Membership Milestones 2025
NFPW recognizes its members who’ve reached 25 years of membership and every five-year increment thereafter with short biographies. This year, more than 30 of our members reached those significant milestones.
65 YEARS
Colorado Press Women
Barbara "Bobbi" Gigone joined Colorado Press Women in 1960, shortly after earning a journalism degree from the University of Colorado and starting work as a reporter/photographer with the Boulder Daily Camera. Gigone then worked for The Denver Post and a weekly, formed a freelance business, and worked for Boulder County government as public information officer and director of the Community Services Department. A former CPW president, she has served NFPW in various capacities, including contest chair and Education Fund board member. She was the 2015 NFPW Communicator of Achievement.
60 YEARS
Kansas Professional Communicators
For 15 years, Priscilla Chansky was the administrative director of the nonprofit Veterans Voices Writing Project, retiring in 2019. She currently is secretary/treasurer of VVWP. A journalism graduate of The University of Kansas, she initially joined Missouri Press Women. Chansky spent 17 years on the KU Medical Center public relations staff, co-owned a weekly newspaper for seven years, was executive director of NFPW and spent many years in nonprofit multi-association management. She has served the KPC board and was the 2020 KPC Communicator of Achievement.
North Dakota Professional Communicators
Jane Brandt purchased the Hebron (N.D.) Herald in 1965 — the same year she joined NFPW. She later started publishing The Richardton Merchant. She never missed a publishing deadline, “even when the press went down, ice covered the highways and storms rolled over the city,” according to a Dickinson Press article about her. She called her career a labor of love to her community and newspaper. She has served as president of North Dakota Professional Communicators, has held NFPW offices and in 2001 was honored as NFPW Communicator of Achievement.
50 YEARS
Woman's Press Club of Indiana
Ann Wantz King joined NFPW with the sponsorship of well-known UPI Indiana statehouse reporter Hortense Myers. At the time, King was assistant press secretary to Gov. Otis R. Bowen. She was active in sustaining and later co-chairing the annual Legislative Awareness Seminar sponsored by NFPW, Woman's Press Club of Indiana and Women in Radio and TV. King is a past recipient of the Kate Milner Raab Award, WPCI's highest honor for excellence in journalism and service.
Oregon Press Women
After earning a degree in journalism from Fresno State College, Cathy Thomas began her first job as editor and general manager of the Pixley (California) Enterprise. She went on to the Everett (Washington) Herald, became managing editor of the Valley Times in Beaverton, Oregon, and worked for the Vancouver (Washington) Columbian. Thomas retired from Metro, a Portland-area regional government group, as a senior public affairs specialist and notorious “word cop.” A 40-year Oregon Zoo volunteer, she has edited the ZooDoer volunteer newsletter and served as the volunteer webmaster.
45 YEARS
Colorado Press Women
Mary “Buffy” Gilfoil launched her career in newspapers and worked for many years both as a freelance writer and editor and as a reservist in external affairs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She also taught journalism at college and high school levels. She continues publishing on Substack at The Curious Watchdog, where she often writes about the international battle for free speech online, including skirmishes between legacy media and independent journalists.
Media Network Idaho
Cathy Koon enjoyed a 30-year career in newspapers before switching to public relations, economic development and outreach, and publications for a nonprofit. She has served several terms as president of Media Network Idaho. Koon has helped organize three national conferences, served on national committees, is a member of POPPS and is publications director for NFPW. She’s been the editor of NFPW’s Agenda for more than a decade.
Illinois Woman's Press Association
After graduating from Columbia College, Cindy Cruz began her career as a reporter, then took editorial roles for a suburban Chicago newspaper. She later worked in health care and education public relations, became a freelance writer and then a full-time news editor again. Cruz became an occupational therapy assistant in 2014 but continues freelance writing. She is also a volunteer for a homeless women and children shelter program. Cruz has held leadership roles in IWPA and was its 1991 and 2019 Communicator of Achievement.
