The Auburn University Public Relations Advisory Council at its core is a service organization comprised of Auburn alumni. In its role as a service organization, the Council exists to help maintain and enhance the quality and excellence of Auburn’s Public Relations program by providing guidance and advice to the program director, the PR faculty, as well as the Director of the School of Communication and Journalism within the College of Liberal Arts. Additionally, the Council strives to strengthen ties between the program and the public relations profession while both educating and advocating for students.
Senior Leadership
Haley Olver, Chair
Haley Olver is a senior brand PR manager at IHG Hotels & Resorts in Atlanta focusing on brand storytelling within the hospitality industry. In her role, Haley develops integrated global campaigns and delivers cut-through news that drives consumer PR coverage for IHG’s essentials, suites, premium, and lifestyle brands. Haley is a 2014 graduate of Auburn University, where she studied public relations.
Tuan Huynh, Vice Chair
Tuan Huynh is vice-president of Melissa Libby & Associates (MLA), a public relations agency based in Atlanta with clients in the food, beverage and retail industries. Since joining MLA in 2009, he has handled everything from media communications to event planning before landing in his current role in 2015.
Ally Mills Dorrough, Secretary
Born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, Ally Mills Dorrough, APR, TMP, received her bachelor's in public relations at Auburn University in 2011. Dorrough joined Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism in 2013 as its public relations coordinator and promoted to communications and marketing specialist in 2018. In 2023, she was promoted to communications and marketing manager for Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism and Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports & Events, where she oversees PR, communications and marketing efforts for the sports/events, meetings and international markets. Additionally, Dorrough is an elected member of the national PRSA Travel & Tourism Section Executive Committee (2024 national chair), Alabama PRSA Board of Directors (2024 vice president) and serves on the South Baldwin Chamber Foundation Board of Directors. Dorrough and her husband, Dan, have been married since 2012 and have two young children. Outside of work, Dorrough enjoys serving with the youth at her church, cooking, baking, preserving and all things Auburn (WAR EAGLE!).
Josh Till, Immediate Past Chair
Josh Till, APR, serves as Director of Communications and Marketing for the American Heart Association in Birmingham, Ala. As such, he is tasked with promoting the Association’s mission of being a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives through innovative and strategic communications and marketing initiatives.
Prior to joining the American Heart Association in 2017, Josh was the Editor of Communications & Publications for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Comprehensive Cancer Center, Alabama’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. There, he oversaw the center’s publications, web and social media efforts, including the award-winning UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine. Prior to that, Josh was a public relations coordinator at HealthSouth (now Encompass Health), where he handled local media initiatives for physicians and facilities in a 15-state territory covering the Southeast and Midwest.
Josh has received awards for his work from several communications organizations, including the International Association of Business Communicators, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, the Southern Public Relations Federation, and the Public Relations Council of Alabama (PRCA), where he has been honored with nine Medallion Awards and one Best of Show Award, among others. In 2022, he received the organization’s Philip R. Forrest, Jr. Professional Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by PRCA to an individual practitioner.
Josh became Accredited in Public Relations in 2013 and was recognized as a Senior Practitioner by the Southern Public Relations Federation that same year. He is a former president of the Birmingham chapter of PRCA and has served in several roles on the PRCA state board of directors, including as state president in 2016. A native of Braggs, Alabama, Josh received his public relations degree from Auburn University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2002.
Council Members
Payton Beck: Payton Beck proudly serves her alma mater in Auburn University Advancement as a development coordinator for the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, the highest-ranking engineering program in the state of Alabama. In this role, she uses her communication, organizational, and project management skills to assist her team of development officers in fundraising for the college. Before her current role, she worked in communications and marketing roles with Auburn University’s Student Affairs and the Auburn Chamber of Commerce. Payton graduated from Auburn University in 2017 with a degree in public relations. She loves reading, cooking, trying new restaurants, and anything that has to do with Auburn.
Brette Bennett-Smith: Currently Brette serves as the senior manager of digital consumer analytics and insights for The Coca-Cola Company’s North America Operating Unit. Before joining The Coca-Cola Company in 2023, Brette was the vice president of accounts at You Are Here (YAH), an Atlanta-based marketing agency, where she managed comprehensive marketing programs for Coca-Cola, AMC Theatres, Hometown Food Co., among other emerging clients. Prior to joining YAH, she led national and regional communications campaigns for MSLGroup and Duffey Communications. Brette graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a minor in Spanish from Auburn University in 2010.
Katie Brown: Katie Brown graduated from Auburn University with a BA in Public Relations and a minor in Marketing. During her time at Auburn, she served as PRSSA treasurer, supported the development of the student-run agency, The Oaks Agency, and served as the organization's first president. She began work at a boutique advertising agency post-graduation while completing her MA in Advertising and Public Relations with a concentration in Marketing Communications at the University of Alabama. Based out of North Carolina, she now serves as a Senior Account Manager at Clear Start Creative, a digital agency that works to grow startups and small businesses through strategic marketing.
