SEATTLE, Wa. – Navy Lt. Jennifer Cunningham, a Bremerton, Washington, resident, was selected as the 2019 Navy Chief of Information Junior Reserve Public Affairs Officer of the Year, an award acknowledging excellence in leadership, commitment, and public affairs guidance within the Navy Reserve community.
For more than 11 years, Cunningham has served by supervising the writing and delivery of press releases and reports, providing information to news media and civic organizations, and briefs military personnel before they meet with the public and news media. She also schedules and conducts news conferences, oversees the content and production of radio and television programs, newspapers, magazines and websites, advises the operational Commander to shape vital decisions and communications with three main audiences: media, internal Navy and the public. As a Navy leader, Cunningham manages the work of enlisted personnel, including writers, photographers and designers.
“I’m honored to be serving in the Navy,” said Cunningham. “It’s my chance to give back to my country and I feel a sense of pride in doing so.”
Cunningham is currently mobilized to Djibouti where she has had her service extended due to the global coronavirus pandemic, a region she admits she had never expected to be sent to prior to be commissioning into the Navy.
“Even when I joined the Navy, I had no idea I would ever mobilize to Djibouti,” said Cunningham. “At that time, we were in the height of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, I thought there was a possibility I’d go there, but I had never even heard of Djibouti before.”
Throughout her more than decade of naval service, Cunningham has served in other regions throughout the world, including Spain, Poland, Lithuania, Timor-Leste, Germany and Hawaii. Cunningham describes her work in these areas as sometimes working with the media, sometimes planning events, and often working with higher level strategic messaging.
“One of my favorite memories was working the Pearl Harbor 75th Commemoration in December 2016,” Cunningham noted. “I escorted national and international media, which was fun, but the best part was getting to meet the Pearl Harbor and World War II survivors. Listening to their stories was incredibly humbling and inspiring.”
When asked about what the Navy means to her, Cunningham not only mentions the opportunities it’s given her to learn and grow in her own profession but details the diverse opportunities that are available to all Americans.
“For anyone, serving in the Navy is great opportunity,” says Cunningham. “If you want to be a pilot, a chef, an accountant, a photographer, a human resource manager, a medical professional, a mechanic, an engineer, or pretty much anything you can think of - you can do that in the Navy along with being given fantastic opportunities to see the world and be a leader at a much younger age than most in the civilian world.”
“I’m honored to be serving in the Navy,” said Cunningham. “It’s my chance to give back to my country and I feel a sense of pride in doing so.”
Cunningham is currently mobilized to Djibouti where she has had her service extended due to the global coronavirus pandemic, a region she admits she had never expected to be sent to prior to be commissioning into the Navy.
“Even when I joined the Navy, I had no idea I would ever mobilize to Djibouti,” said Cunningham. “At that time, we were in the height of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, I thought there was a possibility I’d go there, but I had never even heard of Djibouti before.”
Throughout her more than decade of naval service, Cunningham has served in other regions throughout the world, including Spain, Poland, Lithuania, Timor-Leste, Germany and Hawaii. Cunningham describes her work in these areas as sometimes working with the media, sometimes planning events, and often working with higher level strategic messaging.
“One of my favorite memories was working the Pearl Harbor 75th Commemoration in December 2016,” Cunningham noted. “I escorted national and international media, which was fun, but the best part was getting to meet the Pearl Harbor and World War II survivors. Listening to their stories was incredibly humbling and inspiring.”
When asked about what the Navy means to her, Cunningham not only mentions the opportunities it’s given her to learn and grow in her own profession but details the diverse opportunities that are available to all Americans.
“For anyone, serving in the Navy is great opportunity,” says Cunningham. “If you want to be a pilot, a chef, an accountant, a photographer, a human resource manager, a medical professional, a mechanic, an engineer, or pretty much anything you can think of - you can do that in the Navy along with being given fantastic opportunities to see the world and be a leader at a much younger age than most in the civilian world.”