Winner: Stephanie Bunker, Spokesperson United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
What are the odds of a PR practitioner's job actually being a matter of life and death? While Stephanie Bunker is not literally in the eye of the physical storm or starving in
a third-world nation, her efforts draw the public's eye to such crises the world over, prompting further action to stave off suffering.
In 2005 alone, she spearheaded the U.N.'s public information strategies on the Indian Ocean tsunami, the devastation wrought by 26 named storms during the Atlantic hurricane
season, the deadly situation in Darfur and the dangers faced by tens of thousands of "night commuters" in Northern Uganda, and the humanitarian workers themselves, who face danger
daily as they try to ease the suffering of the victims.
Bunker's team rolls into action the minute they get word of a crisis, calling the BBC, CNN or Al-Jazeera to relate the U.N.'s concerns and disseminate the message. She built
her network of "co-workers" by regular contact with journalists and producers at such organizations as The New York Times, Financial Times, Radio France International, Al-Arabiya,
Pravda, Asahi Shimbun and the Xinhua News Agency.
Bunker's high-water moment, if you will, was her work after a tsunami struck the regions touching the Indian Ocean last year. She deftly orchestrated a public information
campaign of more than 20 press conferences within the first three months after the disaster, as well as 150 tsunami-related interviews by the Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs.
But perhaps her most remarkable accomplishment for the year was the judgment she exercised in bringing the situation in Somalia to the world stage. She reached out to Al-
Jazeera and asked it to participate in a mission to the beleaguered country, rather than inviting a Western media outlet. Because Somalia is inherently interesting to the Middle
East, which shares religious and cultural ties, she cultivated a relationship with a Nairobi-based journalist and talked him into sharing her mission.
Contact: [email protected]
Honorable Mention
Marv Hoyt has climbed a few public relations mountains in his time as Idaho Director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. His efforts last year helped prevent damage to some
of the nation's most treasured public lands by raising awareness of and forming alliances to regulate development, logging, mining, use of off-road vehicles and other threats to
the environment. His partnerships have built support among environmental organizations, educators and governmental entities.