LeadershipFPRA Milestone

LeadershipFPRA: Celebrating 10 Years of Leadership 
FPRA’s Exclusive Leadership Program Accepting New Applications

At the 2025 PR & Comms Summit this August, LeadershipFPRA will announce its 10th leadership class. This milestone celebrates a decade of providing Florida Public Relations Association members with the tools they need to become stronger leaders in their organizations, their communities and FPRA. Applications are now being accepted.

To date, more than 130 FPRA members have graduated from this premier, exclusive leadership program. With a curriculum similar to community leadership programs like Leadership Tampa, Leadership Orlando or even the statewide Leadership Florida, LeadershipFPRA exposes class members to a variety of fields, including government, law, ethics and governance, economic development, higher education, business strategy, corporate finance and more.

“When I applied for LeadershipFPRA, I promised myself that I would not hold back. I would take full advantage of every opportunity offered to better myself both professionally and personally. My LeadershipFPRA experience broadened my horizons. Period. In every direction,” said Kevin Christian, APR, CPRC, director of public relations at Marion County Public Schools, a graduate of LeadershipFPRA Class IV, and past LeadershipFPRA chairman.

Those who graduated from the LeadershipFPRA program developed deeper relationships with classmates while exposed to some of Florida’s most pressing issues and cutting-edge industries. Insider tours have included Space X, Brightline, the World Equestrian Center, the Orlando International Airport, Limbitless (which manufactures bionic arms for kids), the state Capitol Building, and many more. Classmates agree that the memories that are made and the camaraderie that is developed are lasting.

“I have learned so much from other practitioners around the state and also from my classmates. It’s just really neat to hear some of their stories and getting to know them a little better and knowing that I now have 15 to 20 other people that I can reach out to if something comes up,” said Sarah Whitfield, public information officer at Santa Rosa County and LeadershipFPRA graduate of Class VIII.

The program was developed with the idea to give FPRA members leadership skills to be more valuable professionals. “None of this is about learning PR … it is about learning to lead,” said Roger Pynn, APR, CPRC, during a presidential luncheon during the 2016 FPRA Annual Conference. Both Pynn and his wife, Shelly, are founding sponsors of the program. What has resulted is an esteemed Alumni base filled with FPRA Chapter leaders (current and past), FPRA State Board leaders (current and past), credentialed professionals and leaders of various organizations. LeadershipFPRA also has created a network of colleagues that will last a lifetime.

“It’s so incredible to be able to pick up the phone, send a text or shoot an email to a fellow practitioner across the state in either a similar industry or an applicable situation and gain insight and knowledge that you need to make a better or more informed decision,” said Ginger Broslat, APR, CPRC, lead stakeholder engagement manager with Duke Energy and graduate of the inaugural class of LeadershipFPRA.

FPRA members are invited to apply for the premier, formal program, which consists of an orientation during the 2025 PR & Comms Summit and five full-day sessions throughout Florida. The program includes a joint meeting with FPRA’s Counselors’ Network at its Winter Symposium and a session set to coincide with the annual session of the Florida Legislature in Tallahassee. The program will culminate at a graduation ceremony during the 2026 PR & Comms Summit. 

Alumni would agree. Applying for the LeadershipFPRA program is a step a public relations professional will never regret.

“The first class, right out of the gate, challenged my personal assumptions of leadership – both the skills or the experiences that I had and maybe assumptions that I made about what was important about leadership to other people. So that self-confrontation and that ability to test ideas against the backdrop of a very well thought-out program really, out of the gate, was the value for me.” said Roy Reid, APR, CPRC, one of the presenting speakers at the 2025 PR & Comms Summit, co-author of “The Trust Transformation,” and member of the LeadershipFPRA Board of Directors.

The LeadershipFPRA applications are due June 23, 2025. For details, visit https://www.fpra.org/professional-development/leadership-opportunities/leadershipfpra.