The Visiting Industry Professional (VIP) Fellowship initiative infuses the College of Communication's Public Relations and Advertising (PRAD) graduate program with current and new communication insights to meet the fast-paced challenges associated with industry trends. The initiative focuses on career advancement, industry engagement, and curriculum enhancement in order to strengthen the PRAD program's market responsiveness while building industry-led partnerships that create opportunities for ongoing engagement and collaboration. Reserved for C-suite caliber PR and advertising professionals, the VIP Fellowship is specifically designed to engage industry leaders with a strong history of benevolent endeavors and a sense of purpose grounded in shaping tomorrow's leaders.
For more information or to express interest in becoming a VIP Fellow, please contact:
2024-2025 VIP Fellows
Scott Farrell's role at DePaul follows a 45-year public relations career in both agency and corporate settings. Most recently, Scott was Global President, Corporate Communications for Golin. There, he led many of the firm's most prominent corporate communications engagements. Over the course of his career, much of Scott's work took place in the international arena, having implemented or directed campaigns in more than 30 countries around the world. He also is a leading expert in the area of crisis communications and issues management and was named by PRWeek as a “crunch-time counselor" – one of the industry's top people who should be on speed dial when crisis strikes. Among the companies Scott has worked with are ADP, Capital Group, Chobani, Discover Financial Services, Dole Foods, GlaxoSmithKline, Humana, Hyatt Hotels, John Hancock Life Insurance, McDonald's, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Micron, Nestle, Texas Instruments, The Dow Chemical Company, and Walmart. Scott is often quoted in articles on crisis management, has published articles in public relations and legal journals, and is a contributor to textbooks on the subject. He teaches Crisis Communication Management
for the PRAD graduate program.
Christina Steed is an award-winning executive-level marketing communication expert. Her expertise includes new business development, client relations, diversity, equity and inclusion, global relations, and internal and external marketing communications. She is also a consultant for global companies and agencies with Agents & Strategies (A&S), a cultural consultancy company. Her brand experience includes McDonald's, AT&T, Cox Communications, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Nielsen, Dow Chemical, Nike Chicago, City of Chicago, and several more in various industries. Christina's background includes a mix of journalism, consumer, and business-to-business (B2B) public relations and marketing communications, social media, content marketing, stakeholder engagement, trade show marketing, and international communications. Christina has been featured in PR Week, PR News, PR Newswire, and Rolling Out. She is also a podcaster with her podcast Firsts Over Forty and a host/producer of the show For the Culture with Christina Steed. She currently serves as a board member on the Girls Like Me Project, Open Books, and the Chicago Reader boards. She previously served on the boards of the Publicity Club of Chicago (PCC), South Side Community Art Center, Chicago State Foundation, and on the Executive Committee for the American Diabetes Association Step Out Walk. She has been recognized as one of PR Week's 40 under 40 Rising Stars, Ariel Investments, and WVON's 1690 40 Game Changers in Chicago and has received numerous awards for her marketing communications campaigns from Bulldog Reporter, PCC, NABJ, and other organizations.
Experienced creative Lewis Williams has had successful careers at iconic agencies Leo Burnett, Burrell Communications Group and most recently Weber Shandwick, where he held the position of EVP Head of Brand Impact. With over three decades of total market and multicultural consumer marketing experience, he's partnered with CMO's of some of the world's best-known brands to create award-winning creative and drive strategic and emotional connections to their customers. Lewis has deep experience working in automotive, food service, beverage, technology, financial, entertainment and consumer goods. Among those he's represented include Toyota, McDonald's, Ancestry, The Coca-Cola Company, Google, U.S. Army, Walt Disney World, American Airlines, Disney and Procter and Gamble. Lewis has been recognized as one of Adweek's Creative 100, The Ad Club of New York's Icons, Rock Stars and Innovators, winner of creative accolades from The One Show, Communications Arts, London International Awards, Kelly Awards, New York Festivals, Clio Awards, and serves on the Creative Review Committee for The Ad Council. He previously served as a PR Cannes Juror and was a juror member of Cannes Lions 70. Glass: The Lion for Change. He was also selected as an inaugural fellow for the Visiting Industry Professionals Fellowship with DePaul University's College of Communication. Lewis is an advocate for significant representation for diversity in creative in the communications industry. As part of his commitment to diversity and mentorship, he is an instructor for The One School for African American students, sponsored by The One Club for Creativity. Lewis is a distinguished alumnus of The Kent State School of Design, where he established the Lewis and Dona Williams Scholarship Fund. The funds are dedicated to those students needing financial assistance.