PRSA-NY Big Apple 15 Under 35 Awards Open for Nominations

Top communications professionals under the age of 35 to be honored at the 2025 Big Apple Awards on September 18, 2025.

In conjunction with the 10th anniversary of 15 Under 35, one winner will receive special recognition for championing data and AI, with support from this year’s sponsor, PRophet.

/EIN News/ -- NEW YORK, May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Public Relations Society of America’s New York Chapter (PRSA-NY) is now accepting submissions for the 15 Under 35 Awards, which recognize the most inspirational and ambitious young industry talent within the New York City Metro Area.

The award, now in its 10th year, celebrates individuals who have demonstrated leadership, initiative, high ethical standards, professionalism, maturity, personal success to date and future promise. While qualified applicants do not have to be PRSA or PRSA-NY members, they are expected to demonstrate service to the public relations/communications industry and the community at large, and should be:

• Engaged in personal continuing education efforts
• Committed to industry advancement
• Champions of bettering the communities in which they live and work
• Adopters of new media and technologies
• Contributors to thought leadership initiatives such as speaking engagements, alumni activities, published works/writing, etc.
  

The 15 Under 35 Class of 2025, or #15toFollow, will be recognized during the annual PRSA-NY Big Apple Awards, to be held at Sony Hall on September 18. This year’s program theme, Elevate & Evolve: Honoring PR Excellence in a Changing Landscape, recognizes the industry’s ability to navigate shifting media dynamics, new platforms and the impact of innovative technology on communications.

“So much of the ingenuity driving positive change in our industry stems from its newest entrants,” said Jade Faugno-Maria, Senior Vice President at Dukas Linden Public Relations and Senior Director of this year’s 15 Under 35 Awards, who received the honor in 2018. “We look forward to highlighting the achievements of young professionals who are already making their mark on the industry and watching them shape it for years to come.”

The 15 Under 35 Awards are generously sponsored by PRophet, a suite of award-winning AI-powered PR and marketing software and services designed to empower modern communicators​.

This year, for the first time, one 15 Under 35 winner will be chosen to receive the PRophet Emerging Communications Engineer Award in recognition for exceptional use of AI to improve brand performance for their employer and/or clients. This award celebrates an individual who is not only embracing innovation but actively engineering it—leveraging data, artificial intelligence and predictive tools to deliver measurable impact. From transforming media intelligence to enhancing stakeholder engagement, the recipient will exemplify the next generation of communications leadership: analytical, agile and tech-forward.

“As AI re-casts the DNA of our economy, our industry and our roles, future leaders need to adapt to new skills and adopt new technologies. This addition to the 15 Under 35 Awards will recognize a bold, innovative and inventive young professional who is actively championing and deploying data and AI solutions to improve performance—from stakeholder engagement to media intelligence and analytics,” said Aaron Kwittken, CEO and Founder of PRophet, and past President of PRSA-NY.

Nominations for the 2025 PRSA-NY 15 Under 35 Awards can be submitted now until July 6 here: https://zealous.co/prsany/opportunity/15-under-35-2025/. All 15 winners will receive one year of complementary PRSA-NY membership.

PRSA-NY is grateful for the support of its members and the broader PR community, including sponsors 360PR+, Burson, Edelman, Gregory FCA, Hill & Knowlton, Hunter, Notified, PRMuseum, The Stevens Group, and PRophet, the exclusive sponsor of the 15 Under 35 Awards.

To learn more about the Big Apple Awards or volunteer at the event, please visit https://www.prsany.org/ or contact fays@commpro.biz. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities here or contact Sponsorship Chair Stephanie Jo Peksen at stephanie.peksen@notified.com. 

SUBMISSION PERIOD AND PRICING

Nominations will be accepted between May 19, 2025 and July 6, 2025. Only complete submissions will be considered. The submission fee is $35 per entry. Organizations may submit multiple eligible candidates, and self-nominations will be accepted. Please find more information about criteria here.

JUDGING

Nominations will be reviewed and scored by senior-level PR professionals who dedicate their time to identifying and awarding the top candidates submitted. The judging panel is comprised of agency and in-house professionals representing a wide range of disciplines and expertise. Every effort is made to ensure nominees remain anonymous during the judging process, and special care is taken to ensure that all judges remain objective and impartial and are not assigned to review nominations that create a conflict of interest.

About PRSA-NY

The New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America is the best-established, most substantial and most influential group of public relations professionals in the country. Located in the media capital of the world, PRSA-NY offers to its members top-level career development and education, networking, mentoring and award programs. PRSA-NY serves communications decision-makers at agencies, businesses, nonprofit organizations and public and private institutions. For more information about PRSA-NY, go to https://www.prsany.org/.

About PRophet

PRophet is a comms tech suite of AI-powered SaaS tools and services designed to empower modern communicators. Purpose-built for PR and marketing professionals, PRophet harnesses predictive, cognitive and generative AI to help users discover, target and engage with high-authority journalists and leading influencers. The platform includes a media relations solution that creates and tests content to predict journalist interest and sentiment; an influencer marketing solution, influencermarketing.ai, which combines influencer discovery, analytics, brand safety and tracking technologies to inform and manage campaigns with precision; and the largest suite of global media, market intelligence and social listening tools to deliver unmatched insights and analysis.

PRophet was awarded PRovoke Media's Innovation SABRE in 2023-2025, a 2024 Webby Award, and was included in PR News' 2024 Tech Hotlist. PRophet is headquartered in New York City with offices in Washington, D.C., London, Cologne, Berlin, Zurich, São Paulo and Shanghai and is part of the Stagwell Marketing Cloud (SMC), a suite of data-driven SaaS solutions built for the modern marketer. Visit prprophet.ai to learn more.

Contacts
                    
                    Ken Kerrigan, APR
                    President, PRSA-NY
                    kenkerriganapr@gmail.com
                    
                    Jade Faugno-Maria
                    Senior Director, 15 Under 35, PRSA-NY
                    jadefaugno@gmail.com