NEW YORK (Jan. 29, 2010) — The Health Academy of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) today announced its national executive committee for 2010. With approximately 800 members, the Health Academy is PRSA’s largest Professional Interest Section, and the largest network of health care public relations and communications professionals in the world.
Paula L. Pedene, APR, public affairs officer, Phoenix VA Health Care System, Phoenix, Ariz., was elected executive committee chair.
“The health care system is experiencing unprecedented change, and public relations professionals are facing unique communications challenges and opportunities,” said Pedene. “I am confident that the talented and diverse group of communication leaders represented on our executive committee can provide the best tools to help our members succeed in addressing these challenges.”
Joining Pedene as officers are: Chair-Elect Nancy F. Hughes, assistant vice president, communications and marketing, National Health Council, Washington, D.C.; Immediate Past Chair Garland Stansell, MPPM, chief communications officer, Children’s Health System, Birmingham, Ala.; Secretary Beth L. Toal, public relations manager, Saint Luke’s Health System, Boise, Idaho; Vice Chair, Programming, Jackie Fishman, APR, media relations manager, Blue Cross & Blue Shield Association, Washington, D.C.; and Vice Chair, Communications, Dennis Tartaglia, president, Tartaglia Communications, Somerset, N.J.
The Health Academy promotes excellence in communications and an educational dialogue across the entire health care industry, enhancing the professional development and career growth of its members. Unparalleled networking and educational activities provided by the Academy include an annual conference, teleseminars, “brown bag” learning sessions, regional “intersection” events, social media tools and Web resources. These programs focus on the most critical, timely topics for health communicators, from the use of social media in health care to strategies for communicating change.
A cornerstone of the Academy’s programming is the annual spring conference. One of the industry’s largest and most successful, the conference provides a range of educational and social opportunities for senior- and mid-level public relations professionals, and is structured around a single overarching theme. This year’s conference, which will take place April 14–16 in Chicago, will focus on communicating during a time of significant health care transformation.
Health Academy members also elected or re-elected three executive committee members at-large: Leigh Fazzina, principal, Fazzina & Co. Communications Consulting, King of Prussia, Pa.; Joyce Lofstrom, MS, APR, senior manager, corporate communications, HIMSS, Chicago, Ill..; and Sonja Popp-Stahly, APR, associate communications consultant, global product communications, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, Ind.
Members continuing their terms include: Deborah Davis, ABC, APR, principal, Triad Public Relations Inc., Fishers, Ind.; Ben Garrett, executive producer, Vidicom, Atlanta, Ga.; Lorri A. Jandron, president and CEO, Edge Partnerships, Lansing, Mich.; Lisa Johnson, vice president, public affairs and marketing, Blue Mountain Health System, Lehighton, Pa.; Marc Kaplan, director of communications, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Health System, Philadelphia, Pa.; Kurt Wise, Ph.D., APR, chair, Public Relations Department, Quinnipiac University School of Communications, Hamden, Conn.; and Drenda Williams Witt, director, collaborative network marketing, JPS Health Network, Fort Worth, Texas. Ellen Beth Levitt, director of public affairs and media relations for The University of Maryland Medical System, will also join the executive committee as a member-at-large.
For more information, visit www.healthacademy.prsa.org.
About the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
With more than 31,000 members, PRSA is the largest organization of public relations professionals and students. PRSA is comprised of 110 local Chapters organized into 10 geographic Districts; 16 Professional Interest Sections that focus on issues, trends and research relevant to specialized practice areas, such as technology, health care, financial communications, entertainment and sports, and travel tourism; and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), which has more than 300 Chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. PRSA is headquartered in New York.
