2023 Board of Directors

Elected Positions

 President: Angela Navarro

Angela is the Community Outreach Coordinator at the Downtown Alliance. She is experienced in public relations, marketing, and digital design professional with a history of writing, event planning, graphic design, website administration and volunteer management. She started her own marketing and graphic design consulting business, Olympia Creative Marketing, Co. which aims provide specific development opportunities for small and start up businesses.

Angela previously served as the DEI Chair as well for PRSA Austin. 

Immediate Past President: Ashley Schlosser

Ashley is owner and founder of Live Out Loud, a public relations, graphic design and events firm specializing in helping local Austin brands succeed.  Ashley has served on the PRSA Austin Chapter board since 2012. She also served as Co-Chair of the 2013 PRSA Southwest District Conference, which was held in Austin and brought in members from six states in the southwest district.  Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Ashley worked in the Public Affairs and Crisis Practice of Burson-Marsteller and also worked at global public relations firm Porter Novelli, which specializes in consumer, corporate, healthcare and technology communications.

Treasurer/Secretary : Amelia Folkes, MPS, APR
Amelia is Director of Public Relations at Raise Your Hand Texas. She oversees communication campaigns that support Raise Your Hand Texas’ statewide regional advocacy director team and the mission to advance the reputation of strategic priorities across policy, advocacy, and legislative engagement.

Prior to joining Raise Your Hand, she worked in technology PR supporting large multinational firms in their thought leadership communications. She also worked at State Farm for 11 years in community relations and brand strategy where she managed Texas-based grant programs positively impacting students, schools, and education-based nonprofits across the state of Texas. Her work includes winning several awards including a Silver Anvil for a financial literacy program geared to underserved Hispanic families hit hard by the housing crisis. She also spent time at the internationally recognized PR firm, Fleishman-Hillard, working with clients such as the Department of Homeland Security, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Office of National Drug Control Policy, AT&T, and others.

Folkes is fluent in Spanish and has extensive experience researching issues dealing with access to education for underserved communities and working with multicultural audiences. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Latin American Studies from Texas A&M University and a Master’s of Professional Studies in Strategy Public Relations from George Washington University. She received her professional Accreditation in Public Relations in 2016 and is active on the Austin PRSA Chapter and Hispanic Public Relations Association.

Programs Director: Stephanie Limb, MA

Emily is the Co-founder and Senior Partner at Groundswell Health, an Austin-based health care strategic marketing and communications firm.

 Prior to founding Groundswell Health, she served as the vice president of advocacy communications at the Texas Hospital Association, overseeing public policy and issues-based messaging on behalf of the 450-member association. Stephanie began her career in Washington, DC, working for the Maternal and Child Health Policy Research Center, a research and advocacy group focused on improving public health care policy for children and adolescents, and as a consultant for the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions where she focused on Medicaid and CHIP policy. After moving to Austin, Stephanie was a consultant for Seeds for Change Consulting, working with nonprofit organizations on communications and strategic planning. Stephanie leverages a skill set in policy and communications to bring clarity, meaning and ultimately, the ability to influence and act, to health care’s most complex and difficult issues. Stephanie has a Master’s degree in philosophy and public policy from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Yale University.

Stephanie serves on the board of directors for the Austin chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

Chair: Carlos Nieves-Guzmán

Carlos is an Army Veteran from Puerto Rico. He has worked as a public affairs contractor for federal agencies as the National Credit Union Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Currently is working as Public Relations coordinator freelancer for Somos Corp, a public relation firm in Puerto Rico. Also is a contributor for the digital newspaper, Puerto Rico Posts.

Carlos holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master in Public Relations from Sacred Heart University in San Juan, PR. He has several certifications in social media and currently is completing a certification in journalism. 

Diversity Chair: Emily Cornell

Emily is the PR, Social Media & Content Lead at Mercury Financial, a fintech focused on expanding financial inclusion by helping their customers work towards better credit for a better life. Her experience includes marketing, public relations, social media management, and promotions.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Master of Arts in Communication from the University of Wyoming.

 Communications Chair: Kellin Puello

Kellin has worked as a journalist, professor, and communications professional in the education and energy fields in her native Colombia. Her path has led her to coordinate and develop communication strategies for internal audiences and support external strategies for different publics in the most significant oil and gas project in her country, an experience that motivated her to come to Texas to sharpen her communications and PR skills.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Communications from Universidad de Cartagena and a Master of Arts in public relations from the University of Houston. Prior to joining the Austin chapter of PRSA, she served as the Public Relations Director at the International Student Organization at the University of Houston. 

When she is not working, Kellin enjoys exploring small towns in Texas, listening to country music, and learning to two-step.

  Chair of PRo-Am Day: Michelle Hargis