PRSA Rochester Chapter Executive of the Year Award

This nominee is not currently a full time public relations or marketing practitioner and does not lead the public relations or marketing department. Nominate a local executive, who has reached the Senior Vice President level or above, who has demonstrated successful utilization of public relations, and has embraced and fostered the field. Nominations should be based on the following criteria. 

• Value - Does the Executive or CEO value the practice of public relations? Does he or she demonstrate personal excellence in understanding and fostering the implementation of public relations practices? If she/he comes from a public relations background or is still a practitioner in some capacity, how does she/he use public relations as a proactive business tool, not just part of their 'day job' activities?
  
  
• Vision - Does the Executive or CEO have a personal vision and actively communicate that vision?
  
  
• Effectiveness - Is the Executive or CEO effective in communicating with employees and external stakeholders?
  
  
• Involvement - Is the Executive or CEO productively involved in the community?
  
  
• Excellence - Has the Executive or CEO displayed excellence in averting or dealing with crises? (This area may not be applicable in all cases and will be taken into consideration upon evaluation.)
  
  
• Ethics/Integrity - Are public relations activities executed in accordance with PRSA Code of Ethics and the highest standards of integrity?
  
  

A panel of PRSA past presidents, the current president and president-elect, and other current board members will review the pool of nominees. The panel has the option of not selecting a recipient in a given year. If a recipient is selected, the award will be presented at the PRism Awards ceremony.

Submit a Nomination

Please complete the online nomination form or email the PDF nomination form and a copy of the nominee’s resume Sara Miller, [email protected], and Samantha Jean, [email protected], by Friday, March 20, 2026.

When a nomination is chosen, the nominator will be notified in advance of the PRism Awards Ceremony so that the nominee and a guest of the nominee can be invited to attend to accept the award. 

A nominal $20 fee is required for submitting an nomination. You will receive an invoice after submitting your nomination form via email. Fee is waived for student nominators. 

Previous Executive of the Year Awardees

2003: G. Rollie Adams, President and CEO of Strong Museum

2004: Thomas F. Bonadio, Managing Partner of the Bonadio Group

2005: Victoria G. Hines, President and CEO of Visiting Nurse Service of Rochester and Monroe County

2006: Sandy Parker, CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance

2007: Peter Carpino, President and CEO of United Way of Rochester

2008: Dr. Anthony Bannon, Director, George Eastman House International Museum of Photography & Film

2009: Daan Braveman, President, Nazareth College

2010: Ed Suk, Executive Director, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

2011: Arunas Chesonis, Chairman and CEO, PAETEC

2012: Naomi Silver, President, CEO and COO, Rochester Community Baseball

2013: John Barr, Chief Marketing Officer at Hillside Family of Agencies

2014: Dawn Borgeest, Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, United Way of Greater Rochester

2016: Gerard J. Rooney, Ph.D., President, St. John Fisher College

2018: Dr. Deana L. Porterfield, President, Roberts Wesleyan College

2020: Kim Condon, Executive Director, Daystar Kids

2022: Faheem Masood, President and CEO, ESL Federal Credit Union

2024: Jennifer Lake, President and CEO, Goodwill of the Finger Lakes