HPRA LA Summit: The New Influence Playbook

Join us to discuss how creators, platforms, journalists and brands are redefining modern PR. Brought to you by HPRA and H+M Communications.

The New Influence Playbook
How Creators, Platforms, Journalists and Brands Are Redefining Modern PR

Influence is no longer a layer of communications strategy. It is the strategy.

Join the Hispanic Public Relations Association in partnership with H+M Communications on May 27 in Los Angeles for the HPRA LA Summit: The New Influence Playbook — an in-person experience bringing together creators, strategists, journalists, and brand marketers to explore how PR campaigns are built today.

Four sessions. Multiple perspectives. Practical insights you can actually use.

From creator partnerships to platform evolution, the program explores how influence is reshaping communications and redefining public relations.

Designed for marketing and communications professionals, alongside students and emerging talent, the experience creates a space for learning, connection, and practical insight across a rapidly evolving, creator-led media landscape.

Join Louie Castro, Yoatzi Castro, Evegail Andal, Gabriela Ulloa, Fernando Hurtado, Ana Valdez, Iván Emilio, Bricia Lopez, and Jesus Morales, for a live program on how influence shapes modern communications. Hear from creators, talent leaders, journalists, and brand marketers driving the work right now.

Why Attend

• You will hear directly from the people shaping influence from every side of the work.
• A clear view of how creators and talent teams build partnerships.
• Real talk on how brands and studios pick creator partners.
• A look at how journalists are building direct platforms and loyal audiences.
• Examples of how creators turn niche audiences into brands and businesses.
• Time to meet peers across communications, media, entertainment, and marketing.

Confirmed Speakers:

Louie Castro — Content Creator and Co-Host of Pretty Not Smart

Yoatzi Castro — Content Creator and Co-Host of Pretty Not Smart

Evegail Andal — Founder and CEO, Matter Media Group

Diana Vazquez — Talent Manager, Select Management Group

Gabriela Ulloa — Journalist, Writer, and Host of Irregardless

Fernando Hurtado — Creator Journalist, In The Hyphen

Iván Emilio — Content Creator and TV Host

Jesus Morales — Social Impact Creator and Founder of the Echándole Ganas Foundation

Bricia Lopez — Chef, Entrepreneur, and Author

Paulina Lopez Velazquez — Entrepreneur, Restaurateur, and Storyteller

Pamela Zapata — Founder and CEO, Society 18

Ana Valdez — President & CEO, The Latino Donor Collaborative

Katherine Johnson Gunn — Principal, Influenser and Co-Founder, Hispanicize

Agenda:

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Arrival and Check In

3:30 PM - 3:35 PM

Opening Remarks

3:35 PM - 4:05 PM

Session 1 — Inside the Influence: Turning Creators into Strategic Brand Partners

Creators and management teams unpack how influence is built, scaled, and activated today—from building platforms to structuring partnerships, this session explores how creators are evolving into multi-platform brands.

4:05 PM - 4:35 PM

Session 2 — The Brand Playbook: Why Marketers and Studios Are Putting Creators at the Center of Campaigns

From evaluating creator partnerships to measuring cultural impact, this session explores how influence is being integrated into broader communications strategies and what that means for the future of public relations.

4:35 AM - 4:50 PM

Connection Break

4:50 PM – 5:25 PM
Session 3 — The News Creator Shift: From Traditional Media Voices to Independent Digital Storytellers

Journalists and on-air personalities explore how they are building platforms beyond traditional newsrooms and what it means for credibility, influence, and brand partnerships.

5:25 PM – 5:55 PM
Session 4 — From Niche to Network: How Creators Build Communities, Brands, and Business Ecosystems

From building platforms to scaling brands, creators and entrepreneurs share how social media is fueling business growth, building communities, and creating new opportunities for brands to engage authentically.

5:55 PM – 6:00 PM
Closing Remarks

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Networking Cocktail