NYWICI

The New York Women in Communications are honoring an accomplished group of female communications professionals at the 54th Annual Matrix Awards, which will be held on Tuesday, May 21 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan. This year’s awards celebrate the careers of a group of “Rule Breakers” that includes Emmy- and Tony-award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth, H&R Block chief marketing & experience officer Jill Cress, New York Times Co. president and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien, Citi global head of communications Jennifer Lowney, BBDO CEO of the Americas Nancy Reyes and Skai Blue Media founder/executive officer Rakia Reynolds. “As New York Women in Communications marks its 95th year, we are proud to spotlight these seven incredible leaders,” said Laura Brusca, President of NYWICI and Chief Communications Officer, Forbes. In addition to the Matrix honorees, NYWICI’s 2024 college scholarship recipients will also be honored at the event. To learn more, register, donate or explore sponsorship opportunities, please visit NYWICI.org.

USC

The USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations is placing the spotlight on purpose-driven communications at “The Balancing Act, Purpose, Politics and Polarization,” its 34th Kenneth Owler Smith Symposium. At the Thursday, April 4 event, a panel moderated by Weber Shandwick CEO Gail Heimann will also talk about how corporations (and clients) need to strike a balance between addressing important social issues and protecting their brands from ideology-based attacks. Participants are set to include NIKE inc. VP, enterprise communication Virginia Rustique-Petteni, New Capacity Partners leadership strategist Jerian Greene and Fred Cook (Golin chairman emeritus & USC Center for Public Relations), who will share results from the center’s 9th Global Communications Report. The 6 p.m. event will be followed by a Q&A session and a livestream will be available.

ISOJ

The Knight Center for Journalism in America is sponsoring The 25th International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ). The April 12-13 event, held online as well as in person at the Univerisity of Texas at Austin, will bring together journalists, media executives and scholars from around the world to discuss the impact that digital technology has had on journalism. Keynote speakers will include Galina Timchenko, the co-founder, CEO and publisher of Meduza — the largest remaining independent Russian news outlet published in both Russian and English; Wendi C. Thomas, the founding editor and publisher of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit newsroom focused on poverty, power and policy; and Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Versha Sharma.