Brenda Sono is a 29 year old, Account Manager for the Corporate Centre of Excellence at Eclipse PR’s Johannesburg office.

She holds a BA Degree in Corporate Communication which she attained in 2013 at the University of Johannesburg.

Brenda has worked across a myriad of brands including but not limited to M-Net, PPC, Sasol, GIBB Engineering, Investec, MERCK, MMI Holdings and Scaw Metals. Her experience has led her to finding her passion point which is working on corporate brands who are aiding investment in Africa and furthermore pushing the notion of skills and wealth generation.

As a young mover and shaker in the industry Brenda is super excited to be a part of the PYV judges for 2020.

Candice Marescia is a seasoned PR professional at Vuma Reputation Management. With eight years’ experience in Public Relations and Communication in the private and public sector spanning from B2B and B2C, her expertise lay in events management, media relations, brand, reputation management and client service.

She is a hardworking and dedicated individual with a passion for women empowerment and the advancement of previously disadvantaged people. One of the quotes that resonate with her is Malala Yousafzai’s “When I was born, some of our relatives came to our house and told my mother, 'Don't worry, next time you will have a son.'” This drives her as she understands her power as a smart, capable woman, building her house on a personal and professional capacity. And not in spite of, but because she was born a girl.

Emma Anderson is a 23 year old hardworking, open-minded individual who strives to make a positive impact on any environment she is placed in. She has a passion for creating experiences and working with others. In order to achieve deliverables in the communications and marketing industry, it is essential to have fantastic people skills. She is a confident, reliable person who can interact and communicate with many different types of people. Emma thoroughly enjoys the process one must go through in order to achieve the best possible results. She has been working in the media industry since she graduated in 2019 and is currently in client services and loving every minute of it.

I’m a 25 year-old Content Creator both as a Freelance Entertainment Writer for Pat On Brands and a Vlogger for Fox And The Fro. I have been working in the PR space for well over four years where I worked for several national and multinational FMCG brands. I’m very vocal about matters that affect the Africa diaspora especially where the livelihoods of people are concerned.

My channel (Fox & The Fro) is where I get to educate black men and women about the complexities of our natural hair amongst other socioeconomic matters affecting this population. Being vocal about these passions has opened up opportunities on platforms such as Power FM, YFM and many others to broaden perspective about the topics at hand.

Oarabile Tlhabane is a Public Relations Specialist, Digital Content Curator, Visual Artist and is a 2020 PRISM Awards Young Voice - an initiative by the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA) and the PRISM Awards.

The initiative offers 10 young and dynamic communications enthusiasts the opportunity to not only be part of the PRISM Awards but to also be mentored by some of the best in the communications and PR industry.

On 13 March 2020 Oarabile had the opportunity to judge the awards alongside industry experts, received mentorship and peer-to-peer training relating to the communications industry.

In December 2019 she was named Ditshego Media’s Most Improved Employee of The Year after joining Ditshego Media as their youngest employee in history and showed rapid growth, enough to manage multiple accounts from strategy to implementation.

In April 2019 she graduated from the University of Johannesburg obtaining a National Diploma in Public Relations and Communication Management.

I, Samantha Mabaso (28) am a born creative with an energy that permeates through the room, since inception. I am humble, but strong in execution of self. From a small town in KZN, I headed to Johannesburg with a burning desire to change the narrative positively.

My journey in the industry began in 2016, and have obtained two DNA awards for campaign of the year, three PRISM Awards, an international Golden Quill, International Bizz Awards for Recognition/Excellence in marketing management and New Generation awards.

When I am not spinning ideas in boardrooms, you will find me twirling on my feet on stages. As a passionate dancer, my greatest moments have been on the Global Citizen Stage next to International Star musician, Tiwa Savage.

All the magic and risks pay off…

Prism Award-winning BAHons Strategic Communication graduate and New Generation Awards 2019 Overall Student of the Year Finalist. I served as a Marketing Intern at Fort Network and Strategy Intern at Grey Africa, where I got the opportunity to apply what I learnt in the lecture room to provide solutions to real world problems. I have an impressive ability to understand a complex problem in its simplest form in order to come up with solutions that work.

I chose to pursue a career in Brand Marketing and Communications because of the love and fascination I have with the South African consumer. I believe that there isn’t a better place to practise marketing than in South Africa because of how diverse the consumer landscape is. We live in a country that is diverse in culture which provides interesting challenges and opportunities for Marketers. I believe that as a Marketing professional I will be successful in those challenges because I never stop seeing myself as a consumer first.

Tashinga who grew up in Zimbabwe & Ghana graduated at Rhodes University with a BCom in Financial Mangement in 2016 and instantly joined the Public Relations industry managing Yung Swiss who sang the chorus of hit record ‘Mayo’. He moved on to doing PR plans for established artist Nasty C & subsequently Davido for his label.

Tashinga diverted to influencer management in October 2018 by opening his agency Mansa Musa Brands which resulted in a big breakthrough through lifestyle influencer Mbali ‘Cherry’ Ubisi. Tashinga supplies influencers for brands, from food to fashion as his agency houses 3 of the biggest beauty influencers in the country. As a leader Tashinga employs 2 junior pr account managers that handle their own clients and assist with strategy

In 2020 Tashinga is doing PR for Social Media Week Durban and Dumisani Bini an urban contemporary artist whose pieces lay on the walls of Sandton’s restaurants. Apart from PR & marketing, his major interests are sport team management, real estate development, African tourism and hospitality and e-commerce technology & digital currency payment systems.

There is more to expect from Mansa Musa Brands & Tashinga who is still in the early stages of his career as he is passionate about the growth of African brands by giving them their own unique identity through prolific communication. Tashinga believes all Africans should prefer purchasing locally produced luxury goods instead of European fashion and car brands as this will grow our economies due to money rotating in our communities.