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PRSA launches its In Between Jobs program for communications professionals who have been affected by the past year’s economic challenges. The program’s offerings include a 50 percent discount off the organization’s regular $260 membership rate, a waived reinstatement fee for returning members and a free year-long membership in PRSA’s Independent Practitioner’s Alliance for those who may be considering starting or continuing an independent practice or are looking for freelance work. “Through this new program, we hope to partner with, and make it easier for, those seeking their next opportunity to take advantage of the professional development, networking and skills-building resources available through a PRSA membership,” said PRSA chief executive officer Linda Thomas Brooks. For additional information about the new program, click here.
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Padilla issues its 2020 Report to Our Communities, which highlights three projects that the agency’s teams completed during the past year. In June, Padilla’s Minneapolis headquarters office coordinated a supply drive for the YWCA Midtown, which was distributing groceries and supplies to city residents in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the unrest that followed. To encourage Padilla employees to get involved in community service and voting rights initiatives, the agency established a diversity + inclusion day of service, which offered employees a paid day off, which they could devote a range of DE&I efforts. Padilla also served as strategic communications partner for MN Cup, an annual statewide competition that provides education, mentorship and financial support for Minnesotans launching their own businesses. “These are the moments we need to celebrate,” said Padilla president Matt Kucharski, “because as we help those around us, we’re also helping ourselves.”
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| Sean Mansouri |
Elevate IR, a strategic financial communications firm, has been started up by former Gateway Investor Relations managing director Sean Mansouri. Before joining Gateway, Mansouri worked as a financial analyst at both American Express and Mercer Advisors. Elevate will offer a range of investor relations services targeting institutional and retail audiences, including strategic communication, investor outreach, crisis planning, shareholder activism defense, and IPO, SPAC & syndicate advisory.
Precision Strategies, an integrated strategy and marketing agency with offices in Washington and New York, acquires Firehouse Strategies, a DC-based public affairs firm... AVENIR GLOBAL acquires London-based Thinks Insight & Strategy... Good Company, which bills itself as a “cultural engineering firm,” is launched by DJ Hardy, a veteran of Johannesburg-based communications consultancy arxna and M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment and Casey Stickles, who has worked at 5WPR, Rubenstein and MWW.
PSC (Princeton Strategic Communications) acquires Nonprofit Partners... CG Life launches 24/364, a cultural brand platform intended to drive awareness, connection and action aimed at keeping rare disease at the forefront of the health and social conversation... Interluxe Group, which focuses on brand experiences and in-person activations; Quinn, a strategic communications agency; and media and digital agency North & Warren are uniting under the Interluxe Group banner.
KITH, which provides corporate reputation and crisis preparation services, is now owned by CEO Stephanie Craig, who has been with the firm since 2021... The Marketing Cloud, a part of Stagwell, introduces several expansions to Agent Cloud, the platform it launched in October 2025 to simplify access to its AI tools and marketing assistants.... Notified launches its AI Press Release Optimizer.
V2 Communications launches its AI Visibility Solution and Earned Media at Scale, two service offerings designed to help companies increase visibility and credibility in generative search... The Public Relations Global Network brings on Greenough Communications as its Boston member agency... DBC is relaunching The DBC Industry Calendar as a free site to help communicators more easily discover relevant events and awards in the cluttered event landscape driven by the growth of webinars and online events. 
PAN releases new original research showing that a significant share of B2B citations surfaced by ChatGPT are inaccurate, misattributed or entirely fabricated, introducing a new credibility risk for brands... REQ, which has offices in DC and San Diego, opens in Phoenix... Notified introduces Market Intelligence, an addition to its all-in-one IR Hub, which gives IR teams a more streamlined way to prepare for earnings calls.
