The National Football League has named Katie Hill Senior Vice President of Communications, effective May 3. Hill joins the NFL from former President Barack Obama’s family office, where she served as President Obama’s Communications Director for the last four years.
As Senior Vice President, Hill will be responsible for leading the NFL’s day-to-day communications operation, aligning the League’s communications strategy with its priorities. She will work closely with the leadership team across departments to ensure consistency of messaging and strategy, and to elevate success stories. In addition, she will lead efforts in identifying reputational issues for the League and across the 32 clubs and developing strategies to mitigate their impact. Hill will be based at League headquarters in New York and will report to Jeff Miller, Executive Vice President of Communications, Public Affairs and Policy.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome someone of Katie’s talent to the NFL,” said Miller. “Her communications vision, world-class strategic instincts, and deep understanding of today’s dynamic media, digital and cultural landscape make her an excellent fit for the League and our goals.”
Hill brings more than 15 years of strategic communications and public affairs experience to the League, spanning the White House, Capitol Hill, the private sector and political campaigns. In her most recent role, she curated President Obama’s post-Administration public profile, developing and executing international and domestic communications strategy for the former president, including his political activity, the launch of his production company, Higher Ground, and the publication of his presidential memoir, A Promised Land. She also served as the former president’s chief spokesperson.
From 2014 to 2017, Hill served in the Obama Administration, first as National Press Secretary for health care at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, then joining the White House in 2015 as Assistant Press Secretary and spokesperson for a variety of policy areas, including health care, education, veterans’ affairs, the Council on Women and Girls, and sports. She also has worked on Capitol Hill and at a public relations firm. She was honored in 2016 as one of Out Magazine’s “OUT100” LGBTQ leaders, alongside her White House colleagues, for their work to advance equality.
A Nashville native, Hill graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in classical Greek, where she was an Echols Scholar. She and her wife, Andrea, are relocating from Washington, D.C. to New York.
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