Membership Milestones 2026

NFPW recognizes its members who’ve reached 25 years of membership and every five-year increment thereafter with short biographies. 

CELEBRATING 70 YEARS

At-large (Washington)
Barbara Nilson joined NFPW as co-owner of the Quincy Valley Post-Register, the third offset newspaper in Washington state. She has been a newspaper columnist, edited a historical newsletter and has written travel articles and historical books. She also taught high school journalism for 20 years, earning the Journalism Education Association’s highest recognition. Her students included former Washington governor and U.S. Commerce secretary Gary Locke and musician Kenny G. She was a former Washington affiliate president and Communicator of Achievement, directed the national high school communications contest and helped organize two national conferences in Seattle.

 CELEBRATING 65 YEARS

Nebraska Press Women
Instead of using her college scholarship, Gwen Lindberg married and had four sons. Luckily, her husband’s dream was to own a newspaper. So, she used her English skills and became a columnist, editor and publisher when they purchased the Sargent Leader, then the West Point News. One of a dozen journalists permitted to enter Vietnam in 1988, Lindberg also went to Cuba in 2000. After sponsoring a Vietnamese family, she gave more than 60 talks about the experience, including to incarcerated veterans in the Nebraska State Penitentiary.

CELEBRATING 55 YEARS

Colorado Press Women
Marlys Duran, a 1960 graduate of the University of New Mexico, retired in 2002 after 40-plus years as a journalist at the Albuquerque Tribune, Denver’s suburban Sentinel newspapers and the Rocky Mountain News. She was treasurer of Colorado Press Women for 25 years. Duran has three children, four grandchildren and three great-granddaughters.

At-large (Ohio)
Beth Hurdle Deisher began her professional journalism career in 1969 as a feature writer for a metropolitan daily newspaper. During the ensuing years, she edited education and numismatics publications, with her longest tenure being 27 years as editor of Coin World, from which she retired in 2012. In 2017, she led a national task force on training federal law enforcement officers investigating counterfeiting of U.S. coins. That initiative led to a new public sector nonprofit foundation, for which she serves as executive director, that continues the mission. A Numismatics Hall of Famer, Deisher is the author or lead editor of 13 numismatics books.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

Alaska Professional Communicators
Doris Thomas is membership chairperson, FANet liaison and special projects fundraiser for Alaska Professional Communicators. A three-time recipient of the affiliate’s Spark Plug Award, she was affiliate president from 1998 to 2000. She retired in 2006 after a 32-year federal public affairs career that included being an internal communications chief, a newspaper editor, magazine editor, media relations specialist and environmental community relations coordinator. Thomas is a longtime volunteer with the Coast Guard Auxiliary (nearly 50 years) and a military history preservation organization (19 years). 

Arkansas Press Women
Eva Marie Pearson served as NFPW historian under six national presidents, honoring hundreds of milestone members and memorializing dozens of deceased members. She also served one term each as social director, protocol director and Communicator of Achievement director. She was named the NFPW COA in 2000. She retired from a 35-year career in print media journalism at the Pine Bluff Commercial in 2009. She joined Arkansas Press Women on her birthday, April 24, 1976. She served in several affiliate leadership positions, including president and communications contest director.

Colorado Press Women
Ruth Anna is retired in Grand Junction, Colorado. She and her husband devote their time and professional skills to several community nonprofits. They are active in Restore the Balance comprising Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliates working to build an alternative to political extremism. She remains passionate about FOI and First Amendment issues, continues as a member of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, and supports the recently formed Western Colorado Journalism Foundation. The latter was created to preserve independent, trusted news because it strengthens communities and democracy from the ground up. 

Media Network Idaho
Teri Ehresman has many years’ service on the NFPW board as president (2013 to 2015), first and second vice president, secretary and appointed roles. She is on the NFPW Education Fund board as high school contest director and is the former director for the NFPW national communications contest. A former Media Network Idaho president, Ehresman helped organize NFPW conferences in Idaho in 1989 and 2008 and Utah in 2013. She spent her career as a newspaper reporter and editor in Idaho Falls and as the communications lead for science-related research for a U.S. Department of Energy contractor. Among her communications recognitions, she was honored by U.S. Congressman Michael Simpson, R-Idaho, for her communications efforts and was part of a Pulitzer-nominated team that covered the 1988 Yellowstone National Park fires.

