Originally written and posted on commpro.biz
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The PRSA Foundation has named public relations luminary and serial entrepreneur Patrice Tanaka as its 2017 Paladin Award Honoree. The award will be presented at the Foundation’s upcoming annual Paladin Award Ceremony on Thursday, June 1, at the Helen Mills Event Space in New York City.
The PRSA Foundation’s mission is to attract and support a diverse range of ambitious and promising students to the public relations profession. Each year PRSA honors a member of the public relations profession who has made an indelible impact on the community, particularly in the struggle to open the doors of diversity and inclusion for the next generation of public relations leaders. PRSA’s President Judith Harrison states, “Patrice Tanaka’s career is a tribute to the power of creativity, insight and advocacy and her personal journey is a model and inspiration to all of us at PRSA Foundation. Her work throughout her career embodies the spirit of the “paladin,” an advocate of noble causes in medieval times. We cannot think of a more deserving recipient of our Paladin Award.”
Patrice Tanaka
Founder & Chief Joy Officer
Joyful Planet LLC
Ms. Tanaka is the Co-Founder of three highly respected, award-winning PR Agencies: Patrice Tanaka & Company, CRT/tanaka, and PadillaCRT (now Padilla). Over the course of her career, Ms. Tanaka has been recognized for producing “great work” (400+ awards, recognition and PR campaigns that have been cited as the “Top 5 Best Campaigns of the Decade”); fostering “great workplaces” (all her companies have been recognized for being among the best places to work in the public relations field); and creating “great communities that work” (through campaigns that have created positive change on important social issues such as domestic violence, women’s literacy and breast cancer) and through her efforts to pioneer agency volunteer and pro bono programs.
Ms. Tanaka believes that “purpose” is the key to achieving one’s goals in personal and professional life, and that has led directly to her current work as Chief Joy Officer of Joyful Planet, a consultancy she founded focusing on helping individuals and organizations discover and actively live their purpose.
Ms. Tanaka will be the ninth PRSA “paladin.” Previous recipients of the award include Charlotte Otto, Harris Diamond, Dan Edelman, Harold Burson, Jon Iwata, Marcia Silverman, John Graham and Mike Fernandez.
Proceeds from the Paladin Award Ceremony support the initiatives of the PRSA Foundation. The Foundation partners with organizations such as the Arthur W. Page Society, the PR Council, the Plank Center and major universities.
For more information about attending the PRSA Foundation Paladin Award Ceremony, contact Beth-Ellen Keyes, Foundation Director of Operations and Programs at (212) 460-1412 or beth-ellen.keyes@prsafoundation.org