2026-2027 PRSSA Kent Executive Board
All chapter photos are courtesy of TJ Laryea IV
President – Alanna Dowdy
Alanna Dowdy is a senior Public Relations major who has a passion for the entertainment industry. This will be Alanna’s second year on the board, and she is thrilled to lead such a wonderful group of talented and motivated individuals. Alanna’s favorite part about being in PRSSA is the confidence you gain to utilize your skills in internships, job interviews, or even networking events. In her free time, she loves hiking, traveling, creating music, and getting a coffee from Tree City. Alanna hopes to move to LA or NYC upon graduation to chase her dream of becoming a press agent for touring artists or Broadway. Email her with any questions or if you’re looking to get involved in PRSSA!
VP of Professional Relations - Amber Trares
Amber is a senior public relations major and nonprofit studies minor at Kent State University. She is in the Honors College. This is Amber’s second year on the executive board. Last year, she served as the VP of Fundraising and Community Outreach Co-Chair. Amber is from Columbus, Ohio. She is excited to plan events for PRSSA and connect with industry professionals. After graduation, Amber aspires to work in entertainment publicity with a focus on representation. In her free time, Amber watches shows and movies, thrifts, and spends time with her family, pets, and friends.
VP of Membership- Nina Robinson
Nina Robinson is a Senior Advertising major with a minor in Marketing at Kent State University. In her free time, Nina enjoys working out, reading, and going to concerts. Along with being a dedicated student, Nina is an employee at the Akron Children’s Museum, where she enjoys helping families embrace the magic of play. Her love for creative storytelling is what motivated her to join the advertising field. Nina hopes to combine her passion for advertising with her appreciation for film and music and eventually work in entertainment marketing.
VP of Communication - Kara Planey
Kara Planey is a junior at Kent State University, majoring in public relations with a minor in journalism. This is her first year on the board of PRSSA, and she is excited to gain more experience in PR and work alongside her peers. Kara hopes to have a career in entertainment PR, where she can combine her passion for movies and pop culture with her communications skills. She loves watching movies, writing, and anything that involves the visual arts.
DEI&B Coordinator & NMGZ Chairman - Tigi Rogers
Born in Ethiopia, Tigi Rogers is a Public Relations major with minors in Advertising and Political Science at Kent State University. She is a passionate and dedicated student who enjoys being actively involved both on campus and in the classroom. Outside of school, Tigi enjoys spending time with friends, taking walks in nature, and watching television. She hopes to use the communication, writing, and strategic thinking skills she develops through public relations to prepare for law school and achieve her goal of becoming a lawyer.
VP of Fundraising & Community Outreach Co-Chair - Madi Baldwin
Madi Baldwin is a Marketing major with a Public Relations minor hailing from Silver Lake, Ohio. Alongside her involvement in PRSSA, she serves as a general member of Paws for a Cause and is excited to help plan part of this year's fall fundraiser. Driven by a passion for entertainment marketing, Madi aspires to market films of all scales. In her free time, she enjoys writing and watching movies.
VP of Fundraising & Community Outreach Co-Chair - Columbus Jones
From Youngstown, Columbus Jones is a public relations major and general psychology minor at Kent State University. His free time revolves a lot around campus organizations as he is the VP of administration, membership education, and public relations of his fraternity, Delta Upsilon, along with their head of social media. This is also exemplified by his involvement in Kent State's Order of Omega and PRSA. Columbus is currently interning at Campus Inc this summer. He loves collaborative activities and any opportunity to work hard and prove himself. Any form of music media, especially CDs, has a huge space in his heart and his self-expression. He looks for any opportunity to develop his PR skills as well as his work ethic. His ambition is credited to his hopes of becoming a major PR executive in the future.
Social Media Manager Co-Chair – Haley Reedy
Hayley Reedy is a Public Relations and Political Science double major with a minor in Journalism. She has a deep passion for public affairs, social media, and politics, with a particular interest in exploring how communication and online conversations shape the way people connect, engage, and understand the world around them.