Woman’s Press Club of Indiana
Donna Douglas Penticuff is an award-winning journalist, editor and public relations practitioner who has 50 years of experience in newspapers, the nonprofit sector, teaching, consulting and real estate. She was on the NFPW national board for many years and was national president 2003 to 2005. Penticuff is past president of Woman's Press Club of Indiana and twice was the affiliate's Communicator of Achievement.
Louisiana Press Women
Judith Sylvester has been on the faculty of the Louisiana State University Manship School of Mass Communication since 1994. Before that, she had founded and directed the Media Research Bureau at the University of Missouri, her alma mater. Her interests include research methods, civic journalism, health care campaigns and social marketing. She has written three books about journalists covering the Hurricane Katrina, the aftermath of the World Trade Center bombing and the Iraq War.
New Mexico Press Women
Emily Drabanski is a staff writer for Santa Fe Community College. Active in New Mexico Press Women since she joined, she has served as state president and chapter president. She was the affiliate's 2006 Communicator of Achievement. Drabanski was the longtime editor of New Mexico Magazine and worked at the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper. The author of three nonfiction books, she has also written articles for various publications.
Denise Tessier served 25 consecutive years on the New Mexico Press Women board, holding most offices at both the state and Albuquerque chapter levels, including president, and serving on nearly all committees. She co-directed the 1990 national conference in Albuquerque, was honored as the affiliate’s Communicator of Achievement and was first runner-up at the national level. After 20 years as historian, she co-authored NMPW's 60-year history in 2010.
North Dakota Professional Communicators
Francie (Frances) M. Berg is a historian and author of 17 books, several of which focus on Western history and heritage. As a licensed nutritionist, she edited and published the Healthy Weight Journal for 16 years, reporting weight and eating research to health professionals worldwide. She’s also published books on health and weight issues. Berg holds a master's degree in family social science and anthropology from the University of Minnesota and is also a former educator.
40 YEARS
Alaska Professional Communicators
Robyne once had a TV news director tell her to wear jackets with shoulder pads “to look as masculine as possible.” She’s grateful to NFPW for tilting the playing field. She left California in the 1980s for Alaska for a one-year stay that turned into decades, working in public radio in Fairbanks, Homer and Barrow (now Utqiaġvik) and TV in Fairbanks. She also served a decade in social service agencies and taught journalism at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She retired from KUAC-FM in 2025.
Colorado Press Women
In the early years, Nancy Crisman Sworts taught in the many cities and countries where her husband was assigned in his military career. Later, armed with another degree, she wrote for The Denver Post and was writer/editor for Colorado governors Richard Lamm and Roy Romer. Sworts was also marketing director for the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Kansas Professional Communicators
Cecilia Green, a Wichita State University journalism graduate, retired in May 2009 after a long career in PR in Wichita and Chicago. She was co-founder and executive director of the Bartlett (Illinois) Center for the Arts for 12 years before moving back to Wichita in 2021, where she became a freelance writer for local publications, earning the sweepstakes award in the KPC communications contest in 2024. She has served as president of NFPW affiliates in Illinois and Wichita and is currently NFPW's POPPs newsletter editor.
Press Women of Texas
Stephanie H. Dahl is an award-winning journalist, the author of three books and a former college professor. A member of the Connecticut Press Club for more than 20 years, she served as its president and was CPC's 1995 Communicator of Achievement. Now retired, Dahl lives in San Antonio where she is a fabric artist and blogs on her website thenarrativethread.com She is also a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the Authors Guild.
At-large (Georgia)
After her newspaper career, Tommy Simmons, a retired business writer, food columnist and food editor from The Advocate newspaper in Baton Rouge, moved with her husband, David, to Waleska, Georgia, in the north Georgia mountains. Since then, she has traveled, played golf, gardened and occasionally written novice gardening articles for local and state garden club publications. This year, she attempted growing vegetables in raised beds; the verdict is still out on who will harvest more, her or the resident deer, squirrels and rabbits.
