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Spotlight on Justin Herndon, APR, PRSA Tampa Bay Chapter President

Posted on Oct. 28, 2025  /  Member News  /  Subscribe 1

By Rachel Kerstetter, APR

We have another special member spotlight: Justin Herndon, APR. Justin is our 2025 PRSA Tampa Bay chapter President, as well as Director, PR & Enterprise Reputation at Thrivent. It has been a pleasure to serve on PRSA Tampa Bay’s board of directors under Justin’s leadership this year. He approaches his leadership role with the best mix of thoughtfulness and humor.

If you’ve attended any of our excellent programming so far this year, you’ve gotten to hear from Justin but we thought you’d like to get to know him a little better with this Q&A.

Q. Why did you want to become PRSA Tampa Bay chapter president?
A: This was a continuation of serving the local chapter, which is entirely reliant on volunteer leaders for all of our committees and organizational tasks. Any time you see an event or even an email about PRSA Tampa Bay, it’s because of a volunteer. I’ve served in almost every capacity at the chapter level and thought I could still contribute in a meaningful way.

Q: What you most proud of from this year for our chapter and what are some of your goals for the rest of the year?
A: I’ve been really encouraged this year by the attendance at programs and the number of guests our members have brought into the local chapter. We’ve continued to have member mixers where people have stepped up to become volunteers in the organization. We also extended the entry period for our annual PRestige awards and got a great crop of incredible work from across the Tampa Bay area to honor with awards at our luncheon in November. I’m hopeful this will continue to grow for years to come, too.

Q: What's the first news outlet you read in the morning?
A: Axios – both Tampa Bay and National, mostly because it’s sitting in my inbox when I’m checking my phone while still in bed.

Q: What was your first job in PR?
A: I was employee #2 at a boutique PR firm in Tampa led by a former Fox 13 news anchor (Glenn Selig). He took a chance on me just as I did on him. We soon found ourselves representing Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and other high-profile newsmakers. It built a Rolodex in a hurry and sharpened my skills almost overnight. I had the street smarts from my time as a TV news reporter, but I learned a new appreciation for PR through that job. I then moved in-house at a couple of publicly-traded companies and now lead my own PR team at a Fortune 500 company, but none of it would have happened without taking that first leap. 

Q: Who is/was your most important career mentor and why?
A: There was a regional comms leader nearing retirement when I was at Allstate and he took the time each month to connect with me, even though I wasn’t on his team or in his region. We didn’t talk that much about the job, just about life. We caught up on each other’s lives and through those conversations, he would always find a way to relate something back to the role. It could be a philosophy or a past story, but it always seemed to be what I needed to hear in the moment. Beyond learning the ropes through storytelling that way, those conversations shaped how I would ultimately lead my direct reports – by listening to their stories and finding what’s important to them. Making those connections make the work easier and more fulfilling.

Q: What is your most rewarding accomplishment in PR?
A: Earning my APR during the pandemic. It was something I put off for years, but when I finally took the plunge, I saw how strategy played a role in success. I start almost every project or assignment with understanding the basic objectives and goals. I look for ways to benchmark and set measurable objectives so we can evaluate results. Seeing how my direct reports implement what we talk about and ideate around strategy will always be rewarding for me.

Q: What advice would you give to new public relations professionals?
A: Lead with empathy and listen to be the best colleague you can be. And, learn Generative AI. It’s no longer a nice to have. It’s an expectation of the job and you’ll be amazed at how much better of a PR pro it can make you.

Q: What job would you pursue if you weren't in PR?
A: I’d like to say professional golfer, but that would require me to be a much better golfer. So, I’d say lawyer. I was on the fence when I was going to college about pursing law, but as a first-generation college grad with piles of debt ahead of me, it made more sense to get in and get out as soon as possible.

Q: Do you have a favorite movie or book?
A: Shawshank Redemption is my number one and it’s not close. The writing, the pace, the storyline and plot twists all weave such an incredible story. I often quote lines from the movie (almost as much as Seinfeld lines).

Q: If you could invite any three people (living or dead) to a dinner party, who would you invite and why?
A: First, my grandpa Herndon who passed when I was just 20 years old and a sophomore in college. He had such an interesting life on a farm and raised my dad who influenced who I am today, so now as an adult I’d have so many more questions for him and be willing to listen to his answers. I’d also just like him to see how I turned out.

Second, my great grandmother and full-blooded Choctaw. I’d love to hear in her own words what living on the reservation meant to her, how her sense of family was built and to understand more about my own ancestry.

Finally, because we’d need someone to keep it light-hearted, Jerry Seinfeld – who can make nothing, something everyone will enjoy. But, if he’s unavailable, then Morgan Freeman could narrate the whole dinner.   

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