New Mexico Press Women
Sherry Robinson, a former newspaper reporter and editor, still writes a weekly syndicated column. She began her career on the Navajo Nation stringing for the Gallup Independent and worked at the Albuquerque Journal, the New Mexico Business Weekly and the Albuquerque Tribune. She’s written four award-winning books, including “I Fought a Good Fight: A History of the Lipan Apaches” and “Apache Voices.” She’s been an NMPW Communicator of Achievement, a YWCA Woman on the Move and a Kirtland Air Force Base honorary commander.

CELEBRATING 45 YEARS

Alabama Media Professionals
Jane Newton Falany joined Alabama Media Professionals and NFPW after earning a master’s degree in communication from the University of Alabama and starting work in the public relations department at Alabama Power Co. After retiring in 2005, she was an instructor at both the University of Alabama and Samford University and has worked as a freelance writer and editor. Falany co-authored “Leeds,” a history of the small Alabama city. A former AMP president, she was co-chair of the 2017 NFPW conference in Birmingham and served a two-year term as NFPW treasurer.

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS

Alaska Professional Communicators
Judy Griffin, a writer and editor, joined the Alaska affiliate of NFPW in 1986 after moving from Ohio. She has written for and edited trade and business magazines, engineering and environmental services firms, and small businesses. Since 2000, Griffin has operated her own business, Word Wrangling. She highly values being outdoors every day, most often hiking with her dogs, and participates in several dog sports. 

Arkansas Press Women
Debbie Miller is a journalism/media and English faculty member at NorthWest Arkansas Community College, where she also serves as faculty adviser for the college’s student newspaper. She also served as a faculty member at John Brown University and at the University of Arkansas and as a higher education PR professional at NWACC. Before her work in higher education, she was an award-winning journalist for newspapers throughout Arkansas. Miller and her husband, Fred, also a member of NFPW, live in Bentonville, Arkansas. She has been president of Arkansas Press Women and currently serves as president of NFPW.

Louisiana Press Women
A Louisiana native, Sallie Rose Hollis retired from Louisiana Tech University after a 34-year career as an associate professor of journalism and assistant director of the news bureau. She served as secretary of the Louisiana Press Women in her earlier years. Her headlines and news releases have won first place in NFPW's national competition; her columns and other entries have also placed in the contest. She currently freelances as a public relations practitioner and is a columnist for three north Louisiana newspapers. She lives in Ruston. 

Oregon Press Women
Teri (Theresa) Brosh, a multiple national award-winning writer, has been a publisher, editor, reporter and poet. Currently happily retired, she now writes what she wants when she wants. After having published 13 books so far, she is now stuck on chapter nine of her current murder mystery. Her excuse for her temporary mental roadblock, she says, is because she’s struggling with how to write a kind love scene in the middle of a naughty mafia/cartel tome. Brosh lives in Beaverton, Oregon.

A lifelong learner, Elizabeth “Liz” Kennedy earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Brown University and 40 years later, a Master of Science in instructional design and technology from Emporia State University. A freelance writer who writes an eight-page weekly update on her senior community, she spent 16 years as the About.com children’s books expert. A winner of several communications awards, Kennedy served as president of Wichita Professional Communicators and as historian for Kansas Professional Communicators. She was KPC’s 2008 Kansas Communicator of Achievement.

Virginia Professional Communicators
Cathy Jett worked at The Freelance-Star, a daily newspaper covering Fredericksburg, Virginia, from 1976 until her retirement in 2020. She started on the wire desk, then became a reporter and eventually an editor. She now freelances for Virginia Business magazine and Roadway Safety, a quarterly publication of the American Traffic Safety Services Association. Jett is a graduate of the University of Richmond, a past president of Virginia Press Women, and now serves on the board of the VPW Foundation. In 2019, she received the Communicator of Achievement Award from Virginia Professional Communicators, as VPW is now known.

