Photos by Ralph Freso
While defending federal workers currently under widespread scrutiny, Paula Pedene said her story shows the best way toward government accountability – integrity from within.
“Be clear about what you are not going to do,” she said in a lecture Thursday to Grand Canyon University students, many studying toward a future in public relations. “I was not going to lie for them. I saw it coming; I saw they were unethical. I could not live with myself if I lied for them. Thank God I didn’t.”
Pedene is a Scottsdale public relations professional who became a whistleblower of corruption in the Veterans Administration medical center in Phoenix more than a decade ago and was demoted and harassed by administrators after exposing delays in patient care, fraudulent data and other misconduct.
What made it even more difficult was that Pedene was the VA’s public relations manager, whose job it is to put a positive spin on an organization.
“You have to hold true to your personal values,” she said, citing the Public Relations Society of America’s Code of Ethics. “One of their mantras is honesty. First, we have to be advocates for our organizations that we represent. But we have to do it honestly.
“You have to have independence. You have to know when to speak the truth and distance yourself when things are not going well for an organization and when to be honest about that. You have to be loyal to yourself and your mission. Our mission was to care for our nation’s...
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