Originally trained as a journalist and writer, Diane McNutt entered the public relations field more than 25 years ago after working as a daily newspaper reporter and associate editor of a national music magazine. She has created regional and national public relations campaigns for a wide variety of manufacturing and service businesses, public sector agencies, and nonprofit organizations. She launched her own firm in 1982.
Diane has received many awards for her work including the most prestigious honor in the PR industry – the “Best of the Silver Anvils” from the Public Relations Society of America in 2004 for her work on the opening of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. The King Library campaign also garnered the top award fromthe California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) and won the John Cotton Dana Award for Public Relations Excellence from the American Library Association. Her work on the “Vote Ethics” program for the City of Santa Clara also won a national Award of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America in 2007.
Other awards to McNutt & Company, Inc. through the years included: “Best Press Kit” from the Public Relations Society of America … “Best Feature News Release” from the Peninsula Press Club … “Best City Public Information Project” from CityHall Digest … “Best Campaign in Support of Economic Development” from the City/County Communications & Marketing Association (3CMA) … and “Best Special Communications Program” from the California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO).
In addition to operating the consulting firm McNutt & Company, Inc., Diane was the founder and adjunct faculty advisor for the Certificate in Marketing Communications professional development program at San Jose State University. From 1984 to 2002 she developed curriculum, counseled students on education and career issues, and taught several courses in the program.
Diane is also active in community affairs and is currently Mayor of Los Gatos. She is on the Board of Directors of the West Valley Sanitation District and the Silicon Valley Housing Trust. She was founder and Chair of the July 4th Celebration Committee for the Town of Los Gatos, the Los Gatos Film Festival, and Leadership Los Gatos. Past activities have included the Board of Directors of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce, Friends of Guadalupe River Park, the Nonprofit Development Center (now Compasspoint), and the San Jose Children's Health Council, and Museum Commissioner in the Town of Los Gatos.
She holds a Master of Science degree in Mass Communications and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from San Jose State University, and a Certificate from the Communications Institute at Notre Dame University. She completed professional development training from the MIT-Harvard Program on Negotiation on “Dealing With An Angry Public.”
