Full list of winners: The inaugural Zenith Awards
The awards were held as part of Communications Week.
During Communications Week, Ragan Communications celebrated the best of the best from across the communications spectrum. From internal communicators to external, from agencies to in-house, practitioners of all stripes gathered to toast those who had reached the summit of their craft.
“Zenith, being the highest point, is a moment when something shines brightest, and tonight, we’re shining a spotlight on you, your teams and the impact you’ve made in the past year,” said Diane Schwartz, CEO of Ragan Communications. “And let’s face it, it hasn’t been the easiest year to be a communicator.”
But professionals triumphed over the difficulties of the year to deliver campaigns that changed minds, made a difference in their communities and helped the bottom line.
“That ‘a-ha moment’ for us was seeing that even though you don’t have a lot of information to share, sharing something is critical, because it really makes a difference for those families,” said Amanda Granit, chief communications officer at the Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office as she accepted an award for her agency’s response to a school lockout.
See the full list of winners below. Congratulations!
AWARDS OF DISTINCTION
Campaign of the Year
BODYARMOR Sports Nutrition: POWERADE “It Takes More” March Madness
CAMPAIGNS & CATEGORIES
AI – Use of
Deloitte: GenAI Social Leadership Pilot
Annual Report
American Student Assistance (ASA): Empowering Millions of Students to Find Tomorrow, Today
Brand Storytelling
BODYARMOR Sports Nutrition: POWERADE “It Takes More” March Madness
Branded Content
Aggreko: Energizing the Track With Aggreko
Change Communications
Microsoft Digital: The Adventure Begins: How We Took Flight With Microsoft Copilot
Community Relations
NRG Energy: Meals for a Million
Content Marketing
VyStar Credit Union: VyStar Savings Challenge
Crisis Communications
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office: Crisis Communications During the Newsome High School Lockout
CSR
Hyundai Motor America: Hyundai Hope: Child Passenger and Pedestrian Safety Initiative
Digital Communications
Novitas Communications: Protect Our Paychecks
Employee Communications
Deloitte Services LP: Deloitte Today
Employee Engagement
Cisco Systems: From 37% to 86%: How We Doubled Cisco’s Community Impact
Employer Branding
Bon Secours Mercy Health: Campaign of the Year
Event/Experiential
Washington University in St. Louis: Mock enRoll: WashU Rocks a New Student Information System
Executive Communications
Cisco: Four Transformative Trends Shaping HR in 2025
Government
Aventiv Technologies: Aventiv’s National Correctional Officers and Employees Week Campaign
Influencer Marketing
EvolveMKD: Meghan Trainor X Motiva
Integrated Communications
Cloudera: Positioning Cloudera as an AI Powerhouse With a Unified Event Marketing Strategy
Internal Communications
Pfizer: Praise It Forward
Intranet
Deloitte Services LP: Deloitte Today
Marketing
Century 21 Real Estate: Joy of Home
Measurement & Evaluation
OPRG + AstraZeneca: From Awareness to Action: The Measured Path to Brand and Health Impact
Media Relations
American Diabetes Association: Scientific Sessions Media Team
Nonprofit
The Dairy Alliance: Milk’s Got Game
Platforms & Tech
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power: Water Quality Restoration Dashboard
Podcast
LG Electronics USA: LG Pro Cast Podcast
Public Affairs/Issues Management
SMC Communications: BCFFE Renewal Campaign
Public Relations
Broadsheet Communications: Raptive Keep It Real
Reports
Cisco Systems: FY24 Purpose Report: 40 Years of Impact
Reputation Management
Uproar by Moburst: Reframing the Narrative: Uproar by Moburst’s Strategic Uplift for the Orlando Museum of Art
Social Media
Help at Home: Celebrating 50 Years of Caring — Help at Home’s 50th Anniversary
Special Event
Barton Malow: Barton Malow — 100th Anniversary Campaign
Thought Leadership
INK Communications Co.: INK + USAFacts: Redefining Unbiased Thought Leadership in a Polarized Election Year
Video
Lowe’s: Chain Reaction
Visual Storytelling
Novartis: Four Corners Video Series
INDIVIDUALS & TEAMS (All are honorees)
Agencies of the Year
Approach
Dreamday
EvolveMD
Factory PR
HAVAS Red Network
Integral
Moore
Rachel Harrison Communications
The Grossman Group
The MRKT
Communicators of the Year
Caterine Barfell
Director of Communications
BODYARMOR Sports Nutrition
Hanna Bautz
Sr. Lead
Next PR
Mary Fiance
VP, Strategic Communications
Muscular Dystrophy Association
Reed Horanburg
Director, Global Employee Communications
TE Connectivity
Andrea Lamelas
Sr. Director of Publicity & Communications
Tubi
Misty M Mitchell-Arizpe de Garcia
Sr. Director of CS Internal Communications
Genesys
Leaders of the Year
Macy Andrews
VP, Purpose Communications, Brand, Events and Marketing
Cisco Systems
Michelle Curran
VP Global of Talent Acquisition
Cloudera
Miranda Foster
VP, Worldwide Communications
Qlik
Nick Karoglou
Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs
ACI Worldwide
Matt Moon
Managing Director
Narrative Strategies
Mary Osako
Vice Chancellor, Strategic Communications
UCLA Strategic Communications
Sarah Peck
VP, Communications
GoFundMe
Sandra Sullivan
VP, Campaign Strategy
Muscular Dystrophy Association
Marketers of the Year
Elaine Armstrong
VP of Marketing
Goodwill of North Georgia
Dana Karzan
CMO
VyStar Credit Union
Amalia Maislos Stanton
SVP, Chief Strategic Communications & Marketing Officer
Memorial Hermann Health System
Tauseef Muhammad
SVP, Global Head of Marketing
Visionet Systems
Shweta Ponnappa
SVP Chief Marketing Officer Digital Experience
Providence
Morgan Roth
CMO
Muscular Dystrophy Association
Sara Weaver
VP, Marketing
BODYARMOR Sports Nutrition
Communications Teams of the Year
Bon Secours Mercy Health: Communications Team of the Year
HIMSS: HIMSS Strategic Communications Team
Integer Holdings Corporation: Integer Corporate Communications & Brand Team
TE Connectivity
Tubi: Tubi Comms Team
Xperi: Corporate Communications
Marketing Teams of the Year
Cloudera: How Cloudera’s Marketing Team Got the Company’s Swagger Back
Visionet Systems
Rising Stars
Kiah Albritton
Sr. Communications Manager, Digital strategist
Change Consulting
Em-J Krigsman
Strategic Communications Associate
Narrative Strategies
Jennifer Munoz
Latino Media Engagement Specialist
M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County
Gabe Plesent
Founder and Principal
Press Play Media
Haley Self
Sr. Client Manager
Integral
Courtney Young
Media Relations Manager
Rachel Harrison Communications
