CF Foundation Senior Vice President Is Finalist for Washington PR Woman of the Year Award

PatrĂ­cia Silva, PhD avatar

by PatrĂ­cia Silva, PhD |

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Honor for CF leader

A Cystic Fibrosis Foundation senior vice president is a finalist for the Woman of the Year Award that the Washington Women in Public Relations is scheduled to present today, Friday, Nov. 17.

The finalists besides the foundation’s Amy DeMaria are Kathy Baird, Ogilvy & Mather’s managing director of content and social media for North America, and Samantha Villegas, president of SaVi PR. The winner will be announced at the 28th annual Washington PR Woman of the Year Award Luncheon at the Fairmont Hotel today.

“We’re thrilled to honor three extraordinary women this year who embody the spirit of Woman Up, both professionally and personally through their bold spirit, courageousness, and resilience,” Kelly Mack, the president of Washington Women in Public Relations, said in a press release.

“The Woman of the Year event is a proud tradition of WWPR, and has honored some of the field’s finest PR professions for almost three decades.” Mack added.

The CF Foundation has long stood for improving the quality of life of the CF community by facilitating access to resources, organizing advocacy work, and supporting clinical trials of potential treatments for the disease.

As senior vice president of communications, DeMaria has been helping the foundation tell its story and advance the search for a cure for CF.

DeMaria has built an award-winning communications program that helped position the organization as a leader in drug discovery and development for rare diseases. Her work has led to a ten-fold increase in news coverage of the foundation, with stories about her organization’s unique model appearing in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker and other outlets. Thanks to her efforts, the foundation has raised an unprecedented $200 million.

Together, DeMaria and the CF Foundation have won a number of industry awards.

Before joining the organization, DeMaria was the head of communications at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Washington Women in Public Relations is a professional society that supports and inspires women  communicators in the District of Columbia area. The organization is committed to providing leadership and networking opportunities, professional development, and mentorship for its members.

The Woman of the Year luncheon, established in 1990, is the organization’s signature event. The annual experience fosters camaraderie among women in public relations and honors achievements of those who have reached the pinnacle of their profession.

You can become a member for a yearly fee and join the conversation online using the hashtag #WomanUpDC. To register for the luncheon, please visit this link.