Media relations, women in the media, public relations, crisis communications, media scandals
Additional Information:
Gemma Puglisi is a leading expert on several topical news stories, including the fall of Governor Elliott Spitzer, the 2008 presidential election, the WGA strike, human rights issues in China, the fate of a death row inmate in Georgia, and the personal lives of celebrities such as Britney Spears and Rosie O’Donnell. She has appeared on CNN and Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor,among other television outlets and shows. She has been interviewed by numerous print and Web media, including abcnews.com, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, and Entertainment Weekly. She has published works in the Washington Post, the Women’s Media Center Web site, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the AEJMC Web site, Voce Italiana, and Chesapeake Bay Magazine. Puglisi’s classes have been featured in the Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, and on WUSA-TV. In 2008, she was recognized by the WNBA’s Washington Mystics as a Hometown Hero. Puglisi’s career includes 25 years of experience divided among talent agency work, broadcasting, and media and public relations. Her broadcast experience includes NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, the Today Show, Sunday Today, and MSNBC. She received two broadcasting awards, the Headliner and the Women’s Sports Foundation Award. As a media relations manager for the Nasdaq Stock Market, Puglisi was instrumental in changing business news coverage for network television. She later worked for such PR firms as Powell Tate and Edelman PR Worldwide. As a vice president/group manager in media relations at Edelman, she spearheaded major campaigns, such as the ringing of the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange by the Taco Bell Chihuahua. She won three Edelman Great Performance Awards, two Mercury Awards, two PR Week Awards, and an International PR Award. In 2006, she was knighted by the Italian Republic for her work promoting Italian language and culture.
Foreign Language Fluency:
Italian
Academic Credentials:
BA, Trinity College; MA, Catholic University of America