Whether you’re new to public relations, or whether you’ve worked in the field for a few years or more, diversity and having a mentor makes a positive difference in your career and where you work.

Join us for breakfast and conversation with professionals who represent careers in public relations, journalism, mental health, youth development and entrepreneurship. They’ll discuss the benefits of inclusion and diversity in culture, gender, race and ethnicity, thoughts and ideas and how having a mentor, or being a mentor, can impact your career.

• Gilbert Bailon, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Johnny Little, eLittle Communications
• Julie Hauser, The Hauser Group
• Linda Lockhart, St. Louis Public Radio
• Dr. Linda Sharpe-Taylor, Psychological Network
• Moderator: Tim Lampley, NewsOne and ReVolt-TV

Tim Lampley

Tim Lampley is currently a reporter for NewsOne and ReVolt-TV. During the uprising in Ferguson, Missouri,  Lampley was the only on-the-ground correspondent for both networks.  He is a former news producer for Black Entertainment Television (BET) where he worked on the show "BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley". He filed reports and conducted interviews for several BET programs including BET news, NYLA, Turnstyle and Maad Sports. He has experience as an overnight news anchor for KSDK News Channel 5 in St. Louis. Throughout his career, his forte has been one-on-one interviews in both news and entertainment. Lampley, who has resided in the Washington D.C, and St. Louis areas,  is a graduate of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.

Gilbert Bailon

Gilbert Bailon is editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He previously was executive editor of The Dallas Morning News and publisher of its Spanish-language newspaper Al Dia. Bailon is a past president of the American Society of News Editors  and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He won the 2014 Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award from the National Press Foundation.

Linda Lockhart

Linda Lockhart is the outreach specialist and copy editor at St. Louis Public Radio, and has been telling stories for most of her life. A graduate of the University of Missouri  School of Journalism in Columbia, she has worked at several newspapers around the Midwest — including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch — as a reporter, copy editor, make-up editor, night city editor, metro section editor, national-international news editor and editorial writer. She served the St. Louis Beacon as an analyst for the Public Insight Network, which is a product of Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media that helps connect journalists with news sources. Lockhart is a St. Louis native, attended Lutheran High School South and lives in Kirkwood. She is thankful for many wonderful mentors who helped her along the way.

Julie Hauser

A 20-year veteran of the PR industry, Julie’s experience includes editor of a major metropolitan magazine, as well as two decades as principal of a St. Louis-based, WBE-certified public relations firm that has the honor of having client relationships dating back to the firm’s first year. Drawing on her knowledge of how the media works and how to project a positive image in the media, she has implemented numerous successful campaigns, ranging from grassroots community relations programs to national publicity efforts.

Hauser represents clients in public and private sectors who are involved in economic development, transit, construction, recreation, telecommunications, technology, healthcare and real estate. Her team is adept at crafting messages that resonate and communicate complex information to diverse audiences. She received a 2010 Women Influencing Now Regional Economic Development Award from Winning Women. The award recognizes accomplishments as an entrepreneur in St. Louis and the direct influence her public relations efforts have had on furthering the economic development of the bi-state region.

A native of County Wexford, Ireland, Hauser is a graduate of Washington University, where she earned a bachelor of arts in communications and journalism. She is a board member of the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, long-time member of the Advisory Committee for the St. Louis Regional Clean Air Partnership and a member of Public Relations Society of America.

Dr. Linda Sharpe-Taylor

Dr. Linda Sharpe-Taylor has been in private practice for 15 years. She serves as a consultant to government agencies, community-based prevention programs and services. She has developed programs and services that address issues such as adolescent wellness, school and community violence, gender-specific programming, community building and reducing risks.

Always interested in new opportunities to grow, Dr. Sharpe-Taylor has added to her skills a Certification in Appreciative Inquiry, a method of transformative change for all types of businesses, government agencies and organizations. With this new perspective, in her role as president of the African-American Alumni Association of Case Western Reserve University, she developed a mentoring program that connects mentors from all around the U.S. with African American undergraduate students currently attending Case Western Reserve University.