Afrika Nieves-Bentley's bio
Afrika Nieves-Bentley is a publicist by day, but at night, you can find her playing beautiful music as part of a flute choir. This self-proclaimed animal lover has five pets (a cat, Mila, and four guinea pigs: Kira, Tato, Poppy and Pipkin) but still finds time to run 10-kilometre runs, listen to history podcasts, like Betwixt the Sheets and History for Weirdos, and cook, especially Mexican flavours based in her heritage.
If that wasn’t enough to tire you out, she also loves to ski, skate and snowshoe, which is very appropriate for a Nieves since la nieve is snow in Spanish!
What’s her go-to caffeinated beverage to get her through the workday? A Mexican hot chocolate made from traditional chocolate tablets and whisked with a molinillo.
Articles by Afrika Nieves-Bentley
I Don’t Know Her: How to Gain Trust With New Clients
“You’re not Lee!” I get this every day. Of course, I am not Lee. Fortunately for the people looking for her, I have most of the same industry knowledge. Unfortunately……
That’s far enough: Why do far-right political parties want to be called something else?
The BBC news service recently reported that far-right political parties in France and other countries did not want to be called “far-right.” This made me reflect on why political communicators……
What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Share Your Company’s Values
“Why are we allowing ourselves to get worked up over whether giant, multi-national corporations are pro-gay or have traditional American values? Corporations have but one value: shareholder value. Let’s stop……
Avoiding Main Character Syndrome: Why Media Training is Necessary
CW: This story contains mentions of mental illness, suicide, and pregnancy loss. When I think about the importance of media training, my mind immediately goes to fun projects, like if……
Prove Your Dough: A Recipe for Small Businesses to Navigate Your Own Media Relations
This month, I want to reach small business owners so that my communications training can help you help yourself with media relations. Think of the example of retail: when you’re……
Say My Name, Say My Name: Building Better Relationships at Work
You actin’ kinda shady. When I was studying PR and strategic communications at Durham College, my professors always said that the most important part of this industry is building relationships.……
She wants to be called what? Words and how they are a-changin’
When you first enter this brave new world of PR work and can’t wait to show off what a great copywriter you are, you have to remember something important: the……
The Fusion Workforce: Let’s Make Work More Delicious for Everyone
My thoughts are on something broader than the PR and communications industry this month. I’d like to address the situation of working in both communications and another industry. I will……
Back to Basics: My Reaction to High-Profile Flubs
Hot take: I’m good at what I do. I love seeing people doing excellent work in our industry— I know how hard they work to achieve excellence. It’s also why……
How to not make friends and still influence people: Why sometimes you need to listen to the advice you don’t want to hear
As I’ve written before, I have gotten some pretty bad advice from people I love very much. I try not to dwell on it anymore because their hearts are in……
How not to network: Or, why Rick Mercer doesn’t want to hear from me
A tale as old as dial-up You’re probably sick of articles pitting Baby Boomers against Millennials, but too bad because here’s another. When you are a newcomer in your field,……
Media relations: Trust the process
You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it take advantage of free publicity on a major television network. OK, that’s not really the saying, but it……