Social Media Manager Co-Chair - Elliott Wall
Wall is from Galion, Ohio. They are a PR major with a minor in photography, photojournalism, and digital media production. Along with PRSSA, they work for Kent State Athletics, the KentStater, and Kent State Marketing and Communications as a photographer. They are also involved in multiple young adult faith groups at Kent State. They enjoy running marathons in their free time and spending time with their friends and cats.
Website Manager – Jaylyn Pipkins
Cleveland native Jaylyn Pipkins is an Advertising major and Theatre Studies minor at Kent State University. Combining his academic studies with a natural drive for leadership, Jaylyn is actively involved on the KSU campus. Outside of his leadership roles, he loves exploring all genres of movies and television, as well as spending time with friends. Looking toward the future, Jaylyn is excited to merge his theatrical background and marketing skills to enter the creative side of advertising, with aspirations of becoming a copywriter and creative strategist.
Chapter Account Executive - Michael Burns
Michael Burns is an Advertising major and Public Relations minor at Kent State University. He is the PRSSA’s Chapter Account Executive. Michael is in his fourth year at Kent, graduating this spring. He joined the PRSSA looking forward to working with friends and getting experience before graduation. Michael hopes to work in the entertainment industry after college, being on the creative side of campaigns for movies, concerts, and much more.
Faculty Adviser: Michele E. Ewing, APR (She/Her)
Michele Ewing, APR has more than 15 years experience in agency and corporate public relations. Before joining the Kent State faculty, Michele was a vice president at Marcus Thomas LLC, an advertising and public relations agency in Cleveland and Youngstown.
During her 12-year tenure at Marcus Thomas, Michele played an active role in the management and growth of the public relations division with emphasis on the division's healthcare, internal and marketing public relations communications practices. Prior to Marcus Thomas, Michele worked for two Ohio hospitals.
Under her direction, PRSSA Kent has won six national PRSSA Teahan awards and numerous Kent State Student Involvement honors.
Michele teaches PR Campaigns, Public Relations Tactics and Principles of Public Relations courses. During the spring semester 2012, Michele co-taught the new Global Advertising and Public Relations course, which included a two-week study abroad experience in London.
Michele's research interests include internal communications, social media, student engagement and career preparation.
Follow Michele on Twitter @meewing, connect with her on Linkedin or email her.
During her 12-year tenure at Marcus Thomas, Michele played an active role in the management and growth of the public relations division with emphasis on the division's healthcare, internal and marketing public relations communications practices. Prior to Marcus Thomas, Michele worked for two Ohio hospitals.
Under her direction, PRSSA Kent has won six national PRSSA Teahan awards and numerous Kent State Student Involvement honors.
Michele teaches PR Campaigns, Public Relations Tactics and Principles of Public Relations courses. During the spring semester 2012, Michele co-taught the new Global Advertising and Public Relations course, which included a two-week study abroad experience in London.
Michele's research interests include internal communications, social media, student engagement and career preparation.
Follow Michele on Twitter @meewing, connect with her on Linkedin or email her.
Professional Adviser: Carrie Ann Kandes
Carrie Kandes is an award-winning communications leader and counselor whose nearly 30-year career has spanned public relations disciplines, as well as brand development and the leadership of communications strategy, programs and teams. She has held leadership roles in the insurance, agency, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and nonprofit sectors. She cultivates meaningful, trusted relationships and is known for inspiring, motivating and developing teams and advising senior leaders. Her professional purpose is to amplify organizations that are passionate about their people, mission, brand, stories and audiences.
Currently on career sabbatical, Carrie was most recently the director of Internal Communications for Westfield, an Ohio-based global leader in property and casualty insurance with more than 3,000 employees and more than $10 billion in assets. Carrie positively impacted the Westfield employee experience and drove business outcomes through the delivery of channels, content and programs that informed, engaged, inspired and activated. Her responsibilities included communications, channel and content strategy; executive communications strategy, messaging, content and programs; strategic content; leader enablement and effectiveness; communications operations and analytics; and leadership of the team delivering Westfield internal channels, content and communications programs.
