Before earning her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), Yolanda K. Stephen felt something was missing from her professional development.
“I was in my middle career, in the business about 15 years,” said Stephen, director of public relations for the National 4-H Council. “I’d gone to college and gotten my bachelor’s in communications, and then I got my MBA in communications. But there was still something missing.”
After earning her APR, Stephen said she became a more strategic communicator, gained expertise in areas such as reputation management and crisis communications, and advanced professionally.
Those career benefits were a recurring theme during PRSA’s June 22 Member Monday livestream, where accredited professionals discussed how earning an APR can help communications practitioners strengthen their skills, expand their expertise, and grow their careers.
“It’s impressive, the amount you’ll learn going through the Accreditation process,” said Heather Cavanaugh, APR, vice president of external affairs and corporate communications at Alaska Communications and a member of PRSA’s Universal Accreditation Board. “It is very thorough and rigorous, in a positive way.”
The first step toward earning an APR is to complete the online application and pay the fee ($385 for members, $745 for non-members), said Cavanaugh.
“That starts your 12-month clock to go through the entire process,” which includes studying and sitting for the panel exam, she said.
The panel presentation is the first major milestone toward earning an APR. You present a portfolio of your work to a three-member panel of Accredited professionals to prove your strategic expertise in public relations.
The panel wants to see that you’re demonstrating the R-P-I-E (research, planning, implementation, evaluation) process, Cavanaugh said. “It does not have to be a big, flashy, beautiful, creative campaign. It can be pretty basic.”
For one successful panel presentation, someone showed their open-enrollment communications for employees about company health care benefits, “something a lot of us do inside our organizations,” Cavanaugh said.
The presenter showed “a basic campaign and included those four elements of research, planning, implementation, and evaluation,” she said.
Finding the time can be a challenge for those pursuing their Accreditation in Public Relations, Cavanaugh said. When working on her own APR, “I thought, ‘How on earth am I going to carve out the time with my busy job, and my little toddler?’”
She started coming into the office an hour early one day a week. “For one hour, I only did APR-related work,” she said.
Before earning APR, ‘something was missing’
Stephen said earning an APR has helped her think strategically.
“I was in my middle career, in the business for about 15 years,” she said. “I’d gone to college and gotten my bachelor’s in communications, and then I got my MBA in communications. But there was still something missing.”
Stephen had found it difficult to graduate from a purely transactional kind of PR work, where someone would ask her to write a press release, “to understanding why the news release needs to be written.”
After earning her APR on the second try — a common experience for those who obtain their Accreditation — she found she could think from a strategic perspective and have those kinds of conversations.
“Gaining the APR, going through the process, helped me do that,” said Nashville-based Stephen, who is director of public relations for the National 4-H Council and chairs the Universal Accreditation Board.
She’s had her APR for about eight years now. During that time, “I’ve increasingly been able to be that strategic thought partner” in her role as a public relations professional, Stephen said.
By earning her APR, she has also gained expertise in reputation management and crisis communications, she said. Since becoming Accredited, she has received job promotions and advanced in her career.
Stephen said she was immediately able to apply what she had learned from her APR to her daily work in public relations. She encourages other PR professionals to do the same, saying, “You won’t be disappointed.”
A stronger strategic voice
For panelist Matthew Marcial, CAE, APR, PRSA’s CEO, the goal of pursuing the credential was simple: to better understand the profession from within.
Now that he has earned his APR, Marcial said one of the most rewarding aspects has been hearing how the credential has helped PRSA members grow in their careers.
“I’ve really enjoyed hearing from our members — especially those who have already earned their APR — about the impact it has had on their careers,” he said.
Echoing Stephen’s experience, Marcial said he has heard countless stories from members who became more strategic advisers within their organizations after earning their APR.
“They have a seat at the table when it comes to conversations with the C-suite,” Marcial said. “All of those things make you a stronger leader.”
Helping members recognize that value and accelerate their professional growth has been one of the most rewarding aspects of his role, he added.
Heide Harrell, MA, APR, and PRSA’s 2026 Chair, hosts “Member Monday” this year. Harrell said the Accreditation reinforced her confidence as a communications leader and strategic adviser.
Member Mondays is an initiative designed to foster direct engagement and provide valuable information sharing within the PR community. Member Mondays take place on the fourth Monday of each month from 1–1:45 p.m. ET. All programs are free for PRSA members. Sign up for future sessions here.
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