The Public Relations Society of America Southern Arizona chapter named Arizona Daily Star higher education reporter Ellie Wolfe and recently retired KVOA-TV reporter Lupita Murillo as 2024 Media Persons of the Year.
The chapter’s annual IMPACT Awards, which recognize communications and public relations professionals and projects, were presented Oct. 22 in a ceremony at the Pima County Historical Courthouse.
Lupita Murillo, left, who retired after a long career as a reporter at KVOA-TV, and Ellie Wolfe, who until recently covered the University of Arizona for the Arizona Daily Star, were recently named 2024 Media Persons of the Year by the Southern Arizona chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
The year’s top individual honor, the Career Impact Award, went to Lisa Romero, associate vice president for research, communications and marketing for the University of Arizona’s Office of Research, Innovation & Impact.
In addition to Wolfe and Murillo, other individuals honored included Jessa B. Turner, associate vice president for marketing and communications at Tech Parks Arizona, who was named 2024 PR Professional of the Year; and Mandy Betz, account coordinator for Caliber Group, PR Rookie of the Year.
The UA Institute for Computation and Data-Enabled Insight received this year’s Best in Show Award, for its AI Update newsletter and overall efforts to help the UA “navigate the challenges of artificial intelligence,” the PRSA chapter said in a news release.
In all, 15 organizations were honored with a total of 31 awards.
