The San Diego Press Club has announced its 2018-2019 board of directors, with Karyl Carmignani, science writer at San Diego Zoo Global, serving as president.
Other members of the executive committee include: Albert Fulcher, San Diego Community News Network, as first VP; Thom Senzee, LGBTs in the News, as second VP; Eileen Gaffen, Steres Gaffen Media, as secretary; Cliff Albert, News Radio KOGO 600-AM, as treasurer. Kristen Castillo, freelance writer and producer, is immediate past president.
Other board members include: Kevin Brass, freelance journalist; Jenna Brossman, J. Walcher Communications; Kathi Diamant, freelance writer; Kris Eitland, sandiegostory.com; Maggie Espinosa, freelance travel journalist; Rick Griffin, Rick Griffin Marketing Communications; Pauline Repard, The San Diego Union-Tribune; Mayte Rodriguez, Traveler Publications.
Newly elected board members include: Cynthia Dial, travel journalist; Ed Joyce, Caltrans; Francisco Ramos-Moreno; CBS News 8; Nicole Vargas, San Diego City College. Espinosa and Senzee were recently reelected to the board.
Four former board members have director emeritus status. They include retirees Reid Carroll and Laura Walcher, Gayle Lynn Falkenthal of the Falcon Valley Group and Barbara Metz of Metz Public Relations.
Ryan Berman to Discuss Courageous Branding
SDX will present “Courageous Branding,” a workshop presented by Ryan Berman, founder of Courageous, a consulting and coaching organization, from 8 a.m. to noon, Friday, Jan. 18, at National University’s Sanford Education Center, 11355 North Torrey Pines Road in La Jolla. Admission is $99 per person for members and $129 per person for nonmembers.
Berman, a former co-founder and chief creative officer at creative agency i.d.e.a. of San Diego, now heads a consultancy that trains companies on how to operationalize courage. His SDX workshop will help attendees get their personal brand in order. His Courage Brand method helps people discover what their brand is all about.
The workshop is for leaders, marketers, entrepreneurs, influencers or anyone looking to build and position their personal self. Admission to the workshop will include a copy of Berman’s book, “Return on Courage: A Business Playbook for Courageous Change.” The presentation is part of SDX’s ongoing workshop series. For more information, visit SDX at www.sandiegox.org.
Prior to moving to San Diego in 2004, Berman spent seven years working in New York City at MVBMS/Euro RSCG (now Havas), which included working on such clients as Evian, Schering Plough, Subway, Universal Studios and Volvo. In San Diego, he formed Fishtank, an agency that later became i.d.e.a. in 2012.
His previous clients have included Caesar’s Entertainment, Hilton, Major League Baseball, New Era, PUMA, Subway, UNICEF and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. In addition to Courageous, he also operates Sock Problems, a charitable sock company that raises funds to fight problems like racism and climate change around the world.
Communications Awards for County and Port District
A statewide association of public information officers for cities and other government jurisdictions recently honored the County of San Diego and the Port of San Diego with communications awards.
The California Association of Public Information Officers recognized the county’s Communications Office for success in crisis communications, citing its outreach during the hepatitis A outbreak and 2017 Lilac fire.
The association said the county’s website content about the hepatitis outbreak was viewed more than 35,000 times, with 185,000 impressions on social media. In addition, the county’s tweets during the Lilac fire resulted in 2.1 million impressions and 3,359 retweets.
The port was recognized for its public outreach efforts on the Port Master Plan Update and the association named Tanya Castaneda, public information officer, as Communicator of the Year.
Salk Institute appoints Senior Director of Communications
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies has named Steven Johnson as senior director of communications. Johnson will manage the communications and multi-media relations teams and serve as communications liaison.
Johnson recently completed 10 years of service as vice president of public affairs for the San Diego Convention Center Corp. In that role, he served as the convention center’s primary spokesperson and provided strategic counsel and communications support to senior leadership.
Prior to moving to San Diego from the Northwest, Johnson served as the director of public policy and communications for the Northwest AIDS Foundation.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.