Correction: Ramona Hood’s title was originally reported incorrectly.

Networking skills, negotiation tactics and self advocacy tools will all be topics discussed in an event featuring Ramona Hood, FedEx Custom Critical CEO and president.

Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), Kent State’s public relations organization, will be hosting Hood Feb. 21, from 4 – 5 p.m. in room 340 in Franklin Hall.

Hood earned a bachelor of arts in business management from Walsh University and an Executive MBA from Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management, her FedEx bio page states.

She joined FedEx in 1991 and worked her way up through the ranks at the company, and now heads the Custom Critical department.

FedEx Custom Critical transports expedited and specialty shipments that require special care, temperature control or enhanced security, the FedEx Custom Critical website states.

Hood is the first Black woman to lead a FedEx operating company, and she will be speaking on leadership to celebrate PRSSA Kent’s Black History Month Celebration.

“We wanted to highlight successful Black women,” said Maddie Goerl, PRSSA’s vice president of professional relations.

The event will be about an hour in duration that will be broken into two parts, Goerl said.

The first 40 minutes will be Hood speaking about her role in the company and how she started at an entry-level position and worked her way up into the CEO and president positions.

The last 20 minutes of the event will be opened up to audience members to participate in a Q&A with Hood.

“I think the main thing for students is the fact that even [Hood] came from an entry-level position and made her way up to CEO and president,” Goerl said. “It’s very possible for students to do it too, especially listening to her and learning her advice.”

For more information on PRSSA and their events, check out their website.

Anthony Zacharyasz is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].