 CELEBRATING 35 YEARS

Arizona Professional Writers
Linda F. Radke is president of Story Monsters LLC, publisher of Story Monsters Ink® magazine, and founder of Story Monsters Press®, Book Street Press and Studio Story Monsters®. Celebrating 40 years in publishing, she has helped thousands of authors bring their stories to life through books, audiobooks, Story Monsters Ink® magazine, music, film and musicals. A recognized leader in publishing, marketing, and literacy advocacy, Radke has received numerous industry honors, including Publisher of the Year and Book Marketer of the Year. Her passion remains helping creators connect with audiences while promoting literacy and the power of storytelling.

Nebraska Press Women
Martha Stoddard’s reporting career spanned state government scandals, hospital battles, university budget cuts —and a large morning glory vine and the woman who grew it. She worked at the Lincoln Journal, now Lincoln Journal Star, then at the Omaha World-Herald, where she covered state government and the Nebraska Legislature, before retiring after 38 years as a reporter. Stoddard was the NPW Communicator of Achievement in 2009. She has served as NPW treasurer and held several board positions.

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

Illinois Woman’s Press Association
Suzanne Hanney is editor of Chicago’s StreetWise, one of 100-plus street papers and magazines around the world. She was a weekly newspaper editor in Illinois, a writer and “Reagan editor” for the daily newspaper in Dixon (President Reagan’s boyhood hometown), and a freelancer for The American Banker and UPI Sports. A past president of the Illinois Woman’s Press Association, co-chair of the 2010 NFPW Chicago convention and NFPW professional contest chair, she received her journalism degree from Northwestern University.

Pat Szpekowski, APR, is president of PR Strategies & Communications Inc. in Elgin, Illinois, the advertising/public relations firm she founded in 1987. She is an award-winning national and international freelance writer whose stories and business profiles have been published in newspapers and local, regional and national magazines. She enjoys storytelling and capturing the essence of people, businesses, faith-based institutions and not-for-profits. She is a member of other business and professional organizations, including Public Relations Society of America. 

Woman’s Press Club of Indiana
Vivian “Viv” Sade joined WPCI/NFPW in 1996. After a 20-year career in sales and marketing, she took a different path — and a large pay cut — and worked as an editor, columnist and reporter for several weekly and daily newspapers in northeast Indiana. She retired in 2016 and currently works as a freelance writer and blogger, and substitute teacher. She has garnered more than 200 writing awards from WPCI, NFPW, SPJ and Hoosier State Press Association. Together, she and her husband, Brian, have six children, 12 grandchildren and two snarly cats. She regrets nothing, says too much, laughs too loud and sometimes eats cheesecake for breakfast. 

Nebraska Press Women
Carla Chance, a freelance writer/photographer, has had more than 30 years’ experience in various aspects of the communications field, winning numerous NFPW awards. An avid traveler, Chance is a member of the Omaha Blues Society, and has served as volunteer board member for many community organizations, including the Bluffs Arts Council, Renaissance Faire, Council Bluffs Beautification Committee, Union Pacific Railroad Museum and worked with HETRA, whose mission is to improve the quality of life of adults and children of all ability levels, through equine-assisted activities

At-large (Washington)
Susan Nolen is a writer of historical and contemporary suspense. She lives in a multigenerational, multispecies household in the wilds of Kitsap County, Washington. After years on the University of Washington faculty, researching and writing about identity and motivation in social context, she now writes novels and short stories about women making space for themselves in a patriarchal world, which she says is way more fun.

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS

Alaska Professional Communicators
When MaryLee Hayes first joined NFPW, through Alaska Professional Communicators, she was the managing editor for a quarterly publication: Alaska Women Speak. In 2021, she and another former AWS editor, Angie Slingluff, put together a beautiful anthology book from the AWS journals dating 1992-2017. As one of APC’s vice presidents, she has organized speakers for APC program-luncheons. As a freelance writer, she enjoys working with both prose and poetry. 