35 YEARS
Alaska Professional Communicators
While Connie Graffis Huff was attending the University of Alaska Anchorage, her professor Sylvia Broady told classes they'd be wise to join the Alaska affiliate of NFPW, and she was right. Some wonderful friendships have happened through this fine organization over the decades, Huff says. After some 30 years on public radio, Huff is enjoying her retirement.
Delaware Press Association
Katherine Ward is a national award-winning book editor, author, freelance writer, writing coach and educator. During her membership with the Delaware affiliate, she has served in several roles, including president, contest director and historian. She was the DPA’s Communicator of Achievement in 2007. She also served several terms on the NFPW board and for several years she was involved with consulting and directing parts of the NFPW communications contest. Ward was honored in 2014 with the NFPW President's Award.
Kansas Professional Communicators
Jeffrey Ann Goudie is a freelance writer whose book reviews have appeared in the Boston Globe, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Kansas City Star and the New York Times Book Review, among other papers. A former newspaper columnist for the Topeka Capital-Journal and the Topeka Metro News, she has also written opinion pieces for the Kansas Reflector, the Kansas City Star and the Huffington Post. She was the KPC 2004 Communicator of Achievement and has placed multiple times in NFPW Communications Contests.
Virginia Professional Communicators
Marge Swayne joined VPC on the advice of VPC founding member and journalism pioneer Lib Wiley when Swayne became part of The Farmville Herald news staff. She left the Herald in 2016, a year after a conglomerate purchased the family-owned paper. After leaving the newsroom, Swayne wrote monthly cover features for Farmville the Magazine until 2022. She has been working part time for the PR firm Letterpress Communications.
Joan Tupponce’s articles have appeared in The Oprah Magazine, AmericanWay, AAA World, Sky (Delta’s inflight magazine), Virginia Living, Richmond Magazine, Richmond Family Magazine, Virginia Business Magazine, Virginia Golfer Magazine, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and more. She has also written articles for Sports Illustrated's public relations team. She writes about a variety of subjects including business, health and science, entertainment, sports and travel. Tupponce also has broadcast experience, including radio and TV reviews, travelogues and celebrity interviews. She has won numerous awards for writing and photojournalism.
At-large (Florida)
Audrey Blackwell joined NFPW and Colorado Press Women in 1990 when living in Greeley, Colorado. Now living in Venice, Florida, she is a freelance correspondent for the Venice Gondolier Sun; she was previously a reporter and assistant features editor at the Venice Gondolier Sun for 13 years. Blackwell also served as editor of the Aims Community College newspaper. Her many awards include the first-place 2008 Florida Press Club Lucy Morgan Award for in-depth reporting for a series on bullying.
At-large (North Carolina)
Since 1996, Juliette Weiland has run a public relations and marketing business, helping organizations and individuals from various sectors, including nonprofits and small businesses. Before starting her own company, Weiland was the PR and marketing director for a nonprofit home health care corporation in Fairfield County, Connecticut. In the past decade, she has served in various capacities with the Charlotte, North Carolina, chapter of SCORE, providing mentoring and education to small businesses.
30 YEARS
Arizona Professional Writers/Illinois Woman’s Press Association
Marion E. Gold is an award-winning writer and marketing professional. Before launching her communications company in 1994, she was executive vice president and general manager with Pragmaton, a small company she built into a multimillion-dollar agency that was part of Omnicom, a global communications network. She runs two additional businesses: Brittany Publications specializing in books related to women’s advocacy, and Moonbeam, Lilacs & Roses, creating custom-designed jewelry.
Arizona Professional Writers
Brenda Warneka, an attorney-CPA, joined Arizona Professional Writers/NFPW when she began writing a column for a legal newspaper. She went on to win several NFPW awards, serve as APW president when the affiliate hosted the 2012 NFPW conference and was named APW’s 2014 Communicator of Achievement. Under her leadership, 18 APW members wrote a book celebrating the Arizona centennial, “Skirting Traditions: Arizona Writers and Journalists 1912-2012.”
