CNN's Soledad O'Brien to Deliver Opening Keynote Address at PRSA 2011 International Conference

NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Soledad O'Brien, an award-winning special investigations correspondent and host of CNN's "In America" documentaries, will deliver the opening keynote address at the PRSA 2011 International Conference, Oct. 15–18, in Orlando, Fla. O'Brien will open the Conference with the presentation, "Diversity: On TV, Behind the Scenes and In Our Lives."

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O'Brien produced the recent documentaries "Almighty Debt," which explores the role of the black church in helping African Americans survive the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and "Latino in America," a wide-ranging look at Latinos living in this country and how they're reshaping America and how America is reshaping them.

"For more than two decades, Soledad O'Brien has been a standard-bearer for increasing diversity in TV journalism," said Rosanna M. Fiske, PRSA chair and CEO. "She will inspire many with her insight into how diversity in the media reflects our cultural and professional lives, a fitting theme for this year's Conference."

O'Brien joins other keynote speakers at the International Conference, including Peter Diamandis, CEO of X Prize Foundation; Joe Rohde, senior vice president and creative executive for Walt Disney Imagineering; and Chris Brogan, social media consultant and president of Human Business Works.

"Peter Diamandis, Joe Rohde and Chris Brogan epitomize inspiration," said Fiske. "Diamandis has given hope to many who have dreamed of one day flying through space by leading the X PRIZE Foundation for the achievement of personal spaceflight. Rohde lends the imagination of Disney to the Conference through a discussion on how Imagineering applies literary principles in designing extraordinary creative environments. Brogan inspires many business leaders to rethink how they engage with their customers and other stakeholders through his New York Times bestseller "Trust Agents," and his prolific and insightful blogging.  

As CEO of the nonprofit X Prize Foundation, Diamandis is committed to designing and launching large incentive prizes to drive radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. Citing anecdotes from X PRIZE competitions in exploration, life sciences, energy, environment, education and global development, Diamandis shares stories of innovations that are changing the way we think, work, and educate future generations. Following O'Brien's keynote speech, Diamandis will speak about innovations and breakthroughs through inspiration.

Rohde will open the General Session on Monday, Oct. 17, with his presentation "Theme Is a Noun." Walt Disney Imagineering is the master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, project management, and research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company and its affiliates. Representing more than 140 disciplines, its talented corps of Imagineers is responsible for the creation of Disney resorts, theme parks and attractions, hotels, water parks, real estate developments, regional entertainment venues, cruise ships and new media technology projects.

Brogan, president of Human Business Works, will address the Tuesday, Oct. 18, General Session on "The Changing Role of the Trust Agent." Human Business Works is an online education and community company for small business and solo entrepreneurs. One of his first projects entails helping nonprofits learn how to grow their capabilities.  Brogan also is a featured monthly columnist at Entrepreneur Magazine.

The theme of this year's PRSA International Conference, "Imagine. Create. Inspire:  Envisioning the Future of Public Relations," speaks to the new opportunities that today's technological advances are creating for public relations professionals, and invites practitioners to join together in imagining the ways in which those changes will impact the profession's future.

Conference participants can take advantage of discounted hotel rates in Orlando. PRSA also offers a $200 saver rate when you register by Aug. 26.

About the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)

With more than 31,000 members, PRSA is the largest organization of public relations professionals and students. PRSA is comprised of 112 local Chapters organized into 10 geographic Districts; 14 Professional Interest Sections that focus on issues, trends and research relevant to specialized practice areas, such as technology, health care, financial communications, entertainment and sports, and travel tourism; and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), which has more than 300 Chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. PRSA is headquartered in New York.

SOURCE Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)