Sonia Diaz to deliver keynote during 10th anniversary HSI banquet

Sonia Diaz, senior vice president of Balsera Communications, will deliver the keynote address during the 10th anniversary Hispanic-Serving Institution Banquet at Texas State University on Thursday, Sept. 16.

The banquet will be held 6-8 p.m. in the LBJ Student Center and is part of HSI Week celebrations.

The 10th Anniversary banquet recognizes Texas State's HSI designation achieved in 2011 and celebrates the accomplishments of the last 10 years in supporting and serving Latinx students, faculty and staff. The banquet also serves as recognition of the benefits of the HSI designation to all Texas State students and faculty and opportunities for the next decade to come.

For her work and achievements, Diaz was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Rising Star Award in 2017 by the College of Liberal Arts at Texas State. In 2018 she was named one of South Florida's Most Influential Women in Business by the South Florida Business Journal.

In her role at Balsera Communications, a public affairs and public relations firm based in Miami, Fla., Diaz oversees the development, implementation and execution of communications and branding strategies for the firm’s corporate communications, media relations, public affairs, public outreach, community grassroots and crisis clients. Her extensive experience in both the global and boutique agency setting has earned her four national awards, including PR Week’s 2014 Multicultural Campaign of the Year.

Her past and current client roster includes UnitedHealthcare, National Hispanic Landscape Alliance, Hispanicize, Miami Beach FOP, United Teachers of Dade, Environmental Defense Fund, Miami Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation 100 Resilient Cities, Jose Milton Foundation, IMPAC Fund, 3M, BBC Worldwide, VmeTV, SAG-AFTRA, United Health Foundation, Catholic Relief Services, UnidosUS (formerly NCLR), Our Kids of Miami Dade & Monroe, the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, eMerge Americas, Steward Healthcare and Genomma Lab and Wellstone, among others. Additionally, she has led communications efforts for local and state political candidates, bonds and referendums.

Diaz started her career at Edelman Public Relations in her home state of Texas where she received her B.A. in modern languages and mass communication from Texas State in 2006. In 2007, she moved to Miami and joined Burson-Marsteller where she supported communications efforts for corporate, multicultural, tourism and technology clients in the U.S. and Latin America.

Over the years, she has remained active in professional industry organizations, including serving as current president of the Hispanic Public Relations Association (2021-2023) and launching the inaugural board for ColorComm Miami in 2018.

For more information on HSI Week, visit https://hsi.txstate.edu/hsi-week.html.