Society & Culture

Reimagining communications lecture features APCO Worldwide’s chairman

Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication will host the Kennedy Symposium featuring Nelson Fernandez, chair of APCO North America and managing director of its New York office.

Fernandez will speak on “Reimagining Communications for the Future: Opportunities and Pitfalls” March 17 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 171 of the Zell B. Miller Learning Center. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The original speaker for this event was APCO’s Margery Kraus, but she had a last minute scheduling conflict.

Fernandez’s presentation will discuss the changing landscape of communications and the convergence of public relations and advertising. Fernandez will also touch on his experience helping to manage one of the largest independently-owned communication and public affairs firms in the world.

APCO Worldwide, founded in 1984, is a global consulting firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. and specializing in corporate, public affairs and strategic communications. Fernandez has worked at APCO for more than ten years as the managing director of its New York office. In December 2014, he was named chairman of the North America operations. His areas of focus at APCO include issue management, corporate positioning, thought leadership, stakeholder engagement, CSR planning and strategic planning. He also helps direct new business development.

Prior to APCO, Fernandez worked for 12 years at Burson-Marsteller, where he worked for both the North America and Latin America regions in the healthcare, public affairs and corporate practices. Fernandez has a master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton University and a bachelor’s degree in English, summa cum laude, from Amherst College. He is fluent in Spanish.

About Grady College

Established in 1915, the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers undergraduate majors in journalism, advertising, public relations, digital and broadcast journalism and mass media arts. The college offers several graduate degrees and is home to the Peabody Awards, internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious prizes for excellence in electronic media. For more information, see www.grady.uga.edu or follow @UGAGrady on Twitter.