In June 2023, David Plazas (MSJ, ’00) received the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual Sigma Delta Chi Award for Excellence in Editorial Writing. Plazas, the Opinion and Engagement Director of The Tennessean, advocated for LGBTQ+ rights in a state whose lawmakers have been intent on restricting them. SPJ has granted this prize since 1932 to recognize excellence in journalism.
https://www.spj.org/sdxa22.asp
Vidya Krishnamurthy was named Chief Communications Officer and Senior Adviser to the President at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, a private charitable foundation in Menlo Park, CA. She was previously Director of Communications at the same organization, and before that, was the first-ever Communications Director at the Pew Research Center in Washington, DC, where she served for nearly a decade.
Mike Saccone was honored with the 2023 Environmental Justice 21st-Century “Outstanding Program Award” for his work as Vice President of Communications at the National Wildlife Federation to center equity and justice in his and his team’s work. The national award honors team and leaders for their work to uplift environmental justice.
Renee Cordes, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, received a first place award in the 2022 New England Better Newspaper Competition for racial, ethnic or gender issue coverage by a specialty publication. The award, from the New England Newspaper & Press Association, was for a feature article about female entrepreneurs overcoming obstacles to raise capital. Cordes is a senior writer at Mainebiz.
Linda (Lachin) Saltzman is President of Beth El Synagogue in Omaha, NE. She is an award-winning baker and advocate for homeless animals. Linda and her husband of 24 years, Kevin, have two college-aged children.
Chris Gentilviso joined Forbes in September 2022 as deputy editor on its contributors team. Gentilviso previously was opinions editor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He earned awards in editorial writing and commentary from the Virginia Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Washington, D.C. chapter.
Marc Schreiber was named president of the St. Louis Sports Commission. Schreiber has been with the organization since 1998. He also serves as the executive producer and co-creator of the Musial Awards, which celebrate the year’s greatest moments of sportsmanship and those in sports who embody class and character. The Musial Awards are televised nationally on CBS.
Emily Levin was named partner at Brunswick Group, a critical issues advisory firm. Based in Washington, D.C., Emily has extensive experience in building effective communications strategies and integrated campaigns to help organizations navigate business challenges and significant milestones.
The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) has named Nekoro Gomes Vice President of Communications for the region’s leading business advocacy organization. Gomes, who will officially join GBC in mid-April, will lead the organization’s newly combined communications and events staff and will work with GBC’s board and leadership team to reposition the regional marketing and economic branding message. One of his first assignments will be to lead the new branding of GBC to more accurately reflect the organization following its merger with the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore (EAGB). Gomes brings over a decade of experience developing and executing integrated marketing campaigns and shaping the narrative around pressing public policy challenges. Most recently, he served as Marketing Strategy Director for the New York City Housing Authority. Prior to NYCHA, Gomes was a Creative Marketing Strategist with the New York City-based strategic communications and reputation management firm Rubenstein. The formative start of his career began at City Limits where Gomes progressed from Community Engagement Manager to Director of Marketing and Audience Development.
Vertu Publishing released the novel “Look for Something Good” by Robert Drews.