Public Relations Chapter Hosts Program on Overcoming Communications Challenges

November 9, 2022 – Sarasota

This month, the Central West Coast chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (CWC-FPRA) presents the professional development event, “Unleashing Your Potential to Transcend Boundaries & Impact Change,” on Wednesday, November 16, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The event, which takes place at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties (3130 Fruitville Road, Sarasota), will feature experienced public relations practitioner and communications expert Suzanne Buchanan, senior principal of KARAT Communications.

The event will offer guidance on identifying impactful communication methods in crisis and multicultural contexts. The discussion will cover external vs. internal contexts and examine how real-world experiences can teach practitioners much that they didn’t previously know or have experience with.

“Today’s public relations practitioners are contending with numerous communications challenges due to ever-evolving technology, the need to tailor messages for multicultural audiences and, of course, a volatile political landscape,” says Sheryl Vieira, president of CWC-FPRA. “We are looking forward to learning from Suzanne how we can navigate these challenges and learn from events unfolding around us.”

With more than 20 years of progressive experience delivering strategic communications and conflict resolution solutions for clients in the U.S. and overseas, Suzanne Buchanan loves helping others overcome their communications challenges. 

After starting her career in the advertising sector – working as a copywriter for corporate telecom, national retailers, and financial sector accounts – Buchanan quickly realized her appetite for a challenge and her ability to bridge divides. Always in pursuit of growth and passionate about extending reach, she advanced from regional to national to multicultural and international communications, developing an independent communications practice serving the international development field overseas in South Asia, after which she returned to the U.S. to serve as a crisis communications consultant working with national and local governments, academia, corporations, religious groups, and the nation’s most diverse communities on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice. This experience – which only deepened her understanding of the power of communications to affect positive change – fuels her current work today.

Tickets are $25/members, $35/future members; cost includes lunch. To register, visit cwcfpra.com/events. CWC-FPRA’s annual corporate sponsors are Caldwell Trust Company and Next-Mark. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties has graciously donated its venue as an in-kind sponsor.

CWC-FPRA meets monthly for professional development luncheons and networking. These events are designed to expose attendees to current public relations practices and developments in the communications industry. Visit cwcfpra.com for more information.