Kathy Baird

Kathy Baird is the Chief Communications Officer of The Washington Post and a marketing and communications strategist with 25 years’ experience across Fortune 500 companies. At The Post, Kathy leads corporate communications, public relations, brand marketing, community impact and Washington Post live journalism events.

Before joining The Washington Post, Baird was a senior global communications leader at Nike, focusing on employee communications, establishing Nike's storytelling platform (news.nike.com), and leading purpose and advocacy initiatives. She also oversaw communications and engagement for the Nike N7 collection, promoting visibility to, and representation of, Native people, and co-chaired Nike’s Native American Network.

Before joining Nike, Baird was Managing Director and Head of Ogilvy’s Washington, DC office, overseeing an integrated practice. Earlier at Fleishman Hillard, she led the Integrated Marketing team and managed major global accounts like Visa and the Abu Dhabi Government. She also taught Digital Communications, Integrated Marketing, and Leadership as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Masters in Corporate Communications and Public Relations program for ten years.

Baird is Sicangu Lakota, an enrolled citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and is also a descendant of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. She serves on the advisory board of IllumiNative, a non-profit working to increase the visibility of Native Nations and peoples in American society. She also serves on the board of the American Indian College Fund, and Rare, the leading behavior-change organization in the conservation world.

Baird is a recipient of the ColorComm Circle Award, the only award of its kind recognizing women of color who are changing the face of the communications/PR industry. She was also a nominee for the Washington Women in Public Relations Woman of the Year award. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from George Washington University, her MBA from Georgetown University, and studied theater at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.