An alumnus of Kent State University (KSU), Carrie has served as an adjunct professor in the university’s PR sequence. She’s a frequent guest lecturer and has served as a professional adviser for the university’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) for nearly two decades. An accredited (APR) member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Carrie is also a graduate of Leadership Akron (Class XXVI), was named one of Akron’s “30 for the Future” by the Greater Akron Chamber, and was recognized with the PRSA Cleveland Davis Young Award for Exceptional Mentors. In 2020, PRSSA recognized her work with KSU students with the Dr. F.H. Teahan National Award for Outstanding Professional Adviser
Connect with Carrie on LinkedIn or contact her via email.
Currently on career sabbatical, Carrie was most recently the director of Internal Communications for Westfield, an Ohio-based global leader in property and casualty insurance with more than 3,000 employees and more than $10 billion in assets. Carrie positively impacted the Westfield employee experience and drove business outcomes through the delivery of channels, content and programs that informed, engaged, inspired and activated. Her responsibilities included communications, channel and content strategy; executive communications strategy, messaging, content and programs; strategic content; leader enablement and effectiveness; communications operations and analytics; and leadership of the team delivering Westfield internal channels, content and communications programs.
An alumnus of Kent State University (KSU), Carrie has served as an adjunct professor in the university’s PR sequence. She’s a frequent guest lecturer and has served as a professional adviser for the university’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) for nearly two decades. An accredited (APR) member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Carrie is also a graduate of Leadership Akron (Class XXVI), was named one of Akron’s “30 for the Future” by the Greater Akron Chamber, and was recognized with the PRSA Cleveland Davis Young Award for Exceptional Mentors. In 2020, PRSSA recognized her work with KSU students with the Dr. F.H. Teahan National Award for Outstanding Professional Adviser
Connect with Carrie on LinkedIn or contact her via email.
Professional Adviser: Chania Crawford
Chania is an account coordinator at Caliber Corporate Advisers, where she supports client account teams through social media strategy, media research, pitching, briefing materials, reporting and general client support across various accounts.
With a background in public relations and social media, Chania has experience across sectors such as consumer electronics and K-12 education. Most recently, she interned at the Stow-Munroe Falls School District.
Chania earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Kent State University, where she served as DEI co-chair and later President of the Public Relations Student Society.
Connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn or contact her via email.
With a background in public relations and social media, Chania has experience across sectors such as consumer electronics and K-12 education. Most recently, she interned at the Stow-Munroe Falls School District.
Chania earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Kent State University, where she served as DEI co-chair and later President of the Public Relations Student Society.
Connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn or contact her via email.
Professional Advisor: Sophia Iannelli
Sophia Iannelli is the Marketing Automation Manager at TalentLaunch, a nationwide network of staffing and recruitment firms. In her role, she oversees communications and optimizes systems within the company’s applicant tracking system (ATS), ensuring candidates and clients stay engaged through streamlined, effective messaging.
A proud Kent State alumna with a B.S. in Public Relations, Sophia’s leadership journey began in PRSSA Kent, where she served as Editor, Treasurer, Web & Social Media Manager and President. Those experiences continue to inspire her passion for giving back to the Chapter and helping students prepare for careers in PR and marketing.
Before joining TalentLaunch, Sophia held marketing and communications roles at BelFlex Staffing Network, Mike Albert Fleet Solutions, and Lucky Number 11 LLC, building expertise in digital marketing, social media strategy, content development, influencer management and brand communications.
Outside of work, Sophia enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, exploring new coffee shops, getting lost in a good book, and hanging out with her fur baby, Hopper.
Connect with Sophia on LinkedIn or contact her via email.
A proud Kent State alumna with a B.S. in Public Relations, Sophia’s leadership journey began in PRSSA Kent, where she served as Editor, Treasurer, Web & Social Media Manager and President. Those experiences continue to inspire her passion for giving back to the Chapter and helping students prepare for careers in PR and marketing.
Before joining TalentLaunch, Sophia held marketing and communications roles at BelFlex Staffing Network, Mike Albert Fleet Solutions, and Lucky Number 11 LLC, building expertise in digital marketing, social media strategy, content development, influencer management and brand communications.
Outside of work, Sophia enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, exploring new coffee shops, getting lost in a good book, and hanging out with her fur baby, Hopper.
Connect with Sophia on LinkedIn or contact her via email.
