In a world where digital transformation is moving faster than a viral social media post or breaking news story, PR professionals are stepping up to the plate – crafting strategies to capture audiences, generate results and rise above the noise. Join NCPRSA for the can’t-miss 2025 Strategic Communications Conference, “Future Forward: The Fusion of Human Creativity and Digital Evolution,” to discover how today’s evolving technology and digital media landscape best integrate with the human touch to drive forward-thinking solutions and foster innovation.
PR and communications professionals – from agencies and nonprofits to private corporations and independent practitioners – will experience a full day of thought-provoking keynotes, breakout sessions and networking opportunities, learning strategies to balance AI with human interaction, skillfully tailor outreach to journalists, engage niche audiences on social media, and more. Whether you're new to the industry or a seasoned practitioner, this conference offers a unique opportunity to learn from trailblazers who are defining authentic connection amidst the digital evolution, propelling North Carolina’s PR industry forward into its next chapter.
OPENING KEYNOTE
The Human Edge in the Age of Machines: Why AI Alone Won’t Save Your Company
Speaker: Greg Boone, CEO, Walk West
Artificial intelligence is no longer on the horizon—it’s here, reshaping every industry in real time. From automation to prediction, AI is rewriting the rules of business faster than most organizations can update their strategy decks. Yet, amid the excitement, too many leaders are making a dangerous assumption: that technology alone will deliver transformation.
In 
The Human Edge in the Age of Machines
, Greg Boone, CEO of Walk West, reveals why the companies thriving in this AI revolution are not simply building smarter systems, but cultivating stronger cultures. The organizations winning today are the ones empowering their people to ask better questions, make bolder decisions, and adapt with speed and conviction.
Greg argues that the real differentiator is not access to tools, APIs, or data—but the ability to align teams behind a shared purpose and inspire belief in the future being built. AI amplifies whatever culture exists inside your organization. If your team is disconnected, AI magnifies the distance. If your leadership is risk-averse, AI turns hesitation into irrelevance. But if your people are engaged, empowered, and inspired, AI becomes rocket fuel.
Through candid insights and real-world examples from leading digital transformations, Greg will challenge audiences to shift the narrative from 
“What can AI do?”
 to 
“What can humans do better because of AI?”
Key Takeaways
-Redefining competitive advantage: Why empathy, context, and courage—not just algorithms—remain the irreplaceable drivers of business success.
-The adoption equation: How AI + Adoption + Acceleration, led by purpose-driven leadership, becomes the winning formula.
-The culture multiplier: Why AI will either accelerate dysfunction or supercharge belief—depending on how leaders show up.
-Survival skills for the AI era: Why human traits like storytelling, de-escalation, and conviction are no longer “soft skills” but essential leadership assets.
-Future-ready leadership: How to move beyond plug-and-play solutions and build cultures that care, adapt, and scale in the AI age.
The future is not machine vs. human. It is machine + human. The leaders who succeed will be the ones who recognize that while AI can process data at lightning speed, the hardest—and most valuable—thing to scale is still the human spirit.
Breakout Session #1: 
Choose to attend one of the following three sessions:
PR + ChatGPT: What Works, What Fails and What to Try Next 
/ 
Speaker: Mikaya Thurmond, CEO, Milan Public Relations
Lights, Camera, Connection: Bringing In-Person Energy to Your Virtual Presentations 
/
 
Speaker: Valonda Calloway ("The TV Lady"), spokesperson, TV Host and actor 
Help or Hype? How to Use AI Strategically in Crisis Response 
/ 
Speaker: Stephanie Llorente, founder, Prep Communications
Breakout Session #2: 
Choose to attend one of the following three sessions:
Junk the Jargon: A Modern Framework for Clearer, Smarter Storytelling 
/
 
Speaker: Evan Boyer, principal, Leaders PR
Is It Time to Add AEO to Your Communication Strategy? 
/
 
Speaker: Carrie Cousins, vice president, LeadPoint Digital
From Gut to Data: A No-Budget Approach to Audience Targeting with AI + Strategy 
/
 
Speakers: 
Children's Home Society of North Carolina's 
Roxanne Raynor, director or marketing, and Kristina Geddings
, digital strategy manager
Breakout Session #3: 
Choose to attend one of the following three sessions:
Behind the Headlines: The Role of AI in Today's Newsroom
 
- National Association of Black Journalists RDU Panel 
/
 
Panelists TBA
Smarter Public Affairs: Integrating Technology and the Human Touch 
/
 
Speakers: Kate Payne , principal, Kate Catlin Payne LLC and Jenny Bo, co-founder and president, Roboro
Human+: Using Technology to Amplify Human Creativity 
/
 
Speaker: Jake Coltrane, associate creative director, French / West / Vaughan
AFTERNOON KEYNOTE
When a Dynasty Falls: The Murdaugh Scandal in the Digital Age
Speaker: Valerie Bauerlein, national affairs reporter, The Wall Street Journal, and New York Times best-selling author
What happens when significant power collides with relentless digital scrutiny – and a once-untouchable legacy begins to unravel before the world’s eyes?
Raleigh-based Wall Street Journal reporter and author Valerie Bauerlein takes audiences inside 
The Devil at His Elbow
, her instant New York Times bestseller and detailed investigation into the rise and fall of Alex Murdaugh, whose once-unshakable reputation crumbled under the weight of scandal, murder and intense media attention. In this keynote, Bauerlein will explore how the Murdaugh saga became a national obsession, fueled by viral news cycles, social media amplification and a 24/7 appetite for digital storytelling. Drawing on her deep reporting on Southern culture and small-town America, she will also examine how digital platforms transformed the Murdaugh story from a local scandal into a global conversation. Bauerlein will unpack lessons that communications and marketing professionals can glean from the implosion of a powerful brand, addressing reputation management in an AI-enhanced, misinformation-prone media environment. Touching on ethics, narrative control and the shifting boundaries between truth and perception, she will offer fresh insights before opening the floor to an interactive audience Q&A.
Information Source: North Carolina Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (NCPRSA) | eventbrite

Wake County

United States

Raleigh

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