BIO

Patti Waid serves as senior vice president for the RW Jones Agency and its clients. She’s a native Spanish speaker with 20-plus years of communications experience in demanding roles, including chief communications officer at three California universities and of the California State University system, the largest public four-year university in the country.

Since joining RW Jones in 2023, Patti has served as interim vice president of communications for private liberal arts colleges in California and New York. Both clients have ambitious goals for near-term enrollment and fundraising in addition to elevating brand awareness and institutional reputation. In these roles, Patti leverages her higher education experience to rethink and rebuild strategic communications programs and strategies. She tailors each program to suit client goals, priorities, availability of talent and resources, and organizational culture.

Her current portfolio includes executive and internal communications, content strategy, issues and reputation management, and crisis communications. She also works closely with RWJ colleagues to align brand perception research, integrated marketing, digital communications, media and public relations, and publications to support clients.

Patti earned her bachelor’s in international relations from California State University, Fresno. Before her career in higher education, she taught in a Spanish immersion school while holding a California Teaching Certificate and a California Teaching Certificate in Bilingual, Cross-Cultural, Language and Academic Development (BCLAD) from National University.

Having lived in Spain, France, New York, Nevada, and various locations in California, she’s now thoroughly enjoying Southern California, despite its notorious traffic and high cost of living. She says the key is timing museum, theater and restaurant outings, sunrise and sunset beach walks with her rescue dog Goose, and outdoor expeditions with friends and family during off-peak hours.