On Tuesday, September 13, more than 50 Los Angeles-area PR professionals gathered in The Vantage Dining Room high atop the Hollywood & Highland complex for PRSA-LA’s “Cultural Cave-Diving: Bringing a Global Mindset to Communications” program.
The event featured a collection of highly-seasoned practitioners with deep expertise in global corporate communications and how to successfully navigate today’s complex, increasingly interconnected world of diverse audiences. In addition to discussing the importance of understanding audiences, the experts addressed how they have parlayed their sense of adventure and distinct perspectives into a competitive advantage, as well as how their individual “roads less traveled” have proven to be more authentic and professionally rewarding.
Moderated by Angela Alvarez, managing director of Citizen Relations, the panel included Jamie Foley, vice president of global communications for the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board; Charlie Gu, director of China Luxury Advisors; Eva Hsuean, international PR manager for Princess Cruises; Lucy Redoglia, social media manager for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); and Margaret Traub, head of global initiatives at International Medical Corps. 
Traub began the evening by discussing her transition from CNN producer to director of global communications at International Medical Corps, and how she has managed one crisis or emergency after another…or so it seems. Originally from Taiwan, Hsuean told the audience about how she entered the cruise industry after spending many years in the technology realm. Redoglia now has her dream job, having moved to Los Angeles to work for LACMA and spending several years managing PR and social media for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She acquired the position after starting a blog, “Met Every Day,” in which she chronicled her daily visits to one of the world’s most famous art museums.
And so went the compelling and entertaining anecdotes from the panelists. The single commonality: all of the experienced practitioners recognize how the international PR sphere is constantly evolving, and how they have to work daily to create new strategies and support programs that take these myriad changes into account.
