Gerard F. Corbett, APR, Fellow PRSA
Founder and CEO, Redphlag LLC
2012 Chair and CEO, Public Relations Society of America
Gerard F. Corbett is the Chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and has been a member for more than 35 years. He is accredited in public relations (APR) and a member of the PRSA College of Fellows. He also is founder and CEO of Redphlag LLC, a strategic public relations, marketing management and executive coaching consulting firm, a position he has held since January 2008. He also serves as Chief Marketing Officer of Producers Forum, Inc., a real estate web start up.
Corbett has four decades of experience in technology, corporate communications and public relations. Prior to Redphlag, he was vice president for 13 years of the Branding and Corporate Communications Group and general manager of Web Strategy Center of Hitachi, Ltd., a $100 billion Tokyo based technology company. He previously served several leading Fortune 200 firms, including Loral Corporation, ASARCO Incorporated, Gould Inc. and International Harvester Company. He also was program manager and senior account executive with the public relations firm of Creamer Dickson Basford in Providence, RI. He launched his career in Silicon Valley as a scientific programmer at the NASA Ames Research Center.
A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Corbett has a B.A. in public relations from San Jose State University and an A.A. with a major in electronics engineering from the Community College of Philadelphia.
In addition to his role in PRSA, he is a senior member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; a member of the board and past president of the International Advertising Association/West; and a member of the Arthur Page Society, National Investor Relations Institute, National Association of Science Writers, San Francisco PR Roundtable, New York PR Society, International Coaching Federation and Kappa Tau Alpha, the National Journalism Honor Society. He also is Secretary and a member of the Board of Directors of Kids’ Turn, a San Francisco-based non-profit organization focused on families in transition.
Corbett, his spouse Di Wang Corbett and son Daniel and daughter Francesca live in the San Francisco Bay Area.
John Corrigan
Business Editor, Los Angeles Times
John Corrigan is the Business Editor of the Los Angeles Times, leading an ambitious staff of about 40 reporters and editors with correspondents in New York, Washington DC, Beijing and the Silicon Valley.
Corrigan directed The Times’ investigative coverage of Toyota’s sudden acceleration crisis, which earned a Loeb Award for beat reporting and was a Pulitzer finalist for national reporting. He also expanded coverage of the California economy, and initiated efforts to improve the Business section’s presence on the web and social media, which included the launch of a Facebook page for Business.
Corrigan was the project editor for the 2003 series "The Wal-Mart Effect," which won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. He also supervised coverage of several major and long-running stories, including Ameriquest Mortgage Co.'s predatory lending tactics, which was acclaimed by Columbia Journalism Review as a rare example of hard-hitting reporting of the events leading up to the mortgage meltdown and financial crisis.
Before joining The Times in 1999, he worked as a reporter and editor at the Los Angeles Daily News, the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Vista Press.
He is a former board member of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and serves on the alumni magazine advisory board for his alma mater, Loyola Marymount University.
Hal Dash
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cerrell Associates
Since 1977, Hal Dash has been instrumental in the growth of Cerrell Associates Inc. (CAI), propelling the company into one of the larger independent public relations firms in the United States and one of the largest in Los Angeles. Hal works closely with his fellow owners and practice area leaders in planning and implementing strategic client projects and campaigns. He also oversees the company's key practice areas: Energy and Environmental Public Affairs, Campaigns and Issues Management, Local Government and Land Use.
In addition to his management responsibilities, he personally consults with corporate and political clients on public affairs, government relations, media strategy, crisis situations, legislation and political campaigns.
For more than 33 years Hal has helped conduct speaker and media training and crisis management programs for CAI’s clients. He also serves on their behalf as an advocate before local city councils, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and various regulatory agencies.
Since 1978, Hal has consulted on and/or managed nearly 3750 judicial campaigns ranging from California Supreme Court to Municipal Court. The firm’s win percentage is over 95 percent during that time. Cerrell Associates Inc. provides full service campaign consulting to judicial candidates and has conducted seminars and forums on “How to Run for Judge.” He has spoken at several California Judges Association conferences and other judicial forums and he has authored articles on judicial campaigns that have appeared in national publications.
He also comments on politics, government and California trends on local and national radio, television and in print.
Before joining CAI, Hal was a broadcast journalist with RKO radio (KHJ) in Los Angeles. As a reporter, he covered all areas of government and politics. He also hosted a weekly talk show and served as assignment editor, writer and producer of radio documentaries and special reports.
