Rachel Smith
President
Rachel Smith serves as the Outreach and Events Specialist for Gulf Coast Kid’s House, where she leads community outreach, marketing, and fundraising events that support the organization’s mission to protect and advocate for vulnerable children in Escambia County. A Pensacola native, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Hospitality, Resort, and Recreation Management from the University of West Florida.
Passionate about community service, Rachel has volunteered with numerous local nonprofits and serves on the FPRA board. She was recognized as a 2025 Inweekly Rising Star and is a member of the 2026 Leadership Pensacola class.
Rachel is also dedicated to health and wellness. She has worked as a certified fitness instructor in multiple modalities for more than seven years, earning Inweekly’s Runner-Up for Best Fitness Instructor five times.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, brunching at local restaurants, and watching movies at home with her husband.
Emily Echevarria
Immediate Past President
Emily Echevarria serves as the Marketing Communications Director for Council on Aging of West Florida, where she shares the impact stories of the clients and caregivers touched by Council on Aging’s programs. Emily is the District 1 Representative on the Florida Association of Aging Services Providers Board of Directors. She is also a member of Five Flags Rotary and a 2024 graduate of Leadership Pensacola’s class of 2024. She received her dual bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and communication arts/journalism from the University of West Florida. In her free time, she enjoys reading, crafting, birding, and staying busy with her daughter Qora.
Amber Casart
President Elect / Vice President of Membership
Amber Casart is a Communications, Marketing, and Public Relations professional with nearly two decades of experience in storytelling and impactful campaigns. A committed member of the Florida Public Relations Association, Amber is serving her third term on the Pensacola chapter board. Currently, Amber serves as the Marketing and Communications Coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida, where she oversees social media content, PR campaigns, press releases, website management, event promotions, and more across a five-county service area.
Amber earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of West Florida and launched her career as a video editor at WEAR-TV in Pensacola, before advancing to management roles at that station, Blab-TV in Pensacola, and WWSB-TV in Sarasota. In 2022, Amber landed a role in marketing and public relations at Big Brothers Big Sisters, where she drives campaigns to promote the organization’s mission.
Kaycee Lagarde
Secretary
Kaycee Lagarde is the Strategic Communications Director for the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners, where she works to develop and manage communication strategies for the county. She previously served as the Public Information Officer for the City of Pensacola for over four years, working in the Office of the Mayor to facilitate the city’s communications with the media and public.
After graduating from the University of West Florida with a bachelor’s degree in communication arts/journalism in 2011, Kaycee began her career as a journalist before making the transition to government public relations. She stays active in the community, serving as an ambassador for Gulf Coast Kid’s House in addition to her involvement with FPRA. Kaycee was named a 2019 Inweekly Rising Star, 2020 FPRA Pensacola Chapter Rising PR Professional, 2023 FPRA Pensacola Chapter Member of the Year, and she is a graduate of Leadership Pensacola class of 2022. She is also a FEMA Advanced Public Information Officer and is part of the 2025 FEMA Executive Public Information Officer program.
Kaycee is passionate about media and public relations, transparency in local government, and government communications. In her free time, she enjoys traveling as often as possible, enjoying our beautiful beaches, thrifting, reading, and being the “cool aunt” to her five nephews and two nieces.
Gordon Paulus
Vice President of Finance
Gordon Paulus is a Sr. Communication Specialist for Florida Power and Light. He has been with the company for 21 years and before that was the sports editor of the Pensacola News Journal.
He has twice been the Pensacola chapter president and was the FPRA state president from 2019-20.
Davis Wood
Vice President of Networking
After beginning a career in the radio industry in 2017, Davis joined Escambia County as the Public Information and Education Officer in August 2021. During his tenure with Escambia County, Davis developed a passion for media and public relations, consistently seeking out training opportunities to gain further knowledge and experience in the field. In 2025, Davis achieved his Advanced Public Information Officer certification from FEMA.
When not at the office, Davis enjoys spending time with his wife, Amanda, his son, Brooks, and his dog, Draco. If you enjoy a cold beer at a local brewery, you might run into Davis and his family and friends at one of the many breweries in the area.
Andie Gibson
Vice President of Communication and Digital Media
Andie Gibson is the Public Information Officer for the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners. As the PIO, she supports the five county commissioners and over 20 county departments to promote projects, initiatives, and programs that serve the citizens of Escambia County. Andie manages media relations efforts for Escambia County, working regularly with local and national media members to provide pertinent information to residents and visitors.
Prior to joining Escambia County in 2021, Andie was a marketing manager for Southern Vacation Rentals, a locally owned vacation rental management company. During her time there, she managed the company’s digital content strategy for web, social media, and paid advertising, and led its public relations efforts.
Andie earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a specialization in Public Relations from the University of West Florida in 2016. She was named “Communicator of the Year” by the FPRA Pensacola Chapter in 2024 and recognized as an Inweekly 2024 Rising Star. She is passionate about media and culture and enjoys deep dives into the intersection of public relations and pop culture. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, fitness, coffee runs, baking, and catching up on her favorite TV shows.
Steve Nissim
Vice President of Professional Development
Steve Nissim is an External Communications Specialist for Ascension Florida. He helps tell the stories of the remarkable people and resources that create transformative health care across Ascension Florida's hospitals and other sites of care. He is specifically responsible for the Pensacola market including Sacred Heart Hospital and Studer Family Children's Hospital. Steve previously served as the Chief Storyteller for Studer Community Institute, a local non-profit designed to make the community a better place to live. In this communications and public relations specialist role he shared SCI's work through videos, articles, blogs and speaking engagements. Steve is also an award-winning TV broadcast journalist, most recently as the Senior Television Producer/Host and Connect Studio director for WSRE-TV (PBS for the Gulf Coast), where he created, produced, and hosted multiple local TV series. He worked as a Sports Anchor and Reporter in several markets throughout the Southeast, winning a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Sports Reporting while at ABC affiliate WEAR-TV in Pensacola. Steve has produced programs on a wide variety of topics in his broadcast career including education, the fentanyl crisis, and the Holocaust. Steve was raised in New York City and graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Communications/Journalism.
Liz Eulberg
Member At Large
Liz Eulberg is an award-winning communicator with more than nine years of experience in healthcare and other industries, as well as the U.S. military. She serves as the communications and community engagement director at HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital and HCA Florida Twin Cities Hospital. Previously, Eulberg worked in public relations agencies, where she developed her skills in crafting compelling narratives and strategic messaging in energy, banking, sports, travel and B2B clients. This background has given her a comprehensive understanding of the fast-paced communications landscape.
Additionally, Eulberg holds the rank of lieutenant junior grade in the U.S. Navy as a public affairs officer at U.S. 5th Fleet. This position has equipped her with valuable experience in media relations and crisis communications. Her unique combination of healthcare, agency and military expertise earned her a spot on the prestigious United Way of the Emerald Coast’s 40 Under 40 list and as a top three finalist for Scarlet Magazine’s Woman of the Year.
She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of West Florida and is pursuing a graduate degree at West Virginia University. Eulberg is actively involved in Chamber of Commerce programs, is a member of the United Way of the Emerald Coast board and is passionate about nurturing the next generation of leaders in her local community. Her unwavering dedication to improving community health outcomes drives her work as she continually seeks innovative ways to connect healthcare providers with the communities they serve. Besides her professional achievements, Eulberg is a devoted wife and stepmother to three boys.