Iowa Press Women
An unplanned career change shifted Marsha Hoffman's path after 19 years as an award-winning news and web editor. Hoffman has held every board position for IPW and served 15 years on the NFPW board, including as national president (2015-17) and Education Fund director (2017-19). She co-chaired the 2011 NFPW conference co-hosted by IPW and Nebraska Press Women and is the current Ed Fund secretary.
25 YEARS
Alaska Professional Communicators
** Marilyn Blumer is an independent writing and editorial consultant who lives in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. A former 10-year resident of Alaska, she still returns annually.
** Sherrie Simmonds, who lives in Anchorage, is active with the Citizens of the World Toastmasters Club. From March 1984 through June 2011, she had been the corporate communications officer with the Alaska Housing Finance Corp.
Carol Murkowski Sturgulewski has been a writer and editor in Alaska for nearly 50 years. She wrote for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Anchorage Times, Anchorage Daily News, Aleutian Eagle, Dutch Harbor Fisherman and other publications. She is also the author of three nonfiction books. She lives in Anchorage, where she is a senior affiliate editor for Alaska Quarterly Review, sits on the editorial board of North Star Catholic, edits book manuscripts, and volunteers for library and book-related issues.
Delaware Press Association
Pamela Donnelly has been a freelance consultant since 2020, after retiring from a more than 40-year career with various University of Delaware offices. In her last position as a communications specialist with the Environmental Public Education Office, she translated and disseminated complex environmental topics to effectively reach stakeholders, policymakers and the public.
North Dakota Professional Communicators
Since 2020, Pam Gibb has been a freelance communicator As communications coordinator for Moorhead (Minnesota) Area Public Schools from 1998 to 2019, her one-person department was responsible for internal and external communications. Gibb is active in NDPC, currently serving as treasurer, historian and website editor. She was NDPC’s 2016 Communicator of Achievement. Gibb is also secretary and book sale co-chair for Friends of the Moorhead Public Library.
20 YEARS
California Press Women: Heather Oliff Salvatierra
Delaware Press Association: Matt Popelka
Illinois Woman’s Press Association: Scott Reeder
Kansas Professional Communicators: Cheryl Miller, Wilma Moore-Black
New Mexico Press Women: Arin McKenna, Mary Alice Murphy
North Dakota Professional Communicators: Carol Renner
Press Women of Texas: Ysabel de la Rosa
15 YEARS
Nebraska Press Women: Kerry Hoffschneider, Heather Johnson
North Carolina: Carolyn Tillona
Virginia Professional Communicators: Ruth Doumlele
10 YEARS
Arkansas Press Women: Fred Miller
Colorado Press Women: Donna Bryson
Connecticut Press Club: Michele Turk
Delaware Press Association: Irene Fick, Russell Reece
Illinois Woman’s Press Association: Joshua Friedberg
New Mexico Press Women: Nicolas Cabrera, William Diven, Tara Lumpkin, Kathleen McCleery
North Dakota Professional Communicators: Betsy Beaton, AnnMarie Campbell, Tracy Nicholson
Pennsylvania Press Club: Jane Primerano
5 YEARS
Arkansas Press Women: Josie Lenora
Colorado Press Women: Karen Petersen
Connecticut Press Club: Heather Herve
Delaware Press Association: Kelly Basile, Shelly Blue Grabel, Seth Katzen, John Riley
Delaware Press Association/Pennsylvania Press Club: Jaccii Farris
Illinois Woman’s Press Association: Peter Cohen, Margo McMahon
Kansas Professional Communicators: Rachel Bell, Belinda Venters
Nebraska Press Women: Phyllis Buell, Ellen Mortensen, Tammy Real-McKeighan
New Mexico Press Women: Mary Lou Cooper, Kathleen Hessler, Marilyn Hill, Rose Marie Kern, Kathy Schuit, Patricia Wood
North Dakota Professional Communicators: Amanda Kosior
Press Women of Texas: Maria Illich
At-large: Shawn Cunningham
At-large (Indiana): Jessica Glynn
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