Dena F. Bunis, senior writer and editor for AARP, dies at age 70

Journalist and editor Dena F. Bunis, died at the age of 70.

According to her obit, her career as an “award-winning reporter and editor included stints as managing editor of CQ Healthbeat, Washington bureau chief of The Orange County Register, and longtime reporter for New York Newsday and The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Since 2017, she has worked as senior writer and editor for AARP’s digital and print platforms, specializing in Medicare, prescription drug prices and elections. She also spent several years as a speechwriter for the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

“With a journalism degree from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, Dena was a fierce advocate for newsroom workers, holding leadership roles in the Rochester (NY) Newspaper Guild in the ’80s, and later in Newsday’s union. She was also a board member of the National Press Club Foundation and its Journalism Institute.”

Her obit states she was a “mensch” to all who knew her,