current public relations practices and developments in the communications industry. Visit cwcfpra.com for more information. About the Central West Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association The Central West Coast chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (CWC-FPRA) is a network of public relations, marketing and communications professionals from Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties who come together for professional development and to build a network of peers. As an active part of the oldest statewide public relations organization in our country, CWC-FPRA takes pride in being the largest chapter in the state and in having an almost 60-year history of presenting stimulating programs and advancing the professional growth of its members. The Florida Public Relations Association is dedicated to developing public relations practitioners who, through ethical and standardized practices, enhance the public relations profession in Florida. For more about CWC-FPRA, visit cwcfpra.com. About Dr. Patricia Whalen Prior to her more than 20-year university teaching career, Dr. Patricia Whalen spent 17 years in senior corporate PR and Marketing positions where she headed corporate communications for a Fortune 300 automotive manufacturing firm and, later, headed marketing and communications for an international telecommunications company. Pat is accredited with the PRSA, and she served for six years on its Board of Ethics and Professional Standards. She is the recipient of the prestigious PRSA Silver Anvil award in corporate crisis. She holds a doctorate in mass media, a master’s in business management, and a BA in English. She served on faculty at Northwestern’s Medill Integrated Marketing Communications program for eight years and later served as graduate director at DePaul University’s PR and Advertising program. She has most recently served as a consultant and an online adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University and Florida International University, where teaches Corporate Public Relations, PR Ethics, and Global Strategic Communications. |