The Public Relations Society of America’s San Diego-Imperial Counties chapter (PRSA-SDIC) and PRSA’s Western District has announced that San Diego’s Julie Smith-Taylor has been inducted into the PRSA’s College of Fellows.
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’s APR (Accredited PR) professional designation.
A PRSA statement said, “We are pleased to recognize Julie for her incredible body of work over the past several decades and all she’s done throughout her career to represent the profession with integrity and the highest ethical standards.”
Smith-Taylor serves as owner and creative strategy of her own PR agency, Taylor PR Strategies. She said her career reflects a sustained commitment to advancing institutional storytelling, building relationships and advocating for her clients.
Approximately 700 individuals have been inducted into PRSA’s 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.
“This is a monumental professional achievement for me,” Smith-Taylor told Times of San Diego. “I 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’ve 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.”
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.
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.
PRSA’s College of Fellows induction ceremony will be held in October at the 2026 PRSA International Conference in Orlando, FL.
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KPBS San Diego Book Festival to draw 145 authors, 8,000 attendees
KPBS, San Diego’s affiliate for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR), will present the KPBS San Diego Book Festival 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.
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 “Adapting Novels for the Screen,” “Crime Reads” and “The Neurodivergent Reader.”
The event brings locals of all ages together around a shared celebration and love of books, learning and literacy, a statement said.
Featured authors will discuss books written in a variety of genres including children’s picture books, young adult, fantasy, romance, puzzles, graphic novels, historical and horror. New topics this year include romantasy, mystery, self-help and parenting genres.
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.
Additional activities will include live KPBS podcasts, including “Port of Entry,” “Cinema Junkie” and “The Finest,” along with musical performances from KPBS’ new music series, “Sundrenched Sounds.”
Headliners scheduled to appear include: Max Brallier, “The Dark and Other Scary Stories;” Oliver James, “Unread: A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) to Read on TikTok;” Christina Lauren, “The Romance Revival;” Chuck Tingle, “Fabulous Bodies;” Claudette Zepeda, “Cooking the Borderlands.”
Local authors scheduled to appear include María Dolores Águila, Kazim Ali, Sumayyah Beck, Megan Jauregui Eccles, Dr. Cassidy Freitas, Zohreh Ghahremani, Susie Ghahremani, Merryl Goldberg, Minh Lê, Susan Lee, Kelly Mayhew, Jim Miller,
Sean Mortimer, T. Jefferson Parker, Sally J. Pla, Dr. Neftalie Williams and Claudette Zepeda.
“Reading is critical to education and USD is always proud to emphasize that,” said Noelle Norton, dean of the school’s College of Arts and Sciences.
“We are thrilled for year two of this amazing community event,” said Jenelle Dean, KPBS’ community engagement manager and lead festival planner. “Creating the San Diego Book Festival was a natural extension of KPBS’ role as San Diego’s storyteller.”
The university is the event’s presenting sponsor. Other sponsors include NewBridge 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.
For more event information, visit www.kpbs.org/sdbookfestival.
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San Diego AMA Hosts Summer Social
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’s Coaster Terrace, 3146 Mission Blvd.
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’s 65th anniversary. Enjoy ocean views and networking with top-tier marketers, creatives, agency leads and media professionals.
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.
For more information, send an email to info@sdama.org or visit sdama.org.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly in Times of San Diego.
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