Writing for Engagement: How to Keep it Short and Impactful

Jim Ylisela is co-founder and senior partner of RCG. He is an award-winning veteran Chicago journalist and a former publisher of Ragan.com. He brings more than 30 years of experience in writing, editing, communications research and consulting. Ylisela has designed and organized newsrooms for many companies and organizations, including Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where he served as a faculty member and co-director of Medill News Service from 1988 to 2001. He works with communicators to create brand journalism news sites, organize and train writers and editors and restore reporting (and creative storytelling) to internal and external communications.

As the company's first Chief Communications Officer, Anthony Farina is responsible for 60-plus staffers around the world. He leads the strategic communications, brand management and corporate affairs for the world's No. 3 biotechnology leader CSL Limited with 27,000-plus employees and business operations in over 100 countries with $10 billion in annual revenue. He is accountable for building, protecting and defending CSL's brand and reputation with key stakeholders and influencers around the world. Among Farina's global responsibilities are brand management, digital communications, media relations, issue/crisis management, employee engagement and C-level communications—providing strategic counsel to C-level leadership on all communications issues, positioning and reputation/brand management. He is accountable for building and developing CSL's award-winning global corporate affairs & communications function.

Zarina is Head of Corporate Communications at Curve, where she covers the UK, rest of Europe, and the US, where Curve will be launching later this year. At Curve, Banu works cross-functionally with Growth, Product, Brand and Customer Experience to deliver high profile PR campaigns, media relations, major projects, curated events and other aspects of corporate communications.

Zarina Banu recently led the communications for a record-breaking equity crowdfunding PR and marketing campaign, which attracted £10 million of investment and nearly 12,000 investors from the UK, and around the globe. She also led the communications for Curve’s Series C $95 million investment announcement.

A culturally agile individual, Banu has worked and lived in a range of cultures from North America, to Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. She is an ex-broadcast and award-winning journalist with a 15-year career in international news, at Al Jazeera English and Associated Press, based out of London, Malaysia and Qatar.

Bob Kerlik is vice president of media relations for the Allegheny County Airport Authority and executive editor of Blue Sky News. Bob has more than 15 years of experience in communications, including a dozen years as a reporter at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Duquesne University, where he later served as an adjunct instructor and advisor for the university’s student newspaper.

As the Strategic Program Manager for Ragan Communications, Amanda is responsible for creating content and developing speaker line-ups for webinars, workshops and conferences in the areas of Communications, Crisis Management, Media Relations, DEI and Employee Wellness. She has 20+ years of experience in the conference/events industry, spanning content, program production, operations, sales and marketing.