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Patty Kennedy  

With nearly 18 years of training, speaking and consulting experience, Patty Kennedy is a top-rated speaker for corporations, conferences, professional associations and educational institutions across the country. She has spoken at national and internatio

Patty Kennedy has extensive experience in international communication, positioning, training and public relations programs. She has lived and worked in the U.S., Eastern and Western Europe, and Africa and her clients have included multinational companies, foreign governments, development agencies, non-profit institutions and emerging organizations. Both Ms. Kennedy and her clients have been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and Entrepreneur Magazine. While several of her communication programs have won awards, Ms. Kennedy prides herself on the tangible results the programs have achieved for her clients.

Before founding Kennedy Spencer, Ms. Kennedy worked as vice president of corporate communications for MediaVest Worldwide, part of the Paris-based Publicis Groupe. In that capacity, she worked with the company’s chief executive officer to help re-position and re-brand the media services organization. She also was responsible for all internal and external communication activity and supported the organization’s new business efforts. Over the course of her career, Ms. Kennedy’s clients have included The Ministries of Finance in Ukraine and Uganda, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Satcon Technology Corp., New York City and State Charter Schools, Telekom Austria, British Video Association, British Airports Authority, Kraft Foods, Kronos Advanced Technologies, The UPS Foundation, Macys, The World Bank, and U.S.A.I.D.

Prior to returning to the U.S., Ms. Kennedy lived in London, where she served as head of corporate partnerships for NCH Action for Children - one of Britain's largest childcare charities. In that capacity, she led a team of 40 people to double revenues in less than a year, and developed multi-level fundraising, marketing and communication programs for clients, including British Airports Authority, the British Video Association, Polygram, Tesco and the Computer Services Software Association (CSSA). One of her programs “Byte Night,” was an award-winning initiative that has generated more than 2 million pounds to combat homelessness.

Ms. Kennedy also worked for Burson-Marsteller for six years in several of the company's worldwide offices including Washington, D.C.; Kiev, Ukraine; Kampala, Uganda; and London, England. In Ukraine and Uganda, she worked alongside the respective Ministries of Finance to manage public education, international marketing and investment promotion programs. Both programs achieved significantly high success rates. The Ugandan program was noted by both the government and the Financial Times to be "one of the most effective initiatives Uganda has ever implemented." Upon returning to London, Ms. Kennedy advised Burson-Marsteller clients on entry and expansion in the emerging markets and helped develop pan-European business.

Ms. Kennedy started her career at the Associated Press in Washington, D.C. She holds her bachelor's degree from St. Bonaventure University and is a dual American-Irish citizen. She serves on several non-profit boards including Rescue Ink and several NYC charter schools. She has spoken about public relations practices at both domestic and international industry events.

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