Hal holds both a Master's Degree in communications studies and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is past President and former member of the Board of Directors of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Los Angeles Chapter and was a PRSA Assembly Delegate for four years. He holds the title of APR (Accredited Public Relations) from PRSA. Hal is a member of the Worldcom Public Relations Group, the largest network of independent public relations firms in the world, and is past chair of the America’s Region of Worldcom. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Greater Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Aquatic Foundation of Metropolitan Los Angeles (AFMLA), and the statewide California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (CCEEB).
Hal has lectured on public affairs, public relations and politics at the University of Southern California, UCLA, Pepperdine University and Northwestern University.
Hilda Delgado
West Region Communications Director, Coca-Cola Refreshments
Delgado is an award winning, seasoned public relations professional and journalist with experience in the
areas of media relations, public affairs, public relations, labor relations, social marketing and crisis and
issues management.
Delgado has been in the trenches of some of the most complicated public relations and political
campaigns for a wide range of clients in the private, public, and non-profit sector in the western states.
She currently serves as West Region Communications Director for Coca-Cola Refreshments, where she
oversees and implements internal and external communications and public affairs campaigns for
California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Hawai’i, and implements leadership communications for
CCR’s Sr. Sales VP and VP of Operations.
Prior to becoming West Region Communications Director for the Coca-Cola, Delgado was the principal
consultant to Assemblymember De La Torre. She founded her own consulting firm, HMD Consulting
Group. Under this capacity, Delgado has managed public relations and public affairs programs for
Southern California Edison, Bother International Corporation, The Los Angeles County Federation of
Labor AFL-CIO, The Los Angeles Dodgers, and The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, The California
Endowment and The Los Angeles Auto Show. Most recently, she served as political advisor for the
Justice for Bell Campaign, California Forward, and Dole Company, among others.
Prior to that, Delgado served as a Management Supervisor for the Rogers Group, where she managed
public relations and crisis communications for The Coca-Cola Company, ImpreMedia, the Los Angeles
Children’s Museum, MJW Investments, First Five of California, Washington Mutual and The Kellogg’s Co.
Her public affairs experience comes from serving as press deputy for former Los Angeles Mayor James
K. Hahn and his liaison to several City entities including the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles World
Airports, Department of Water and Power and LA Inc. She also served as a strategic liaison for the
Mayor’s Latino Heritage Month.At City Hall, Delgado served on the planning team for Mayor Hahn’s trip to
Mexico to meet with President Vicente Fox and high-ranking Mexican business leaders. She also secured
monthly interview opportunities on KMEX-TV and KLVE-FM to better connect the Mayor to the Latino
community.
Early in her career, Delgado served as a political and education reporter for La Opinión, the leading
Spanish-language daily newspaper in the country. She was recognized by The National Association of
Hispanic Publications for a series of articles on the Los Angeles Unified School District and most recently
by the Public Relations Society of America – Los Angeles Chapter, for her work in crisis communications.
Delgado holds a B.A. in Journalism and Spanish Literature from Cal State University Northridge. She
serves on the USC Latino Alumnae Association Advisory Board, is Vice Chair of the Community Health
Alliance of Pasadena, Treasurer of the Hispanic Public Relations Association, L.A. Chapter and
Boardmember of the Latino Urban Forum. She lives in Pasadena with her husband and daughter.
Stefan I. Pollack
President & CFO of The Pollack PR Marketing Group
Stefan Pollack is President & CFO of The Pollack PR Marketing Group. His responsibilities include management of client services, new business development and financial planning for the agency. Stefan also oversees and directs social media and traditional media relations and outreach programs on behalf of several clients in various industries in addition to leading the agency’s professional service firm practice.
Stefan has managed clients in many industry sectors including chambers of commerce, investment banking, legal, non-profit, consumer products, high tech services, direct marketing, toys, aerospace, education and real estate.
His responsibilities for clients such as Brita Water Filters, Morey Bodyboards, University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Make-A Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, AltraBiofuels, Keston Institute, Oversee.net, Drop.io, Celestron, Kenpo, Cakeboxx, Eclipse, Al & Ed’s Autosound, Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association, Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, Admiralty Partners, Meade Instruments, Jefferies Quarterdeck, Mailshell, Destination-U, Ritmo Mundo,The Sage Group, LLC, WHAM-O, Inc., Rain Bird Corp., focuses on developing strategic direction, positioning and branding, directing social and traditional media relations and overseeing the implementation of complete marketing and public relations programs.
