Kelsey Nelson, 10/12/2026

This week, our chapter spoke with Ohio University alumna and past chapter member, Kelsey Nelson. During her time at OU, Kelsey was in PRSSA and was involved in imPRessions, an old student-run PR firm on campus. She graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. 

Today, Kelsey works as the Founder and President of Friday Night PR. Friday Night PR is a Public Relations agency that helps clients bridge the gap between their communication strategies and their marketing efforts. During her presentation, Kelsey gave us an overview of how she got to being an agency owner, taught us what Friday Night PR is and gave some advice for our chapter members.

How did she get to being an agency owner?:

Kelsey started out by moving to Cleveland after undergrad and became an assistant account executive at Landau. She then became a social influence manager at ADCOM. Kelsey worked her way up to EP+Co in social and creative management and then a few years later, she became the director of PR and social media at FerebeeLane. One day, Kelsey was given an opportunity to have a client, so she took it. After being a consultant for a few years, Kelsey was forced into making a decision either to stay as a consultant or to build her own agency. This was the start of Friday Night PR. 

Who is Friday night?:

Friday Night PR is a senior-led, strategy-first agency built to create the attention brands want. They believe that standard communication fundamentals don’t change, it’s the creativity of the people who believe in your vision that does.

During her presentation, Kelsey shared that Friday Night holds steady ideas on organic socials and community engagement within social media clients to create real and meaningful relationships. Friday Night also participates in influencer campaigns and they work hard to think creatively in ways that will translate into different markets.

What no one will tell you about owning your own agency:

• “It is hard.” There will be things that you are not inherently good at that will end up being your responsibility.
• ”It is lonely.” There are not a lot of places or spaces where you can find people that relate to what you are going through. 
• “It is a lot of math.” There are a lot of numbers involved!
• “There is a big difference between working for yourself and building a business.” If you want to work for yourself, there is a path where you don’t have to manage people. If you are trying to build a business, you are working for your business and everyone else instead of yourself.

Kelsey’s Advice:

• If you don’t have a direction or intense passion, starting your career in an agency environment is the best way to figure out what you want.
• It is okay to change your mind. There is a lot of flexibility in your career, and what you think you want now, you may not want later. 
• Every dream won’t come true, but there’s a million more dreams you haven’t dreamed yet.
• You can always go home. If you have any inkling of trying something new, do it because you can always go back to whatever home looks like for you.
• The people you meet today can change your life tomorrow. You never know who you are meeting and the impact that they can have on your trajectory. 
• The best decision you can make is the one you make right now. If you are feeling overwhelmed about the future, focus on the decisions that you need to make today in order to get to the decisions for tomorrow. 

Connect with Kelsey on LinkedIn, here