Sonja Popp-Stahly, APR

Sonja Popp-Stahly, APR, is Communications Manager, Lilly Bio-Medicines in Global Business Communications at Eli Lilly and Company, a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis. She is the PRSSA national professional adviser as well as the professional adviser to Purdue University’s PRSSA Chapter. She also serves on the national PRSA Health Academy executive committee and on the Hoosier PRSA Chapter’s board of directors.

With more than 18 years of experience in both agency and corporate communications, Popp-Stahly’s background includes strategic planning, consumer marketing, media relations and issues management.

Popp-Stahly joined Lilly in 2007, and manages U.S. and international communications strategy for the company’s neuroscience and autoimmune therapeutic areas. Her responsibilities include developing and implementing external communications plans and issues management strategies; serving as a corporate liaison for communications colleagues in affiliate countries; and managing U.S. and international public relations agencies.

Prior to Lilly, Popp-Stahly was a team leader and account manager at Indianapolis’ Hetrick Communications for seven years, representing health care, professional services, education and consumer products clients.

Before moving to Indianapolis in 2000, Sonja worked in agency and corporate public relations in New York City for seven years. She was the manager of public relations for Sara Lee Hosiery, overseeing national communications for the Hanes, Donna Karan and DKNY hosiery brands. Popp-Stahly also was an account supervisor at DeVries Public Relations, representing numerous consumer products, including Procter & Gamble, Nabisco and Nestle brands.

Popp-Stahly has devoted much of her time to PRSA. As a member of PRSA’s New York Chapter from 1993-2000, she served as co-chair of the Chapter’s new professionals group and as education chair, organizing an annual intern match-making event and scholarship program. A member of PRSA’s 400-member Hoosier Chapter since 2000, she has held numerous board positions, including president, vice president of operations, director of membership, assembly delegate and PRSSA committee co-chair, organizing an annual job shadow day and scholarship program. Popp-Stahly also has held national positions with PRSA, including co-chair of the national Student-to-Professional Task Force in addition to her current position on the PRSA Health Academy executive committee. She also is a member of Champions for PRSSA.

Popp-Stahly graduated magna cum laude from Ball State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism/public relations and minors in marketing and German. In college, she was an active member of PRSSA and served on the PRSSA National Committee. At the Chapter level, she was a PRSSA Chapter officer, Bateman case study competition team member and account manager at Ball State’s student-run firm. Popp-Stahly is a past recipient of the national Betsy Plank/PRSSA scholarship and was inducted into the national PRSSA Hall of Fame in 2002.

Popp-Stahly is Accredited in Public Relations (APR) by the PRSA-affiliated Universal Accreditation Board. Her programs have received numerous awards, including the 2002 PRSA Silver Anvil Award, the PR industry’s highest national honor.

Contact Information
spopp-stahly@lilly.com
@SonjaPoppStahly