Rita Tateel
President
The Celebrity Source
Los Angeles, California
Applying for: At-Large Director
Alternate Position(s):
Biography
RITA TATEEL is President of The Celebrity Source and has been working in the field of entertainment PR and marketing for close to 30 years. Her agency specializes in matching celebrities with corporate and non-profit campaigns and special events, with access to thousands of stars from film, television, music, sports and fashion, in addition to digital influencers and experts from other industries.
Ms. Tateel started her professional career in the non-profit sector. At age 19 she became the youngest director of an
after-school day care program in the city of Los Angeles and after several years in that position decided to pursue her
under graduate degree in Child Development.
After receiving her Bachelor’s degree, Tateel was accepted into the double master’s program at Hebrew Union College and Washington University in St. Louis, graduating in 1980 with both a Master’s Degree in Jewish Communal Service (MAJCS) and a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW). The primary focus of Ms. Tateel’s course work was leadership and organizational development.
Upon completing her graduate work, Tateel was immediately hired by the Jewish Federation of St. Louis to head up their leadership development programs for the Young Professionals Division. In 1982 she returned to the west coast and began working for the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles. There she also directed the organization’s Young Professionals group, worked extensively with various boards and committees and eventually became Director of Training & Education,teaching lay volunteers how to raise funds.
Rita Tateel first started meeting celebrities when her position also included being director of the Federation’s speakers bureau. When Tateel eventually decided to leave the organization she was recruited by an acquaintance who started an agency matching celebrities with non-profits. She became a partner and president of Celebrity Connection and in 1988 decided to leave to start her own company, The Celebrity Source.
Most of The Celebrity Source scope of work falls under the umbrellas of public relations and marketing. Over the years, clients of agency have included many divisions of the Walt Disney Company, People Magazine, USA Today, Fox Sports Net, DreamWorks SKG, Nestle, Coca-Cola, ABC, Nintendo, Toyota Motorsports, Mitsubishi, Kodak, Mattel, Purina, Nickelodeon and Allergan, to name a few.
The Celebrity Source has also been hired by some of the top non-profit organizations in the country including Habitat for Humanity, March of Dimes, Special Olympics, American Red Cross, California Department of Health, U.S. Air Force, Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS and the American Diabetes Association.
Ms. Tateel has been interviewed and quoted as a celebrity expert in numerous publications and media sources including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, Playboy Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, N.Y. Times, N.Y. Post, PRWeek, USA Today, Complete Woman Magazine, Daily Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, E! Entertainment Television, “EXTRA!,” Financial News Network, A&E and "Entertainment Tonight" among many others. One source said, "She approaches her work with high integrity, honest communication, patience, professionalism and a full understanding of both the needs of the celebrities and the clients she serves." One of Tateel’s clients calls her “the celebrity whisperer” because she is so skilled at getting celebrities to say “yes.”
Rita Tateel has been a long-standing member of the PRSA-LA Board of Directors, stepping down in 2016 after 13
years of service. In 2005, Ms. Tateel helped launch PRSA’s Entertainment & Sports Professional Interest Section, served as cochair of the section in 2005 & 2006 and has served on the section’s Executive Committee to present time. She currently serves on PRSA's national membership committee and is Chair of PRSA's newly created Professional Development Committee.
Rita Tateel is a member of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and California Festivals Association. In 1992 she helped found the Association of Celebrity Personal Assistants (ACPA) and currently serves on the board as Director of Membership.
Rita Tateel is also a dynamic and entertaining speaker who specializes in educating her audiences about the “art and
science” of working with celebrities. She is a frequently requested guest lecturer at UCLA, USC, Loyola Marymount
University plus other universities and professional organizations. Tateel has been a speaker, moderator, or panelist for
PRSA and PRSSA International Conferences in ’03, ’04, ’06, ’07, ’09, '15 and for the 2016 PRSA Western District Conference.
Ms. Tateel teaches a PR course at UCLA Extension about working with celebrities and explains to her students that her Master’s Degree in Social Work, but in particular her B.A. in Child Development, come in very handy when working with celebrities.
Rita Tateel lives in Los Angeles with her solar contractor husband, Ted Bavin, and their cats Honey and Brie. Few know, however, that she also won a first place trophy for disco dancing.
Further details about Rita Tateel may be found at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Tateel.
PRSA Accomplishments
Rita Tateel has been a long-standing member of the PRSA-LA Board of Directors, stepping down in 2016 after 13 years of service. She held the position of chapter Program/Professional Development Chair/Vice President in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2011. She also served as an Assembly Delegate eight times ('05, '06, '08, '09, '12, '13, '14 and '15).
