The Public Relations Society of America\u2019s San Diego-Imperial Counties chapter (PRSA-SDIC) and PRSA\u2019s Western District has announced that San Diego\u2019s Julie Smith-Taylor has been inducted into the PRSA\u2019s College of Fellows.<\/p>\n
The College of Fellows includes PR professionals who have made significant impacts to the PR and communications industries. Members must have at least 20 years of experience and have a track record of contributing to the profession and community through service and leadership. Members also must have earned PRSA\u2019s APR (Accredited PR) professional designation.<\/p>\n
A PRSA statement said, \u201cWe are pleased to recognize Julie for her incredible body of work over the past several decades and all she\u2019s done throughout her career to represent the profession with integrity and the highest ethical standards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith-Taylor serves as owner and creative strategy of her own PR agency, Taylor PR Strategies.<\/a> She said her career reflects a sustained commitment to advancing institutional storytelling, building relationships and advocating for her clients.<\/p>\n Approximately 700 individuals have been\u00a0inducted into PRSA\u2019s College of Fellows since its inception in 1989. The honor is clearly prestigious, especially considering that roughly 320,000 public relations specialists and managers were employed in the U.S. in 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a monumental professional achievement for me,\u201d Smith-Taylor told Times of San Diego. \u201cI was inspired to apply because of the tremendous impact Diane Gage Lofgren had on my career. She was my mentor and dear friend who also introduced me to PRSA in 1989. I\u2019ve been a member ever since. It is in her memory that I was motivated to follow in her footsteps and apply to the College of Fellows.\u201d<\/p>\n Lofgren, who passed away in January 2021 at age 67, was a member of the College of Fellows Class of 2009 and served on the PRSA board of directors. In 2017, Lofgren and husband Matt endowed the Diane Gage Lofgren Endowed Scholarship for Journalism at San Diego State University (SDSU), benefiting students in the School of Journalism and Media Studies, which includes majors in advertising, journalism, media studies and public relations.<\/p>\n The San Diego-Imperial County PRSA chapter is home to nine members of the PRSA College of Fellows. In addition to Smith, others include Lofgren, Lynne Friedmann, Elizabeth Pecsi, Marisa Vallbona, Jack Berman, Tom Gable, William Gay and Gayle Falkenthal, who was previously the most recent inductee. Falkenthal was named to the College of Fellows in 2016.<\/p>\n PRSA\u2019s College of Fellows induction ceremony will be held in October at the 2026 PRSA International Conference in Orlando, FL.<\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0*\u00a0\u00a0*<\/p>\n KPBS San Diego Book Festival to draw 145 authors, 8,000 attendees<\/p>\n KPBS, San Diego\u2019s affiliate for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR), will present the KPBS San Diego Book Festival<\/a> from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday Aug. 22 at the University of San Diego (USD). The event is open to the public and admission is free. Organizers expect more than 8,000 attendees.<\/p>\n The Festival, now in its second year, will feature more than 145 local and national authors participating as panel speakers, live entertainment, food trucks and book shopping from exhibitors, including independent booksellers. Panel topics include \u201cAdapting Novels for the Screen,\u201d \u201cCrime Reads\u201d and \u201cThe Neurodivergent Reader.\u201d<\/p>\n The event brings locals of all ages together around a shared celebration and love of books, learning and literacy, a statement said.<\/p>\n Featured authors will discuss books written in a variety of genres including children\u2019s picture books, young adult, fantasy, romance, puzzles, graphic novels, historical and horror. New topics this year include romantasy, mystery, self-help and parenting genres.<\/p>\n Also new this year will be an expanded footprint across the USD campus to include a larger space for kids activities. A youth reading stage and exploration area will include hands-on activities and photo opportunities with PBS Kids characters, including Arthur, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Daniel Tiger.<\/p>\n Additional activities will include live KPBS podcasts, including \u201cPort of Entry,\u201d \u201cCinema Junkie\u201d and \u201cThe Finest,\u201d along with musical performances from KPBS\u2019 new music series, \u201cSundrenched Sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n Headliners scheduled to appear include: Max Brallier, \u201cThe Dark and Other Scary Stories;\u201d Oliver James, \u201cUnread: A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) to Read on TikTok;\u201d Christina Lauren, \u201cThe Romance Revival;\u201d Chuck Tingle, \u201cFabulous Bodies;\u201d Claudette Zepeda, \u201cCooking the Borderlands.\u201d<\/p>\n Local authors scheduled to appear include Mar\u00eda Dolores \u00c1guila, Kazim Ali, Sumayyah Beck, Megan Jauregui Eccles, Dr. Cassidy Freitas, Zohreh Ghahremani, Susie Ghahremani, Merryl Goldberg, Minh L\u00ea, Susan Lee, Kelly Mayhew, Jim Miller,<\/p>\n Sean Mortimer, T. Jefferson Parker, Sally J. Pla, Dr. Neftalie Williams and Claudette Zepeda.<\/p>\n \u201cReading is critical to education and USD is always proud to emphasize that,\u201d said Noelle Norton, dean of the school\u2019s College of Arts and Sciences.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are thrilled for year two of this amazing community event,\u201d said Jenelle Dean, KPBS\u2019 community engagement manager and lead festival planner. \u201cCreating the San Diego Book Festival was a natural extension of KPBS\u2019 role as San Diego\u2019s storyteller.\u201d<\/p>\n The university is the event\u2019s presenting sponsor. Other sponsors include\u00a0NewBridge School, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press, San Diego County Library, Lloyd Pest Control, Author Solutions\/AuthorHouse Kids, Reading Legacies, First 5 San Diego, Printers Row Publishing Group, Goodwill San Diego County, Singleton Schreiber, US Bank, Educational Enrichment Systems and Phillis Schwartz.<\/p>\n For more event information, visit\u00a0www.kpbs.org\/sdbookfestival<\/a>.<\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0*\u00a0\u00a0*<\/p>\n San Diego AMA Hosts Summer Social<\/p>\n The American Marketing Association (AMA) San Diego chapter will host a summer networking social from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday Aug. 20 at Belmont Park\u2019s Coaster Terrace, 3146 Mission Blvd.<\/p>\n The event, which is open to the public, will include introductions of the 2026-2027 AMA San Diego board of directors and celebration of the San Diego chapter\u2019s 65th anniversary. Enjoy ocean views and networking with top-tier marketers, creatives, agency leads and media professionals.<\/p>\n The cost to attend is $55 for members, $81 for nonmembers, which includes one drink ticket and appetizers. Sponsors include Downtown Works, Fortino Studios and Kanbar Digital.<\/p>\n For more information, send an email to\u00a0info@sdama.org<\/a>\u00a0or visit\u00a0https:\/\/sdama.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n