Emily Cannon: Emily oversees Brasfield & Gorrie’s marketing strategy and operations as corporate marketing director. With the company since 2010, she has been involved in many of the company’s largest pursuits, its hospitality and multifamily market sector teams, expansion into Texas, along with many other strategic corporate initiatives of a growing $5 billion company. She is passionate about empowering her team and streamlining the processes they use to support Brasfield & Gorrie.
Emily’s fascination with real estate began while growing up in Dallas, Texas, where she watched redevelopment and new development take place around her. After a decade in Atlanta, she quickly became a Birmingham enthusiast and is dedicated to devoting her time where it will make an impact. In addition to the Auburn PR Advisory Council, Emily is the Chair of ULI Alabama, serves on the Board of Directors for The Cornerstone Schools of Alabama, is a member of The Service Guild of Birmingham, and is an alumna of the Momentum Executive Leadership program.
Taylor Clark: Taylor was born and raised in Atlanta with a few scattered stints throughout the Southern states from Florida to Louisiana. After graduating with an Associate of Fine Arts in Theater from Young Harris College in 1991, he entered the Navy on Pearl Harbor Day in 1992. He was selected for an officer program in 1996 which enrolled him at Auburn University where in three years he graduated Magna Cum Laude in Public Relations and graduated with highest honors in life for convincing his wife, Katie, to marry him. During his time in the Navy, he held communication leadership roles at Tricare Region Nine and Naval Special Warfare Command in Southern California (where he and his wife completed their happy family with the addition of daughter, Nellie); Submarine Group Ten in his home state of Georgia; U.S. European Command in the Swabia region of Germany; and at the Pentagon where his 20-year naval career culminated with the honor of serving as the sole speechwriter for the Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus. Taylor spent the following 10 years serving in a number of executive communications roles at USAA, a financial services company focused on the military community. He led communications teams for every line of business at USAA before completing a rotation as the executive sponsor for 100th anniversary of the company in 2022. Taylor is a servant leader who loves the opportunity to give back to Auburn and the PR department that gave him so much during his time here.
Gabrielle Ferree: Gabrielle Ferree has spent her career scaling up corporate communications and public relations programs for companies ranging from fast-growing technology startups to publicly traded enterprises. She currently works for Slack, the Digital HQ communications tool owned by Salesforce.
Chelsea Clements Grund: Chelsea is a two-time graduate of Auburn, receiving her BA in RTVF in 2011, and her MA in Communication in 2013. Chelsea has 10+ years of digital marketing experience, specializing in social media strategy, digital content development, and influencer marketing. She recently joined the Global Communications team at UPS to serve as the brand's social media director, overseeing all organic social activity across enterprise channels.
Eleanor Hawkins: Eleanor is a communications strategist and writer at Axios. She authors Axios Communicators, a weekly newsletter that examines how leaders, businesses, brands and employers communicate. Prior to joining Axios, Eleanor served in communication leadership roles across media, public policy organizations, political campaigns and government. She studied Business Strategy & Execution at Harvard Business School and Communication at Auburn University. She currently serves on the Leadership Communication Council at UVA's Darden School of Business and sits on the Public Relations Advisory Board at Auburn University. She lives in Maryland with her husband and son.
Lenze Hawkins: Lenze is an account executive at Jackson Spalding in Atlanta working with companies like AT&T and Chick-fil-A to strategize earned media campaigns that drive brand awareness in line with their respective corporate purposes. Prior to joining Jackson Spalding, Lenze worked five political cycles serving as spokesperson for multiple statewide and national campaigns, a spokesperson for a campaign committee in Washington D.C. and worked in the press shop for a fellow alumna, Governor Kay Ivey.
Lenze graduated from Auburn in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations. At Auburn, she served in various roles of the Student Government Association including Elections Council and Elections Board, an Auburn on the Hill ambassador in D.C., as well as the PRSSA and PRCA liaison. Lenze lives in Atlanta with her husband and labradoodle.
Meredith Jones Hoing: Meredith Hoing is an experienced communications professional who has worked at the state, federal, and international level. Meredith began her career in Alabama where she worked on Governor Robert Bentley’s reelection campaign serving as the deputy communications director. After helping the campaign win by the largest margin in more than 20 years, Meredith moved to Washington, D.C., where she became the communications director for Congressman Alex Mooney. After Mooney’s win in 2016, Meredith moved to the Senate to run the national press team for Senator John Kennedy. While working for Senator Kennedy, Meredith was able to cultivate relationships with members of the media to establish a national profile for the Senator. While finishing her master’s degree at Georgetown University, Meredith worked at the Embassy of Australia where she helped sustain positive relations between Australia and the United States by connecting Members of Congress to their counterparts from Down Under. From the Embassy, Meredith helped lead the earned media team for Edelman Global Advisory serving as their Director for Earned Media. Most recently, she was recruited to serve on Corning Incorporated’s Media Affairs team. Meredith lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and basset hound.
