2023 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
PAUL RAAB | Managing partner, linhart pr
Paul Raab is managing partner of Linhart Public Relations, a national communications firm based in Denver that partners with forward-thinking organizations to achieve their business objectives through the power of strategic communications. Clients have included Black Hills Energy, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Chocolove, City and County of Denver, CEMEX, Cochlear, DaVita, Graebel Companies, Medtronic, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, REMAX and Spire Inc., among others. Founded in 1996, Linhart PR has been recognized as an award-winning firm for its client work and business results, including being named PR Week Boutique Agency of the Year.
Paul has more than 30 years of corporate communications and marketing experience. Before joining Linhart PR in 2006, he was director of communications for A.T. Kearney, the Chicago-based global management consulting firm, where he led a team responsible for building the firm’s reputation for thought leadership worldwide. He spearheaded the communications strategy behind the firm’s successful management buy-out from its former parent company, Electronic Data Systems, and resulting governance and leadership transitions, in 2006.
Previously, he was a senior vice president at Golin/Harris International, a Chicago-based global public relations firm, where his clients included McDonald’s Corp., Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland, a Belfast-based unit of the British government responsible for economic development and trade promotion.
Paul is a graduate of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is accredited in public relations by the Universal Accreditation Board. In Chicago, he served as president of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Chicago Chapter. In Colorado, he has served on the boards of the Colorado Mountain Club and Naturally Boulder, an economic development organization for Colorado’s organic and natural products industry; and as a volunteer committee member for Mile High United Way and PRSA Colorado.
Paul and his wife, Sue, live on a 10-acre ranch north of Boulder.
2023 PUBLIC RELATIONS PERSON OF THE YEAR
hillary makens | executive director of issues management and public relations, national cattleman's beef association
Hillary Makens is executive director of issues management and public relations at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). She joined NCBA and the iconic Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. brand in January of 2017 and has worked in various public relations roles over the past six and a half years. In her current role, Hillary leads the issues and reputation management, earned media, and social media teams, and their collective communications strategy. Prior to her current role, Hillary spent more than a decade working as a journalist in local television newsrooms where she coordinated news coverage.
2023 MENTOR OF THE YEAR
jose salas | external communications manager, denver international airport
Jose Salas is external communications manager for Denver International Airport (DEN), one of the busiest airports in the world and the primary economic engine for the state of Colorado, generating more than $33 billion for the region annually. Jose oversees all external communications for the airport including media relations and crisis communications and provides communications support to other divisions within DEN.
Prior to the DEN, Jose was a spokesperson and social media manager for Denver Water where he led social media strategy, content creation and analytics, and developed strategies to drive growth and engagement. He currently serves as immediate past-president for the Colorado Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and is a member of the Front Range Community College Advisory Committee.
2023 CHAPTER SERVICE
samantha coulter | marketing manager, publication printers
Samantha is a versatile marketing and public relations expert. Currently the marketing manager at Publication Printers, she has worked with brands in a variety of industries including financial services, retail, manufacturing and nonprofits in Colorado and Alaska. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from Metropolitan State University of Denver, one in journalism with a public relations emphasis and one in digital communication and media, and is currently working toward her MBA in marketing analytics at the University of North Texas.
2023 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
hannah brandt | account executive, schroderhaus marketing communications
Hannah Brandt is a Midwest transplant and graduate of the journalism program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a focus on strategic communications. Having honed skills in customer-facing roles for several years before starting her postgraduate public relations and marketing journey in 2021, she developed a keen ability to build strong relationships and tackle challenges. Hannah is now an account executive at SchroderHaus Marketing Communications, where she provides support to brands and nonprofits in the natural products industry. Her diverse skill set enables her to excel in capacities ranging from engaging with media and influencers to developing client strategies to managing social media community engagement. Hannah's relentless drive ensures that she enthusiastically embraces each new project, eager to bring a brand's unique story to life. She also actively contributes as a volunteer on PRSA Colorado's Programs Committee and at Metro Caring, Denver's frontline anti-hunger organization.
2023 media person OF THE YEAR
danny new | anchor, denver7
Danny New is the Denver7 morning show's “Mr. Positivity” reporter; he joined the station in January 2022.
He most recently worked in the exact opposite climate: Hosting the nationally syndicated talk show “Daytime” in Tampa, Florida. He has since bought snow pants. Danny also worked as a host/anchor, reporter, and producer in Springfield, Massachusetts and Miami, Florida.
Born in the Philadelphia area, Danny grew up in central New Jersey (which he swears is a real place) and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Miami. Danny is newly married, and in his free time, he loves playing basketball, strumming his guitar, adding Beatles records to his vinyl collection, and summoning the mysterious laser pointer to confuse his cat, Pepper.
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