Recent News
High-profile Whistleblower case
Paula Pedene's high-profile Whistleblower case exposed the waits and delays for VA health care amongst our nation’s veterans.
When the scandal broke, both the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and the Under Secretary for Health Dr. Robert Petzel were forced to resign. The Phoenix VA Director Sharon Helman, was later fired for ethical violations and became a convicted felon. After the story broke in Phoenix, the VA learned that 111 VA hospitals across the country were unethically delaying health care for our nation’s veterans. Due to the disclosures of Pedene and others, VA became a lightning rod for whistleblower disclosures and, to this day, has the most filings of whistleblower cases of any agency. Pedene’s new book A Sacred Duty, How a Whistleblower Took on the VA and Won, is a heart-wrenching tale of the challenges whistleblowers face when telling the truth.
In The News
News Releases
A Sacred Duty – For Immediate Release
Heroic Phoenix VA Whistleblower-Local Author Paula Pedene to mark Independence Day at American Legion Event Phoenix, Arizona–As Independence Day approaches, heroic Whistleblower, Paula Pedene continues
Government Whistleblower Paula Pedene Earns PRSA Top Honors
NEW YORK– The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) selected Paula L. Pedene APR, Fellow PRSA, as the Society’s 2015 Public Relations Professional of the Year awardee. Pedene
News Articles
Before the national VA Wait Time Scandal exposure, Paula’s legal team worked on exposing her case through two news articles:
- AZ Central: https://paulapedene.com/2013/03/29/az-central-arizona-official-demoted-after-her-testimony/
- Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-whistleblowers-bold-move-can-be-followed-by-one-to-department-basement/2014/08/03/39d12656-182f-11e4-9e3b-7f2f110c6265_story.html
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/29/phoenix-va-whistle-blowers-retaliation-settlements/16440425/
After Paula Pedene won a settlement in her whistleblower case against the VA, she began sharing her story of advocacy with numerous news outlets, including:
- Taking a Stand for Ethics: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/taking-stand-ethics-and-accountability-pr-paula-pedene-apr
- The Whistleblower’s Story, a Modern Day Battle of David versus Goliath: https://www.ipra.org/news/itle/itl-159-the-whistleblowers-story-a-modern-day-battle-of-david-versus-goliath/
- A Talk with Paula Pedene PRSA PR Pro of the Year: https://apps.prsa.org/Intelligence/TheStrategist/Articles/view/11334/1120/A_Talk_With_PR_Pro_of_the_Year_Paula_L_Pedene_APR#.XHnYiIhKg2w
- Yahoo News: https://news.yahoo.com/phoenix-va-s-original-whistleblower- 1325508524146742.html
- Social Media Today: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/taking-stand-ethics-and-accountability-pr-paula-pedene-apr
- Yahoo News: Whistleblower Breaks Her Silence
- Fierce Health Care: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/va-scandal-whistleblowers-receive-settlement-for-unfair-treatment
- IPRA: IPRA | ITL #159 The whistleblower’s story: a modern day battle of David versus Goliath
- Washington Free Beacon: https://freebeacon.com/issues/top-managers-at-phoenix-va-escaped-punishment-after-waitlist-scandal/
- PR Pro, Strategies and Tactics: https://paulapedene.com/2015/12/17/a-talk-with-pr-pro-of-the-year-paula-l-pedene-apr-fellow-prsa/
- PR Pro Acceptance Speech: https://paulapedene.com/2019/02/16/pr-pro-of-the-year-acceptance-speech/
- Phoenix Business Journal: Government whistleblower Paula Pedene garners top national PR award – Phoenix Business Journal
- Ethical Voices: https://www.ethicalvoices.com/2018/11/05/ethical-voices-whistleblower-paula-pedene-apr/
- IPR: https://paulapedene.com/2016/03/14/interview-with-paula-pedene-triumph-of-a-pr-hero-and-whistleblower/
- Shaping Opinion Podcast: https://shapingopinion.com/paula-pedene-a-va-whistleblower-story/
- Book Pipeline Author Winners: https://bookpipeline.com/paula-pedene-and-doug-williams
- PBS: https://azpbs.org/horizon/2021/11/phoenix-whistleblower-shares-experience-exposing-va-scandal/
- Strive Magazine: https://magazine.thestriveproject.com/issue/jan-mar-2022/why-ethical-leadership-is-a-sacred-duty/
- PR News: https://www.prdaily.com/what-pr-pros-should-learn-from-the-courage-of-whistleblowers/
- Public Relations Review Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/public-relations-review-podcast/id1453800632?uo=4
- Phoenix New Times: https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/the-phoenix-whistleblower-who-brought-down-a-va-secretary-shares-her-story-in-a-new-book-13920073
- Phoenix Magazine, March 2023 (coming April 2023)