Arkansas Press Women
Michelle Parks is a writer, storyteller and editor living in Fayetteville, Arkansas. For nearly 17 years, she has directed communications and marketing for the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas. Previously, she spent 15 years as a newspaper reporter and features writer, culminating at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She has also freelanced for regional publications and has taught feature writing and public relations writing classes at the U of A.

Illinois Woman’s Press Association
Tracy Ahrens lives just south of Chicago and has been a journalist/writer for over 30 years. She joined the Illinois Woman’s Press Association/NFPW while working as a full-time journalist and editor. She has published 10 books, including two nonfiction works, five children’s books and three books of poetry. As of 2026, she had earned over 130 writing awards. See her website at tracyahrens.weebly.com.

Woman’s Press Club of Indiana
Becky Killian has covered various beats as a freelance writer, reporter and editor. She was a weekly newspaper editor before reporting for The Journal Gazette, a daily in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She moved to her hometown, Corbin, Kentucky, reporting for the Times-Tribune before her promotion to editor. While editor, the Times-Tribune placed in the Kentucky Press Association’s General Excellence category four times. She returned to Indiana – and freelancing – with the Salem Leader. She is the current WPCI president.

Louisiana Press Women
Karen Rowley has served NFPW and LPW in multiple positions, including as NFPW president (2021-2023) and now as a presidential adviser. Over the years, her career has shifted from journalism to academia to public policy research to state government. Her journalism career spanned 20 years, three states, two dailies, one biweekly and one monthly publication, and positions that ranged from copy editor to assistant metro editor to managing editor. After earning a Ph.D. in media and public affairs, she joined the nonpartisan, nonprofit Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana as a public policy researcher and was an adjunct professor at Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication. She is currently the senior communications manager for the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office.

Virginia Professional Communicators
Tracy Perkins is the media relations manager for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an American Alliance of Museums-accredited agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia that administers the Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. Before joining the foundation in 1999, she was a reporter for six years with The Virginia Gazette. She is serving as VPC’s co-president, along with Cora Perkins, her daughter.

20 YEARS

Arizona Professional Writers: Carol Hughes, Betty Webb
Illinois Woman’s Press Association: Randy Richardson
Kansas Professional Communicators: Jill D. Miller
New Mexico Press Women: Sharon Niederman
North Dakota Professional Communicators: Pamela Knudson
Virginia Professional Communicators: Melodie Martin

15 YEARS

Delaware Press Association: Tom Byrne
Illinois Woman’s Press Association: Susan D. Peters

10 YEARS

Alabama Media Professional: Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Delaware Press Association: Mitchell “Mitch” Topal
Kansas Professional Communicators: LaRissa Lawrie
New Mexico Press Women: Carolyn Carlson
North Carolina Press Club: Cristina Germond
Virginia Professional Communicators: Sunni Blevins Brown, Patty Kruszewski

FIVE YEARS

Arizona Professional Writers: Joan Moskowitz (pen name: Jody Sharpe)
Arkansas Press Women: Carrie Hill, Brittney Osborn, Audrey Poff
Connecticut Press Club: Mitzy Sky
Delaware Press Association: Kathryn Canavan, Connie Connolly, Stephanie Fowler, Morgan Golladay, Nikki Lavoie
Illinois Woman’s Press Association: Art Brauer, Susan Brauer, Erin Sullivan, Daniel Utroska, Michele Weldon
Woman’s Press Club of Indiana: Julie McGue
Kansas Professional Communicators: Kindra Goertzen
Missouri Professional Communicators: Joan Berkman
New Mexico Press Women: Ruth E. Thaler Carter, Kathryn Hammell
North Dakota Professional Communicators: Adam Watts
Pennsylvania Press Club: Phil Giunta, Stephanie Longo, Tracy Lee Miller
At-large: Jennifer Antonik (Delaware), Mary Jo David (Michigan), Rita Robison (Washington)