Tiffany Barnett, Strategist

If Tiffany could be summed up in one word, it would be this: passionate.

Her passion for storytelling led her to pursue a degree in journalism, and she launched her career as a small-town reporter in rural Pennsylvania. She gravitated toward stories that demonstrated the strength and resiliency of the human spirit, but she enjoyed the light-hearted tales of local superheroes, too. (Yes, she wrote about her town’s friendly neighborhood Spiderman. She later learned from her Spidey-loving partner that it’s Spider-Man, not Spiderman; she’d like to formally apologize to all the Marvel fans out there.)

She took a brief detour to earn a Master of Urban Education in Memphis, TN where she taught third grade for three years.

Soon after, she returned to communications, this time at Virginia Tech, where she used storytelling to encourage and inspire undergraduate students as they navigated feelings of fear, insecurity, and uncertainty. Tiffany’s empathy made students feel comfortable opening up about deep, often personal experiences. Some of her favorite pieces focused on underrepresented student success, social justice work, and health education.

In addition to writing, Tiffany led training sessions on effective communication and social media strategy, including how to develop an engaging news story and how to ensure social media posts meet accessibility standards.

Outside of work, Tiffany enjoys reading, listening to true crime podcasts, blogging, hiking, walking her best four-legged friend, Squirt, and adventuring with her husband.