Spring Conference 2024

APRIL 9-11, 2024 IN PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

Counselors Academy's annual conference is a must-attend event for PR agency owners and leaders who are looking to grow, lead and scale successful businesses!

Dynamic speakers will share fresh insights and practical takeaways for agency owners, CEOs and VPs to navigate key business, leadership, management, and personal priorities in the ever-evolving landscape of PR.

A sneak preview of the amazing content lineup for 2024:

  • Inspiring and motivating keynote speakers!

  • 20+ workshops on succession planning, AI, new business development, firm management, budgeting, legal/contracts, client engagement, Gen Z employees, hybrid workforces and other issues that you're facing every day.

  • Three pre-conference sessions that take a deep-dive into critical content for agency owners and leaders.

  • Receptions, dinners, Dine-Arounds with the Executive Committee, and the all-new Counselors Night Out in the Community to get to know agency leaders who are facing similar challenges and opportunities.

  • Counselors Give Back positive impact initiative to support the Palm Springs community.

Learn more about the keynote speakers below.

Featured keynote speakers

You Are Not Stuck:
Prioritizing Personal Agency, Alignment, and Wellbeing

Do you ever feel stuck – at work, in relationships, or in your personal habits? If so, you’re in terrific company: Research shows “stuck” is a universal sensation, and does not discriminate by gender, age, or accomplishments. Worse, it leads to stress, anxiety, overwhelm, burnout, loneliness, and unhealthy behaviors to cope.

Our keynote speaker Becky Vollmer is an empowerment expert who helps leaders make sense of their own wants, needs, values, priorities, and fears to create the kind of change that leads to true alignment and deep inner contentment.

Her motto: We all have choices in life, we just have to be brave enough to make them.

Centering Community:
Case Studies & Stories from Greater Palm Springs

Keynote speaker Lauren Bruggemans is Director of Sustainability & Community Engagement for Visit Greater Palm Springs and winner of a United Nations World Tourism Organization award for innovation for a school and eco-resort in Eastern Indonesia. She will share case studies and best practices on the ways Visit Greater Palm Springs has embedded the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and community engagement in their systems & processes in service of their mission to promote their region to the world.

Fireside Chat:
Palm Springs Council member Grace Elena Garner

Lauren Bruggemans, Director of Sustainability & Community Engagement for Visit Greater Palm Springs, will hold a fireside chat with The Honorable Grace Elena Garner, the first Latina to serve as Mayor of Palm Springs in 2023. Lauren and former Mayor (now Palm Springs Council member) Garner will discuss leadership lessons and the synergies in their work to amplify the voices of underserved communities during her tenure.

Working (and Living) in a “Post-Real” Media Landscape

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools have exploded in popularity and use over the last year. In this keynote, we’ll explore what the rise of AI means for PR and media professionals and the ethical ramifications that may happen when you can’t trust what you read, see or hear. Poynter Institute faculty member Tony Elkins will join 2024 Conference Co-Chair Missy Hurley, APR for a fireside chat about AI’s impact on how we consume information, focused on what it means for our agencies, our clients and teams. This can’t-miss conversation closes out the 2024 conference and includes practical applications that agency leaders can immediately apply to their businesses.

Master Your Leadership Transition: Release Control & Trust Your Legacy

What's keeping you from taking the next step? Fear and mistrust are two common reasons that CEOs put off making decisions on the future of their agencies, particularly when it involves a leadership change. 

Keynote speaker Topsie Vandenbosch, a mindset and emotional intelligence coach for CEOs, will share how CEOs and owners are unintentionally shortchanging their agency’s growth by not fully releasing control to their second-in-command leaders and VPs, and constantly living in fear that it's a matter of time before their reputation is tarnished. She will share practical strategies for leaders to trust in the hard work and legacy of their accomplishments, release control and allow their successors to confidently build upon their agency’s strong foundation and unique imprint of culture, clientele, and innovation.

 

Interested in sponsoring the 2024 conference? Contact Counselors Academy Executive Committee member & sponsorship chair Nicole Morgan to discuss available options.