Phillip Yates Receives APR Accreditation
On Thursday, June 20th PRSA Colorado welcomed a new member to the APR accreditation collective. Phillip Yates, Communications Specialist III at the City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Department, is Accredited in Public Relations after more than fifteen years of experience distilling complex policy issues into compelling stories for his community.
A Colorado native, Yates’ began his professional career as a newspaper reporter covering oil and gas drilling on the western slopes. A once-reporter-always-reporter, Yates says his passion for conservation, natural resources, public land, and community-focused communications played a key role during his career transition into public relations.
For six years, Yates has been the point-person for his department’s integrated communications, media relations, and strategic communications campaigns at the City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Department. “There are certain steps you can take in your career to become more strategic, more measured and engage in this approach that’s been standardized over decades,” explained Yates’ on the value of APR accreditation.
Throughout his accreditation process, Yates worked alongside practitioners with experience in corporate relations, agency, and crisis communications that he says added depth to his public relations skill set.
“The accreditation is a great process, and I can only see it has beneficial to the entire industry because this is how we can demonstrate success in our profession,” said Yates.
He says seeking accreditation stemmed from his desire to provide even better services, communications, and tools to his clients and community in the future. Since receiving his APR certification, Yates’ believes he has grown as a professional communicator while taking a significant step forward in providing better public relations.
“I really encourage people to take the time and effort to look at the opportunity that accreditation provides.”
If you are interested in learning more at seeking APR accreditation, please visit our website prsacolorado.org/Become_an_APR.