Ms. Tateel served as the chapter's president in 2008 and 2009, being only the third person in the 68 year history of
PRSA-LA to have served two terms. It was under her leadership that PRSA-LA celebrated its 60 year anniversary with an event that set several records, including having an unprecedented number of PRSA-LA past presidents all under one roof at the same time.
In 2005, Ms. Tateel helped launch PRSA’s Entertainment & Sports Professional Interest Section, served as co-chair of the section in 2005 & 2006 and has served on the section’s Executive Committee to present time. Tateel also served on the Western District Board in 2010 and continues to attend meetings when appropriate.
In 2016 Tateel played an integral role that successfully helped integrate the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society (EPPS) and its membership into PRSA nationally, the local Los Angeles chapter and into the Entertainment & Sports Professional Interest section.
In 2017 Rita Tateel was asked to create and chair PRSA's Professional Development Committee. Through her leadership the committee is currently analyzing the professional development needs of PRSA's membership at each career level, determining gaps in PRSA's PD offerings, and working on a strategy with recommendations to PRSA's Board for a 2018 plan to implement.
Tateel also currently serves on PRSA's membership committee and several of the strategies the committee is implementing came from her ideas and suggestions.
Rita Tateel has been a speaker, moderator, or panelist for PRSA and PRSSA International Conferences in ’03, ’04, ’06, ’07, ’09, '15, and for the 2016 PRSA Western District Conference.
Governance Skills
Prior to becoming president of PRSA-LA, the only opportunity for active involvement in the chapter was to be a board
member. Furthermore, there were very few new board members each year and we lacked diversity on many levels.
Therefore, the two critical priorities I set for my presidency were:
1. Create a leadership development continuum by creating new committees and recruiting non-board committee
chairs/co-chairs.
RESULTS: 12 new active committees were created, attendance at programs increased 25%-50% and 5 committee
chairs were named to the 2009 and 2010 PRSA-LA board of directors.
2. Increase diversity in the chapter at all levels.
RESULTS: Board diversity increased from 18% to 32% (ethnic, cultural and life-style), 9 of the 12 committees had
members of diverse backgrounds and every program with a panel included individuals of diverse backgrounds. We also collaborated with HPRA a few times during the year including some PRSA-LA board members serving as judges for the HPRA awards program.
I also helped form PRSA’s Entertainment & Sports Professional Interest Section and served as the section’s founding
co-chair for two years in 2005 and 2006. I guided the newly formed executive committee in establishing the budget and strategies for membership growth and continuously monitored the section so that we could make adjustments as needed.
As Chairman of the Board of Family Assistance Program, a non-profit charity whose mission it was to assist homeless families with children in Los Angeles, I was able to guide the organization in setting and achieving fund raising goals, developing criteria and policies for families admitted into the program and creating a system for tracking and measuring family progress.
I am currently providing direction as Chair of PRSA's newly formed Professional Development Committee. We are on target to make sure we meet the objectives of the 2017-2019 Strategic Plan.
Leadership Skills
I have been in leadership positions all my life, starting as a child when I organized neighborhood kids for games and throughout high school and college.
From 1994-1999 I was Board Chair of Family Assistance Program, a Los Angeles non-profit dedicated to helping homeless families with children. Under my leadership we raised significant funds, garnering a great deal of media attention, including having the "official" charity event to screen the final episode of "Seinfeld."
My involvement with PRSA began in 2001 and within a year I was asked to serve on the PRSA-LA board. I served as
Program/Professional Development Chair/VP for five years. One of the programs I created in 2004 "The State of the State of PR" continues to be the highest attended annual program of the year.
I became a two-term president of the chapter in 2008 and 2009 (only the 3rd person to hold a two-year term in the 68
year history of PRSA-LA). I was a member of the PRSA-LA board from 2003 through 2015.
I helped form PRSA's Entertainment & Sports Section and served as co-chair 2005 and 2006. I have remained a member of the section's executive committee to this day.
As the current Chair of PRSA's Professional Development Committee I've been able to wrangle and elicit the engagement of some of the organization's top thought leaders, working towards the objective of PRSA being the top provider of professional development content.
All of my leadership experience has given me an understanding of what it takes to motivate, inspire, educate and engage others. My master's degrees (with an emphasis on leadership and organizational development), coupled with my professional experience in non-profits, has given me an invaluable education in knowing how to achieve strategic
organizational results when it comes to working with volunteers, boards and committees.
Strengths
I've always been a people person and I feel that strength alone has given me the ability to be a valuable member of every committee, task force or board on which I've served.
I'm a creative thinker, keen listener, problem solver, consensus builder, people connector and know how to use humor to defuse tense situations.
My negotiation skills have saved my clients millions of dollars and my ability to get celebrities to say "yes" has resulted in me being dubbed by several of my clients as "the celebrity whisperer."
