The New York Chapter of the Hispanic Public Relations Association Kicks Off Another Exciting Year with First Educational Workshop on May 3

NEW YORK, March 29, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The New York Chapter of the Hispanic Public Relations Association is proud to announce another year of exciting educational and networking events, and offers a 2-for-1 membership discount for those interested in joining in 2017. From traditional media relations to content marketing and social media, the PR world is constantly evolving and in 2017, the New York Chapter of the Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA-NY) will lead the way in providing Hispanic PR professionals with the tools, skills and networking opportunities to continue on their path to success.

To kick things off in 2017, HPRA-NY will be bringing members and all those interested in Hispanic PR an educational workshop aimed at providing attendees with a deeper understanding of the changing media landscape, and the impact this has on brands. On Wednesday, May 3, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from industry leaders in traditional and social media, PR and the brand to take back a holistic perspective to their agencies and find out how they can tap into a new growing media landscape and experts that cater to an increasingly bicultural, English-dominant market.

Members are encouraged to keep a lookout in their inboxes for more on the New York Chapter's upcoming schedule of activities and networking events through the balance of 2017, and a new Guest Writer Series kicking off in April.

"We are excited to bring your some exciting new programming as well as bringing back some chapter favorites including the Media Speed Dating event, all aimed at helping PR professionals learn, grow and network," said Melissa Carrion, HPRA-NY president. "To celebrate the New Year and encourage participation, we will be offering those interested in joining the organization with a special offer. Grab a friend and sign up together to join the HPRA-NY Chapter for the price of one membership!"

The New York Chapter is proud to welcome back returning board members Melissa Carrion, Veronica Potes and Erika Sanchez and excited to announce new members including Lissette Rodriguez, Berenice Gonzales and Paola Cuevas. The full 2017 HPRA-NY board includes:

• Melissa Carrion (President) is the Brand Manager, Multicultural Marketing at Colgate-Palmolive. In this role, she will shape and execute insight based brand strategies that will help build affinity with multicultural consumers and deliver share growth for the Colgate Oral Care portfolio. Throughout her career at agencies including Cohn & Wolfe, Havas FORMULATIN and the Jeffrey Group, Melissa drove ideation and execution of key PR and influencer initiatives for major global brands including Colgate Optic White, Colgate Total, Nissan, Heineken's Tecate, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, T-Mobile, Microsoft and Diageo. She joined the HPRA-NY board as President in 2015. Follow her on Instagram @melissa_carrion and Twitter @mcarrion13.
• Veronica Potes (Vice President) is Director of Integrated Marketing at NBCUniversal. She spearheads ideation for integrated marketing campaigns across the USA Network & Syfy. She was previously a Marketing Manager creating & managing integrated marketing campaigns for E! Entertainment and the Esquire Network. Veronica has been involved with HPRA for more than 10 years holding positions with the National Board as well as New York and Los Angeles local chapter boards.
• Lissette M. Rodriguez (Treasurer) is the founder of Chic Influence, a public relations and talent management firm specializing in building influence with the powerful U.S. Hispanic media and consumer markets. Prior to launching Chic Influence, Lissette was the Senior Vice President at DeVries Global where she led national multicultural public relations campaigns for Procter & Gamble beauty brands including Pantene and Olay. She also held positions at The Axis Agency and Republica working with major global brands including Unilever, Nintendo, Pernod Ricard, General Motors, The Nielsen Company, to name a few. Lissette is a first-generation bilingual, bicultural Latina who was born and raised in Miami.
• Erika Sanchez (Secretary) has been an active member of HPRA-NY as part of the membership committee for the past four years. She is a public relations and marketing communications professional with a decade of experience in media relations, strategic planning and social media development for consumer products and lifestyle brands. In 2015, she co-founded Braid Communications, a full-service public relations consultancy focused on lifestyle brands. Erika started her career at Child's Play Communications and managed communications programs, both traditional and social, for a variety of mom and kid focused clients such as Goddard Systems Inc., Elmer's, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, GUND® and K'NEX.
• Berenice Gonzalez (PR/Marketing Co-Chair) is currently an Account Supervisor at Havas FORMULATIN, a Hispanic PR firm focused on providing services that help brands connect with Hispanic consumers. At her role, she is in charge of assisting in the preparation of strategic communications plans, managing accounts and executing media relations and influencer programs for clients such us Wonderful Pistachios, Nestlé La Lechera, TurboTax and Phillips Distilling.
• Paola Cuevas (PR/Marketing Co-Chair) is currently Account Supervisor at Havas FORMULATIN, where she manages media relations efforts, oversees and executes Hispanic public relations programs for accounts including Wonderful Pistachios, Nestlé's La Lechera, TurboTax, Mi Pueblo Supermarkets, among others. Prior to joining Havas FORMULATIN, Paola specialized in travel public relations, where she managed an array of hospitality and tourism accounts including Los Cabos Tourism Board, Mexico Tourism Board, Acapulco DMO, Hotel El Ganzo, Marriott International Hotels, Mexico Grand Hotel and Fairmont properties.

Visit the HPRA-NY Facebook page for the latest news and information on upcoming events.

SOURCE Hispanic Public Relations Association's New York Chapter