Jackie Jags: Jackie Jags is currently serving in a development role as Chief of Staff to the Chief Marketing Officer of Chick-fil-A Inc., a restaurant company based in Atlanta, Georgia known for quality food and award-winning customer service. Prior to her current role, Jackie served as Director of Public Relations, leading a team that handled all national media relations, crisis management, national and international restaurant openings and 24/7 support for the existing 2,700+ restaurants. Jackie spent almost eight years working at several public relations firms in New York City prior to Chick-fil-A, including Marina Maher, Havas, Zeno Group and Ketchum. She specialized in healthcare and pharmaceutical communications.
Jackie graduated from Auburn University where she majored in public relations with a minor in music. In 2019 Jackie was recognized as one of PR News' Top Women of the Year and in 2021 she was listed as one of QSR Magazine's Young Restaurant Leaders to watch. She currently lives south of Atlanta with her husband, Paul, and their children, Charlie, Millie and Addie.
Nicole Klein: A native of Hoover, Alabama, Nicole Klein returned home in 2022 to lead business strategy as the Director of Sales & Marketing at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC). Klein is responsible for the programming and marketing of all entertainment, sports, conventions and meetings across the vast downtown campus that includes Protective Stadium, Legacy Arena, the BJCC Concert Hall and over 220,000 square feet of exhibition space.
Prior to joining the BJCC, Klein spent the first sixteen years of her career in New York City, most recently as the Director of Live Entertainment at the Madison Square Garden Company, where she developed strategy and oversaw all programming, marketing, and ticketing functions across the company’s five venues – Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Hulu Theater, Beacon Theatre, and The Chicago Theatre. In 2021, Klein was recruited to launch a new immersive entertainment concept in Atlanta called Illuminarium. As Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Legends, a global attraction and hospitality company, Klein drove all brand strategy in a successful opening year for the new entertainment destination.
Klein’s career began at Artist Group International, a concert booking agency, where she spent the first nine years of her career. In this role, she was responsible for all facets of touring for an exclusive roster of artists. Klein is a 2005 graduate of Auburn University.
Shea Snider Miller: Shea Snider Miller serves as Strategic Communications Director for Congressman Mike Rogers (AL-03). Miller served as Rogers’ fundraising coordinator on his first campaign for Congress in 2002. In Congress, Miller served as press secretary and handled all speeches, columns, press releases, press availability and social media for Congressman Rogers. She also worked with international, national and local media to further push Rogers’ message out. Miller served two terms as President of the Republican Communications Association, Vice-president of the Alabama State Society and is a Sustaining Member of the Junior League of Washington. After 20 years in DC, Miller currently resides in Anniston. She serves on the board for the RMC Foundation, ALEAF, Anniston Museums Endowment and on the Board of Directors for the Anniston Kiwanis Club. Shea also serves on the Calhoun County Chamber board and as vice-chair of tourism for the county. She and her family are active members at Anniston First United Methodist Church. Shea is married to Ben Miller and they have three sons: Shaw, Collins and Tucker Nile.
Miller graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Auburn University in 2002. At Auburn, Miller served as President of the College of Liberal Arts her senior year.
Samantha Moore: Samantha Moore is a strategic communications manager at Delta Air Lines in Atlanta supporting employee and operational communications for Airport Customer Service, the largest work group at Delta with 38,000 employees. Samantha leads communications to Delta employees in airports across the globe in areas including safety, policy, HR, staffing and customer experience. Prior to joining Delta in 2021, Samantha worked in public affairs at PERITUS Public Relations in Birmingham, Ala. A woman-owned, boutique PR firm, PERITUS specializes in public affairs and public relations supporting brands, corporations, non-profits and policy issues to move the state forward. Samantha led projects in the energy, tech, broadband and government sectors.
Samantha has been involved in community organizations including Atlanta Growing Leadership of Women (GLOW), Rotaract Club of Birmingham and Workshops Inc. Samantha graduated from Auburn in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations. At Auburn, Samantha interned in the U.S. House of Representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. in 2017. Samantha served in various leadership roles in organizations around campus including chief of staff for the Student Government Association and serving as a member of Lobby Board, advocating for Auburn University’s interests and higher education funding to state legislators in Alabama.