I'm honest to a fault and would rather lose money than do anything which might not be considered fair or ethical just to earn a buck.
My graduate school training in Social Work, with an emphasis on leadership and organizational development, coupled with my non-profit professional experience, makes me a PRSA staff person's dream! I understand the challenges of working with boards and committees, including continuously trying to make strides forward when leadership is constantly changing. But because I have also served as a lay volunteer in leadership roles for decades, I'm in a unique position of understanding the needs and expectations of both staff and volunteers.
I'm very task oriented. I never like to end a call or meeting without summarizing who is going to do what, by when.
As At-Large Director, I feel that my experience, strengths, qualities, relationships and skills will allow me to contribute greatly to the PRSA board, regardless of the subject being discussed. I understand fiscal responsibility as well as how to create a "WOW" event.
I don't shy away from controversy but know how to bring differing opinions together. I have a tremendous network of resources and relationships which help me get things done. I love roller coasters...but only the kind at amusement parks.
Volunteer Commitment
I don't know how to do things half-way. When I commit to something it is 110%, especially if it's something I enjoy like being in a leadership position.
Fortunately I own my company and therefore can dictate how I spend my time. I'm also at a point in my career where I can be more selective regarding the projects I take on and therefore have more time to devote to volunteer service.
In other words, this is a great time in my life to be serving on PRSA's board of directors and I do not anticipate having issues managing both my work responsibilities along with my board responsibilities.
Position Statement #1
Prompt: The lines continue to blur among the disciplines of public relations, marketing, IT and customer service, and the need increases to create more collaborative teams and hybrid professionals. PRSA has continued to evolve and respond to these issues in support of our members, partners and colleagues. What do you believe are the strongest components of PRSA’s strategic plan that will help our members address these challenges, and how will PRSA remain relevant and sustainable for the future?
As chair of PRSA's Professional Development Committee I am admittedly biased in the direction of believing that having a great Professional Development (PD) program is the most important component of the strategic plan. It will not only help PRSA remain relevant and sustainable but grow to include hybrid professionals from other communication disciplines.
The challenge for PRSA is how does the organization become the top provider of PD in the ever changing communications landscape for every career level? I believe we must start with research and evaluation. To this end I developed a brief membership survey that PRSA will conduct that asks "What skill, knowledge or information do you want to gain the most at this stage of your career?" A sub-committee of the PD committee is also analyzing current PRSA PD offerings to determine where there might be gaps given today's professional needs and forecasted trends.
There is no doubt that PRSA already provides excellent PD on a national level, but some of the top programs and speakers only get experienced on the chapter, section or district level. This is why PRSA staff is currently conducting outreach to chapters, sections and districts to gather information regarding their top rated PD programs. Some of these programs may be duplicated for others to experience and will be part of a central repository of best-practice content which can be easily shared.
In addition to looking within the society for top notch content PRSA should also be looking outside the organization to establish partnerships with other communications organizations for possible cross-training opportunities.
The ever increasing demands of PR professionals coupled with constant technology changes dictate that we should also pay close attention to and evaluate the delivery methods PRSA offers for PD content, especially via on-demand digital and mobile.
Bottom line is that I am thrilled to be guiding what I consider to be the most important aspect of the Strategic Plan and hope that I will be able to continue the work through 2019 from the PRSA board director position.
Position Statement # 2
Prompt: PRSA has become more complex and diverse in recent years. While the Society must become nimbler, we also are cognizant that we must help prepare our members to meet tomorrow’s challenges as leaders at every level. The role of the communications professional will continue to evolve, and PRSA will anticipate future trends, and support our members at every stage of their career. As a member of PRSA’s national board, what do you see as your role in contributing to helping our membership meet tomorrow’s challenges as leaders?
The 2017-2019 Strategic Plan is very robust and ambitious, particularly in the area of professional development. I'd love to tackle the full challenge presented by the plan through the research, planning, deployment and evaluation processes. Since the professional development committee didn't exist before this year I love being the one to set the bar and feel I can set it highest by being a member of PRSA's national board.
I would also bring valuable skills and qualities to the board that would enhance our ability to accomplish objectives but not losing sight of also having fun while doing so. I'm a people connector, creative thinker, keen listener, problem solver and consensus builder who is task oriented. I know how to motivate, inspire, educate and engage others. I have relationships in high places and a large network of resources. I have lots of experience working with boards and committees both as a lay person and staff professional.
It would truly be my honor and joy to serve on PRSA's national board and if I do end up serving I promise to teach anyone who asks, how to get a large crowd to stop talking when you're trying to get their attention.
Rita Tateel
Category
At-Large Director