Dianne Danowski Smith, APR, Fellow PRSA

Dianne Danowski Smith, APR, Fellow PRSA conducts training nationwide for executives and leaders including advocacy and grassroots campaign management, media/interviewing, effective public speaking, communications in scenarios. She has three decades’ experience in the implementation and management of the stratosphere of public relations, public affairs, crisis communications, and reputation/issue management, through her work at Publix Northwest, and for large/medium/small companies, firms and organizations.

She has achieved outstanding results in advocacy, community programming, issues management, strategic counsel and tactical implementation.

Danowski Smith led the volunteer team to defeat anti-civil rights legislation in Oregon in 1993, earning PRSA’s International Public Service Award (the first for her PRSA chapter). Her career has included award-winning work in health communications and advocacy, grassroots outreach and the passage of two key pieces of health legislation in Oregon to support individuals’ access to health services, preventive care and vaccines. She also worked with Portland’s mayor in 2000 to create and implement a citywide engagement campaign promoting community policing initiatives that substantially increased public participation and won local awards for its efficacy.

She founded Oregon Bio Women, served on the board of the Beaverton Chamber of Commerce and leads the chamber’s Business Advocacy Council (its public policy committee) for nearly a decade. She earned her APR in 1996 and PRSA College of Fellows designation in 2012. She is the PRSA Oregon recipient of the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award in Public Relations. In 2017, she was awarded the Ron Schmidt Award for Community Involvement from PRSA Oregon; the PR Practitioner of the Year from the PRSA North Pacific District; and the Paul Lund Public Service award from PRSA National’s office. She graduated from University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and emphasis in Public Relations.