WWPR WELCOMES RETURNING MEMBERS TO 2024 - 2025 ADVISORY COUNCIL

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 3, 2024 – Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR), a leading resource for female communications professionals in the nation’s capital, today announces its 2024 - 2025 Advisory Council, a group that provides WWPR’s leadership with strategic advice on the direction of the organization. 

The Advisory Council is comprised of local female leaders in the communications and public relations industry. This year, WWPR is pleased to welcome back the 2022 - 2023 Advisory Council members – Susan Matthews Apgood, Sukhi Sahni, Hillarie Turner and Danielle Veira – for another two-year term. 

“We are thrilled to welcome back our esteemed Advisory Council members, a group of amazing industry veterans with a multitude of experience,” said Chelsea Echavarria, WWPR President. “Their commitment to this organization for another two-year term speaks to their dedication to this community, and we are so appreciative of their time, expertise, and guidance.”

Susan Matthews Apgood, Executive Vice President, Client Relations, 4media group

Susan is the founder of News Generation, a premier media relations firm that she launched in 1997 and sold to 4media group in April of 2020.

Apgood is active in a number of public relations associations, including Washington Women in Public Relations. She was on the board for eight years total, most recently serving as treasurer from January 2019 to 2022, and now serves on WWPR’s Advisory Board. Apgood was a finalist for WWPR’s Woman of the Year in 2023. She is also active in the Public Relations Society of America, National Capital Chapter, and was on the board of directors for 13 years. In November of 2022, she was inducted into the PRSA-NCC Hall of Fame.  

Apgood is an adjunct professor in the Kogod School of Business at American University, teaching Women in Organizational Leadership and Introduction to Business. She is a facilitator with Her Corner, where she coaches women in workshops and private sessions to grow their businesses. She earned her MBA in finance from American University and BA in economics from George Washington University.

Sukhi Sahni, Educator and Sr. Communications Executive at Wells Fargo

An accomplished marketing and communications strategist, Sahni brings the energy of new practitioners with the finesse and fearlessness of a veteran to her daily practice. Previous to Wells Fargo, she was the Head of Corporate Communications (US Card, Partnerships & Retail Bank) at Capital One. Sahni serves as an advisor on several boards and commissions including IPR, WVU visiting Committee and is the recipient of multiple industry awards including the Top Rising Future CCOs, “Global Innovator 25 Award” and a top woman in PR through the “Top Women in PR Award.” Sahni currently serves as an Adjunct Professor teaching the Master’s program in PR and Communications at Georgetown University. She earned her BA in economics and psychology from Delhi University and MA in journalism from West Virginia University.

Hillarie Turner, Account Director at Spire Communications

Hillarie Turner is a skilled communications professional specializing in health and science. She is an account director at Spire Communications supporting the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) as a federal contractor where she leads strategic communications plan development and outreach efforts for major agency announcements. Turner previously worked at communication agencies and in-house at medical-speciality and scientific associations overseeing communications planning, leadership media training, media relations, and campaign development and management. She has managed large-scale national meeting press operations and excels at working with scientists, health care professionals, and researchers to translate scientific advances for press and stakeholder audiences. 

Turner is a Washington Women in Public Relations past president, serving for two years, and Woman of the Year event co-chair, from 2020 to 2021. She earned her BS in psychology from Elon University and is a member of the D.C. Science Writers Association and the Society for Health Communication. 

Danielle Veira, Founder and CEO at Minerva’s Legacy Consulting Group, LLC 

Danielle Veira launched Minerva’s Legacy with a belief that everyone is uniquely equipped to change the world for the better. To help them do so, she offers her clients a customized combination of coaching, consulting, and community-building opportunities. As a certified professional coach, Danielle hosts workshops and retreats with leaders at every level in their careers—from C-suite to entry-level. She also offers one-on-one coaching engagements where she works with clients to discover their core values, life purpose, talents, and strengths. 

In addition to executive and leadership coaching, Danielle brings more than 15 years of strategic communications experience to her work with her consulting clients. She connects vision with strategy to achieve their growth and impact goals through digital marketing, thought leadership, and multi-faceted engagement strategies. Danielle has secured earned media placements for her clients in a variety of media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Axios, Bloomberg, Inside Philanthropy, Chicago Sun Times, POLITICO, and network television affiliates across the United States.

To feed her commitment to racial equity and female empowerment work, Danielle serves on several volunteer boards and is often invited to speak on panels about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as health and education disparities. She received her bachelor’s degree from Emory University, where she majored in sociology and minored in political science.

Learn more about WWPR and upcoming events at www.wwpr.org. 

ABOUT WASHINGTON WOMEN IN PUBLIC RELATIONS 

Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) is a member-based professional society cultivating and inspiring female communicators to reach their full potential in the DC market and beyond. The organization is committed to providing leadership opportunities, professional development, mentorship, and industry networking. Visit us at wwpr.org, connect with us on LinkedIn and Facebook, and follow us on Twitter @WWPR and on Instagram @WWPRDC.

For more information contact: info@wwpr.org.