Engagement Science Lab

Our founder Elizabeth Edwards is keynoting the Northwest Communicators Conference in Portland on April 16 with “Public Relations 3.0, AI and the New Trust Economy: The Science, the Signals, and the New Architecture of Human Belief.”

AI isn’t just changing how people search for information — it’s changing how they make meaning, how they communicate, and how they trust. For communication professionals, that shift redefines the strategic value of our work.

PR 3.0 maps the new intelligence layer our industry is now operating in — and why communicators hold more influence right now than at any point in the history of the field.

Thank you PRSA Oregon for a powerhouse lineup. See you in Portland.

AND THE PRSA Oregon NW Communicators Conference LINEUP IS LIVE ON OUR SITE!
 
For two days, CommCon is bringing together headliners, industry disruptors and strategic masterminds for a professional development experience designed to elevate your impact and your career.
 
HEADLINERS
Mark Mohammadpour, APR, Fellow PRSA – Chasing the Sun’s Chief Wellness Officer
Nigel Jaquiss – Oregon Journalism Project’s Pulitzer-prize winning senior investigative reporter
Elizabeth Edwards - Volume PR & Engagement Science Lab
Katie Garcia – Logos Institute for Crisis Management and Executive Leadership
And that’s just the top of the bill.
 
We also have Jenny Jeffries with Athletes Unlimited, Jenny Nguyen, owner of the The Sports Bra, Kacie Van Stiphout of the Portland Thorns FC, and Kimberley Veale of the Portland Fire discussing the Portland-led women’s sports revolution.
 
Also taking the stage:
Langley Allbritton, AI Comms Consulting
Colby Reade, MPS, APR, M.J. Murdoch Charitable Trust
Amanda Staggenborg, Ed.D., Mount Angel Abbey
Ms. Rhonda Morin, APR, Oreon Health and Science University
Sally (Gilpin) Ridenour, APR, Fellow PRSA, Oregon Department of Transportation
Greg Eppich – PRR
Leigh-Ann Eng – PRR
Samantha Swaim Swaim – Swaim Strategies
Jim Lukaszewski, APR, Fellow PRSA, The Lukaszewski Group
Tom Unger, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA
Kelly Guenther – Guenther Group
Jen Maxwell-Muir, Maxwell
Jacque Coe, APR, Fellow PRSA
Rashaad O’Neal, Puyallup School District
Taraneh Fultz, APR
Anne Thwaits, Benton County
Carly Johansen Fredericks, Benton County
Jess Columbo, Social for Good
Samantha Harmon, LHH Recruitment Strategies
Salomé Chimuku, Multnomah County Democrats & Art By Esoko
University of Oregon students:
Sam Rinaldi
Madison Price
Allie Geraci-Novy
Denali Williams

If you want to stay competitive, relevant and influential in today’s communications landscape, this is the room you want to be in.

Registration is open at prsaoregon.org. Seats are limited.

Special thanks to and , whose input and assistance has been fantastic!

Join us in Little Rock for the inaugural AI in Arkansas Conference with a keynote, tools workshop, and Q&A on powerful, responsible, and maximum effect AI with our founder, Elizabeth Edwards and Arkansas PRSA

It's the first conference of its kind in the state, covering everything from strategic AI integration to bias elimination to building AI teams. But here's one lesson you can use right now:

Most organizations are approaching AI backwards.

They're asking "How can AI help us do what we're already doing?" instead of "How can AI help us think differently about what's possible?"

The companies getting real competitive advantage aren't just automating tasks—they're using AI to expand their strategic thinking, reduce cognitive load on routine decisions, and amplify human creativity rather than replace it.

The shift: Stop being a passenger with AI (passively traveling along hoping it goes somewhere useful) and start being the driver (dynamically directing this superengine to take you further, faster, and with more fun).

This mindset change is the foundation for everything else—ethical implementation, effective prompting, building AI teams, eliminating bias loops. Because when you're intentional about the role AI plays in your thinking, you make better decisions about how to use it responsibly.

At the conference, we're going deep on the frameworks and tools to make this practical: How to claim your AI advantage while keeping human potential at the center. How to use behavioral science to make AI communication actually resonate. How to build teams of specialized AI apprentices.

If you're in Arkansas (or willing to travel), come learn how to move from AI user to AI strategist. Registration closes August 8: https://vist.ly/3zxxv

And if you've got a team or organization that needs to level up their AI game responsibly, let's talk. My team and I help businesses create sustainable AI advantages built on behavioral science, not just the latest shiny tool.

What's your biggest question about using AI strategically in your work?