About Us Contact and Staff Executive Director

Barbara M. Hunter, APR, became the executive director of the National School Public Relations Association in November 2020. Prior to joining NSPRA, she spent five years as the president/CEO of Hunter Communications LLC, based in Alexandria, Virginia. She also spent 14 years as the chief communications officer in two school districts in Northern Virginia, including Fairfax County Public Schools, the 10th largest in the nation.

She started her career in school communications at AASA, the School Superintendents Association, as editor of The School Administrator magazine. Hunter also served as the director of communications for the National School Boards Association. 

Hunter has served as a board team leader, project manager and co-author of NSPRA’s Rubrics of Practice and Suggested Measures, which now serves as the standard for evaluating school communication programs. She has earned dozens of awards and national recognition, including a Silver Anvil Award of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America and a Gold Medallion from NSPRA for a community engagement campaign on changing school start times.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and management from Hood College and a master’s degree in public relations management from The American University. In addition, she holds accreditation in public relations (APR) and has served as the NSPRA Mideast Region vice president and is a past president of the Chesapeake chapter of NSPRA.