PRSA-NY Announces 2025 Individual Award Recipients and 15 Under 35 Honorees

Top PR Leaders and Rising Stars to Be Celebrated at the Annual Big Apple Awards on September 18 at Sony Hall

NEW YORK, Aug. 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRSA-NY today announced its 2025 individual award winners and 15 Under 35 Class of 2025, who will be honored at the Big Apple Awards gala on September 18 at Sony Hall in New York City.

Recognized as the most prestigious awards program in the New York PR community, the PRSA-NY Big Apple Awards celebrate excellence in communications and honor the year’s most effective and creative campaigns, as well as the exceptional practitioners who are moving the industry forward. This year’s theme, “Elevate & Evolve: Honoring PR Excellence in a Changing Landscape,” underscores the drive and adaptability showcased by the honorees.

“This year’s honorees reflect the full spectrum of excellence in our profession—from the rising stars who are shaping the future of communications, to the seasoned leaders whose influence has elevated the industry for decades,” said Ken Kerrigan, President of PRSA-NY. “Each has demonstrated a commitment to innovation, integrity and impact, and we are proud to recognize their achievements.“

PRSA-NY 2025 INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS

Each year, PRSA-NY proudly recognizes individual achievement in the practice of PR and communications through several prestigious awards presented at the Big Apple Awards. Recipients are determined by the PRSA-NY Individual Awards Committee with involvement from PRSA-NY’s Executive Committee and support from award sponsors. The 2025 honorees include:

John W. Hill Award: Barby K. Siegel, CEO, Zeno Group

PRSA-NY’s top and longest conferred honor, the John W. Hill Award, recognizes lifetime professional achievement in the practice of public relations. Recipients are communications industry leaders (from agency, corporate, government, business, non-profit and education fields) who exemplify John Hill’s beliefs that experience, quality, integrity and judgement are the cornerstones upon which the profession has been built.

PRSA-NY Excellence in Mentoring Award: Douglas Simon, CEO, D S Simon Media

The PRSA-NY Excellence in Mentoring Award honors individuals who continuously lead, guide and selflessly counsel and stimulate the careers of communications professionals at all stages. Recipients demonstrate the highest standards of the profession and play a selfless role as a mentor and ally.

Barbara W. Hunter Trailblazer Award: Sam Marchiano, Award-winning Sports Journalist, Professor at NYU’s Tisch Institute of Global Sport, and Founder of the Equality League

Established in 2023, the Barbara Way Hunter Trailblazer Award recognizes the impact of female leadership and the individuals who have broken down barriers, earned the trust and respect of their clients and peers, and helped pave the way for future generations of women to excel in their careers in the communications industry.

Harold Burson Award: Jon Harris , Executive Vice President, Chief Communications & Networking Officer, Conagra Brands

Established in 2021, the Harold Burson Award recognizes excellence in communications leadership by a non-agency practitioner: someone whose public persona, personal brand and professional accomplishments encapsulate the values that Burson brings to its client engagements and those which comport with the industry’s leading practices, including an unwavering commitment to diversity, equity and inclusivity.

The Daniel J. Edelman Award for Social Impact is a prestigious honor recognizing a public relations or media industry leader whose work embodies Edelman’s commitment to improve society. Previous honorees include George Stephanopoulos (2024), Bret Stephens (2023) and Al Roker (2022). The 2025 recipient will be announced live at the Big Apple Awards on September 18.

PRSA-NY President’s Award: Helio Fred Garcia, President, Logos Consulting Group

The PRSA-NY President’s Award honors a current or former member of PRSA-NY who exemplifies the highest standards of ethical conduct and outstanding service within the public relations profession and to PRSA and its New York Chapter. The winner is selected annually by the current PRSA-NY President and ratified by the Board of Directors.

PRSA-NY 15 UNDER 35 CLASS OF 2025

Now in its 10th year, the 15 Under 35 Awards program honors the most inspirational and ambitious young PR and communications talent within the New York City metro area. The Class of 2025 is composed of professionals who are not only excelling in their roles but also making significant contributions to the industry and the communities in which they live and work.

Through a rigorous, anonymous and conflict-free judging process, a distinguished panel of senior communications professionals representing diverse backgrounds and experiences selected the following professionals as this year’s #15toFollow:

• Erin Cooper, APCO
• Conor Douglass, Attention Comms
• Abbey Scalia, Berk Communications
• Autumn Blackmon-Burk, GCI Health
• Nicole Sullivan, Gregory FCA
• Joyce Kim, IW Group
• Thomas Palladino, HEINEKEN USA
• Yuliya Kim, Mission North
• Danielle Montana, Peppercomm
• Jackson Budinger, The Trevor Project
• Gabby DiCarlo, Vested
• Olivia Zibaitis, Yahoo
• Christina Kim, Yanolja
• Alli Cloutier Kelly, Zeno Group
• Emily Herman, Zeno Group
  

“Our 15 Under 35 honorees represent everything we aspire to as an industry: incredible work, meaningful results, industry and community impact, and commitment to our highest ideals and values. They embody the next generation of PR leadership, and we can’t wait to celebrate them at the Big Apple Awards!” said Jade Faugno-Maria, Senior Vice President at Dukas Linden Public Relations and Senior Director of the 15 Under 35 Awards.

Yahoo’s Olivia Zibaitis has also been named the first-ever winner of the PRophet Emerging Communications Engineer Award in recognition for exceptional use of data, AI and predictive tools to deliver measurable impact.

EVENT INFORMATION

Early bird tickets for the Big Apple Awards are available now through August 15 at discounted rates:

• Individual PRSA-NY Member: $500
• Individual Non-Member: $600
• Tables of 10: Starting at $5,000
  

Ticket prices will increase beginning August 16. For more details and to register, visit http://www.commpro.biz/events/big-apple-awards-2025.

This year’s event is graciously sponsored by 360PR+, Burson, Gregory FCA, HUNTER, PRophet (exclusive sponsor of the 15 Under 35 Awards), Edelman, Notified, The Stevens / Jachetti Group, Truescope, Carmichael Lynch Relate, PR Museum, Hill & Knowlton and IW Group, with event production by CommPRO.

Limited sponsorship opportunities are still available for organizations that wish to support the event and gain visibility among the region’s top communications professionals. To learn more, please visit https://www.prsany.org/ or contact fays@commpro.biz.

ABOUT THE BIG APPLE AWARDS

The New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America established the Big Apple Awards program in 1988 to encourage excellence in public relations. The program has evolved to keep pace with a rapidly changing industry and continues to celebrate the exciting and innovative successes of talented professionals working in the heart of the communications universe. Today, a Big Apple Award is recognized as one of the highest honors bestowed in public relations.

ABOUT PRSA-NY

The New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America is the best-established, most substantial and most influential group of public relations professionals in the country. Located in the media capital of the world, PRSA-NY offers to its members top-level career development and education, networking, mentoring and award programs. PRSA-NY serves communications decision-makers at agencies, businesses, nonprofit organizations and public and private institutions. For more information about PRSA-NY, go to https://www.prsany.org/.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

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CONTACT: Contact

Ken Kerrigan, APR
President, PRSA-NY
kenkerriganapr@gmail.com