Top PRSSA LB Guests of the Semester

By Jakki Padilla, Ambassador of Communications

Looking for a way to get involved and connect with top professionals in Los Angeles County's industries? As a PR major, PRSSA LB is the perfect organization for you!

This semester, we hosted panels every Wednesday featuring innovators from the sports, entertainment, tourism and fashion industries. Our guests offered invaluable advice to students who are just beginning their careers.

As the Fall 2025 semester concludes, we want to extend our sincere gratitude to all of our amazing guests. Thank you for dedicating your time to speaking with our students and offering incremental advice on how to jumpstart their careers in our field.

Interested in who we featured? Take a look at the panels and guests we brought to campus below:

Brand Builders Panel - The Avaka Collection and Global Media PR

This panel featured PR specialists whose mission is to improve and analyze a brand’s image through social media and website analytics. Including answering questions like, “Why is this brand unfavorable to the algorithm? Why is Instagram full of Canva graphics, and how do we make this company stand out from the rest?” Thankfully, Maria Olsson-Tysor from Global Media PR and Vanessa Kanegai (The Avaka Collection) answered those questions!

Maria Olsson-Tysor (Global Media PR) is a seasoned pr and marketing strategist with 20+ years of experience elevating beauty, lifestyle and wellness brands. As founder of Global Media PR, she specializes in high-impact media placements, influencer programs, social campaigns and experiential partnerships that drive measurable growth. Her work has secured clients' features in top-tier outlets such as Forbes, Vogue, NPR and national TV. Maria brings a boutique, results-driven approach that helps brands stand out in competitive markets. 

Vanessa Kanegai (The Avaka Collection) is a communications and marketing leader with over two decades of experience shaping brand narratives across hospitality, culture, and lifestyle. As founder of The Avaka Collective, she partners with global artisans, creators and heritage-driven brands to amplify rich stories rooted in authenticity and innovation. She also consults for emerging hospitality brands on launches, media strategy, and strategic partnerships. Previously a Managing Director at Wagstaff Marketing, Vanessa led major integrated campaigns for brands including Marriott, Wynn Las Vegas, Kimpton and Amazon Studios.

Entertainment Panel - Falcon Publicity and Live Nation

Have you always wanted to work for Coachella, or perhaps are you a fan of Live Nation’s shows and venues? Two amazing guests showed up to help you achieve your dreams in the music business! Angela Moreno from Falcon Publicity and Gaby Mungarro from Live Nation!

Angela Moreno is a publicist for Falcon Publicity, who graduated from San Diego State University and got her start by writing alongside her father, who was in the music industry, managing mid-tier artists. Her father’s influence in maintaining the images of the musicians he represented. Now, years later, she is following in his footsteps to do publicity for big music festivals such as Coachella and Stagecoach through Falcon Publicity. 

Gaby Mungarro is an alumna of CSULB’s Journalism & Public Relations program and currently works for the music industry’s powerhouse that is Live Nation. When she was in high school, she would go to pubs and take pictures for local artists, which grew her passion for journalism. Later on, she decided to get her master’s degree in strategic communications which her cohort in which she made connections to the music industry, where she landed a job at Intuit Dome and now at Live Nation! 

Global Partnerships - Lakers

Partnership jobs are the money makers in public relations! Moreover, students who are interested in sports get an opportunity to talk with David Brantly, the head of global partnerships for the Lakers! Brantly tapped into the market of anime with sports, inspired by Shohei Ohtani’s anime campaign with the Dodgers —Brantly decided to bring him and his children’s favorite anime, “One Piece,” into the mix! This required months of planning and getting the licensing and permissions from Crunchyroll, Toei Animation and Eiichiro Oda to execute this plan. Now, the original Lakers x One Piece shirt is valued at over $200 to buy on eBay. 

A piece of advice Brantly gave to our students is to, “make sure you’re nice to people on the way up, because you’re going to have to be nice to them on your way down.” Because you never know when someone underneath you may become your boss in a matter of days!

Fashion PR - Shein

Did you know that Shein, the fast fashion giant, has permanently revolutionized the industry? Lisa Zlotnick, the head of brand pr for Shein, explains why Shein is different compared to other fashion retailers. Like Zara, Shein bases continued product production on initial public reception, specifically, positive reviews, clicks and sales of a limited release. However, Shein operates solely online, unlike Zara, which utilizes both online and physical retail locations. This absence of brick-and-mortar storefronts has allowed Shein to save on the costs associated with renting commercial spaces, allowing them to have a low cost in clothing. 

While working at Shein, she noticed a dedicated customer base for wedding-related items, including decor and garments. This led to the creation of the Shein Love Chapel event. To add excitement, the event featured "Love Is Blind" season one favorites, Lauren Speed-Hamilton and Cameron Hamilton, who participated in a promotional wedding ceremony. The incentive? The couple received a free wedding, provided all their attire and decor exclusively showcased Shein products, which taught students that campaigns could be born through simply looking at the data. 

From the dynamic world of brand building with Global Media PR and The Avaka Collection, to the pulse of entertainment with Falcon Publicity and Live Nation, the high-stakes realm of sports partnerships with the Lakers, and the revolutionary strategies of fashion PR with Shein, the Fall 2025 semester was an incredible success. The insights shared by these industry leaders have not only illuminated the diverse career paths within public relations but also provided our students with the actionable advice and inspiration needed to jumpstart their professional journeys. PRSSA LB is proud to have connected our members with such influential guests, and we look forward to continuing to provide invaluable opportunities for professional growth in the semesters to come.