Alyssa Pettus: Alyssa Pettus currently serves as Director of Communications for the Leidos Dynetics Group. In this role, she oversees all communications, messaging, and strategy for the group. Pettus joined the Leidos communications team in 2020, serving as Senior Media Relations Manager and Press Secretary for the Civil and Intelligence Groups. In this role, she led strategic communications and media relations for the groups, while also acting as a key company spokesperson. She came to Leidos from Capitol Hill, where she served as press secretary for Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Prior to that, she held communications roles at Ervin Hill Strategy and NASA.
Pettus holds a bachelor’s degree in communications with minors in both business and Spanish from Auburn University.
Pam Powers-Smith: Pam Powers-Smith is the President of the Rome Floyd Chamber of Commerce after serving as Director of Business and Industry when moving to Georgia in 2020. She has served several years in Alabama in a variety of roles including Chamber work, downtown development, tourism and projects with Auburn University. She has served on countless nonprofit boards and stays active in professional organizations. She has Public Relations, Political Science and Business degrees from Auburn University.
Edward Reynolds: Edward Reynolds is a major gifts officer for the Auburn University Office of Inclusion and Diversity, where he cultivates meaningful relationships with alumni, corporations and foundations to secure philanthropic support for the university’s inclusion and diversity initiatives.
Nancy Riley: Nancy Riley spent 30 years in various communications roles at IBM, where she most recently served as Communications Manager, Mergers & Acquisitions. Nancy managed the internal and external communications for more than 50 acquisitions and divestitures, including IBM’s purchase of The Weather Company ($2 billion), Cognos ($5 billion), and the sale of IBM’s low-end server business to Lenovo ($2 billion). Now a proud IBM retiree, Nancy provides corporate communications consulting to companies such as Ernst & Young (EY).
Nancy is a cum laude graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations – Speech. She also holds a master’s degree in Communications from Georgia State University. An active volunteer, she serves as a board member of Simple Needs GA, a nonprofit organization that helps families emerging from homelessness. She volunteers as a domestic violence crisis line responder and pet foster parent for Georgia nonprofit, Ahimsa House. She also serves as a pro bono consultant with Community Consulting Teams Atlanta, which helps nonprofits with strategic planning.
Stephen Sprayberry: Stephen serves as Vice President, Corporate Affairs for BCW Global in the agency’s Atlanta office. As part of his role, Stephen oversees all day-to-day client needs including branding and graphic design, campaign management, media relations, social media, executive visibility, strategic counsel and crisis communications. Throughout his four-plus years with BCW, Stephen has spearheaded the creation and implementation of strategic communications programs for corporate brands across the government, transportation, fintech, oil and gas, residential housing and consumer space, including Coca-Cola, Bank of America, The Carter Center, bp/Amoco, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Equifax, Wood Partners, Ergon and more.
Since joining BCW in 2019, Stephen has assisted numerous high-profile organizations in successfully navigating complex business situations—from launching new programs and products to developing robust communications strategies in the wake of major crises—with the goal of accurately managing both internal and external perception of the clients he serves. His decade-plus of experience in the PR and communications space has enabled Stephen to enact positive change across multiple client organizations by serving as a trusted advisor to C-level executives, ultimately guiding them toward decisions benefiting their organization and employees, as well as the public at large.
Prior to joining BCW Global, Stephen spent more than eight years at Atlanta-based PR firm William Mills Agency managing PR and communications programs for organizations within the financial technology space. While at William Mills Agency, Stephen was recognized for his contributions to PR within the financial space as a 2019 Sales, Marketing and PR Trailblazer Award recipient from PROGRESS in Lending Magazine.
Stephen graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and an added concentration in Management. In his spare time, Stephen enjoys exploring Atlanta’s constantly evolving food and beverage scene, as well as soaking in live music and planning his next big trip alongside his partner, Trey.
Lindsey Watts: After graduating from Auburn University in 2015, Lindsey Watts pursued her career in Atlanta, first as an intern with Edelman and later as the PR Coordinator with the city's CVB. She became an ATL pro while promoting the city as a leading convention and leisure destination and honed her skills curating experiences for international journalists, pitching radio row during Super Bowl LIII, and learning the ins and outs of the city’s hospitality scene. She then joined the High Museum of Art’s communications team and spent two years telling the story of one of the Southeast’s leading art destinations and roaming the galleries whenever she had the chance. At Bread & Butter, Lindsey supports PR efforts for a variety of F&B and hotel clients.
Kristin Wooten: Kristin Wooten is a partner at Babbit Bodner, a top 20 Atlanta communications firm. Combining her global agency experience with Babbit Bodner’s boutique attention and premium client service, Kristin guides clients to determine the best communications and marketing strategy to achieve business goals. Prior to joining Babbit Bodner, Kristin spent more than a decade at global PR agency Edelman, leading high-stakes, integrated communications and marketing programs that have been recognized with top industry honors from PRWeek and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.