Barbara Leary
Barbara Leary is a strategic communication consultant, writer, and educator with more than 25 years of experience spanning executive communication, organizational transformation, employee engagement, corporate reputation, crisis communication, and stakeholder relations.
Bio and Featured Works
ÂBefore launching her independent consultancy, Leary was a managing director at FTI Consulting, where she advised Fortune 500 clients in the energy, technology, hospitality, pharmaceutical, and life sciences sectors. Earlier in her career, she held senior communications positions at Florida Power & Light Company (a subsidiary of NextEra Energy), BASF Corporation, Lexmark International, and CDI Corporation, and began her agency career at Ketchum, where she led a Silver Anvil Award-winning strategic communications campaign. She also served on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives and, for one memorable chapter, was public relations and development director for The Lost Colony, the nation's longest-running outdoor symphonic drama, on North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Since joining Georgetown University in 2020, Leary has taught graduate courses in change management communication, public relations writing, speechwriting, and strategic communication planning. She enjoys helping students bridge the gap between communication theory and professional practice while preparing them for the complex communication challenges they'll encounter throughout their careers.
Today, Leary works primarily with nonprofit organizations, advising executive teams on communication strategy, leadership messaging, and organizational effectiveness.
Outside her consulting practice, Leary coaches writers and teaches creative writing through Finch and Squirrel, a literary mentorship studio she founded to help writers develop their craft and bring their work into the world. Her own creative work includes children's literature, creative nonfiction, poetry, memoir, and flash fiction.
Leary holds a Master of Science in Positive Organizational Development and Change from Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management. She is certified in Prosci change management and draws on Appreciative Inquiry, Intentional Change Theory, Experiential Learning Theory, and the Kotter model in her consulting and teaching.