As Director of Strategic Communications, Gretchen Wright works closely with WestEd’s division leadership to provide thought partnership and counsel and to guide colleagues through strategic communication planning, campaign strategy, and implementation. She also works collaboratively with leaders across the agency to develop core agency messages and identify priorities for strategic communications with a focus on key audiences, including policymakers, journalists, foundation leaders, and other key influencers.
Prior to joining WestEd, Wright served as the Director of Communications at the Southern Education Foundation and as the Director of Strategic Communications at the Learning Policy Institute. For nearly 20 years, she was the vice president and a principal at a public relations firm in Washington, DC, that works with nonprofits focused on advancing social justice. She has placed stories and op-ed features in major media outlets for leaders of organizations as diverse as the Emergency Nurses Association, the Ford Foundation, and MomsRising. Her work with clients supported the passage of such landmark legislation as the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and the Violence Against Women Act.
Wright earned her BA in Communications from the University of Michigan and was a Women in Leadership Coro Fellow.