Managing Up (and Down): Becoming a Strategic Advisor to the C-Suite

Media Oakes has been a Public Relations professional for 25 years. She is currently the Director of Communications & Public Relations at Calumet, a hydrocarbon product and renewable fuels producer headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has also worked in the insurance and finance sector, the automotive manufacturing industry and government communication roles. Oakes earned both her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Ball State University and has been accredited in public relations by the Public Relations Society of America. She lives with her husband and two Great Danes in Avon, Indiana and enjoys spending time with her four children, their spouses and her six grandchildren (number seven coming in 2025!). In between going on cruises and spending time by the ocean as often as possible, she relaxes by reading and starting to write novels she never finishes.

Daviera Powell is a strategic advisor, storyteller and employee communications expert with more than 20 years of experience in communications, public relations and government relations. As senior manager of internal communications at The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a global leader in the fight against blood cancer, she is responsible for developing, planning and executing strategic and engaging internal communications programs for more than 1,000 employees. This includes overseeing the editorial strategy for the organization's intranet and leading various engagement initiatives including monthly town halls, open Q&A forums, change communications, culture communications, leader/manager communications, DEIB programming and more. Beyond her professional endeavors, Daviera finds enjoyment in activities like traveling, bird watching and kayaking.

Paul Mayer is the Director of Enterprise Internal Communications at The Home Depot and is a member of Ragan’s Leadership Council. At The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, Paul leads a team dedicated to “making the important interesting,” as James Fallows would say. He and his team oversee the content strategy and development of major company campaigns to reach nearly 500,000 associates across North America. His nearly twenty years of experience spans a diverse set of industries ranging from sports media to manufacturing to retail. Paul has a passion for building creative solutions to ensure key messaging cut through the clutter of the everyday. In his career he has held the pen for nearly every member of the c-suite, built and deployed (and re-deployed) intranets, hosted countless associate events and townhalls, has been both in front of and behind the camera and even live on the air, and is an advocate for seeking creative inspiration far beyond one’s current company and industry to make things stick.

Mike Prokopeak is director of learning and council content for Ragan Communications, and the former vice president and editor in chief of Chief Learning Officer, Talent Management and Workforce magazines. Ragan Communications is the industry leader in providing industry intelligence, professional development and training to professional communicators and marketers. In his current role, Mike directs content for Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council and Ragan Training. Prior to joining Ragan, Mike served as vice president and editor in chief at Reworked, a digital native publication covering employee experience and the transformation of the workplace. As editor of Chief Learning Officer, he directed content for the company's award-winning magazines as well as online and in-person events including the CLO Symposium and CLO Breakfast Club and the CLO Learning Elite, the industry's leading benchmark program. Under his direction, the editorial team won more than three dozen awards for editorial excellence. He has been a featured speaker on issues of management, leadership and workforce development at a number of industry conferences. Mike has also held a number of roles with leading publishing companies including Houghton Mifflin Co. and the Great Books Foundation. He began his journalism career in Flagstaff, Ariz., where he was an editor for Mountain Living Magazine and its sister publication, Flagstaff Live, both owned by Pulitzer Newspapers Inc. A former high school teacher and U.S. Peace Corps volunteer, Mike has deep experience in publishing, education and human resources.