NEW YORK, NY—Zoë Baird, President of the Markle Foundation, announces the additions of two new senior staff appointments to the Foundation. Julia Moffett, formerly Vice President of Communications for NBC News and former Director of Communications and Strategic Planning for the National Security Council, The White House, will become Markle’s first Vice President of Public Affairs, effective September 21. Andrew Blau, Director of Communications Policy and Practice at the Benton Foundation, will join Markle as Program Director, effective October 16. Both Ms. Moffett and Mr. Blau will report directly to Zoë Baird.
“Andrew and Julia represent the next generation of leaders. They both have unique perspectives, and have already played critical roles in shaping the public policy process, specifically as it relates to media, politics, telecommunications and technology,” explained Zoë Baird. “Adding Julia and Andrew to our senior team will strengthen, and, I’m sure, deepen Markle’s ability to meet our goal of being at the forefront of employing communications technologies to enhance learning and promote more effective democracy.”
Andrew Blau has been Director of Communications Policy and Practice at the Benton Foundation, since 1993. He is a noted telecommunications industry expert, and one of the most innovative and effective voices on the public issues created by the communications revolution. He is regularly quoted in the media for his views on telecommunications and media policy, including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and on television and radio. Blau has testified before Congress about the role of non-profits in the information age, and frequently speaks at industry and trade conferences on the Internet and public policy. At Benton, Blau significantly expanded the telecommunications and media policy programs, created the Communications Related Headlines, a national electronic service; negotiated a significant agreement with the National Endowment for the Arts to support Internet access and training for arts institutions; and organized the Public Interest Summit between the Clinton Administration and non-profit and foundation leaders. Prior to his post at Benton, Blau helped open the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Washington, DC office, where he developed the public interest group’s positions on telecommunications and Internet policy. He was on the Senior Research Staff at Columbia University’s Institute for Tele-Information, and before that he was the Assistant for Communications Policy, United Church of Christ.
Blau is Chairman of the Urban Libraries Council and he has been appointed by the National Academy of Sciences to a high-level committee on the future of the Internet. He has served as advisor to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the City of Seattle, and Microsoft Corporation on issues of communications technology and philanthropy. He graduated with honors from Swarthmore College.
Julia Moffett has a strong record of using communications to enhance public understanding of and support for difficult domestic and international issues. She was Vice President of Communications for NBC News from 1997 through 1998, where she served as the top spokesperson and strategist for the public positioning of the network news division. She oversaw all press, communications and publicity activity for NBC News. Prior to NBC, Moffett was Director of Communications and Strategic Planning for the National Security Council, The White House, where she was responsible for communications strategies for all national security and international economic issues affecting Presidential foreign and national policy. Prior to her role as Director of Communications, Moffett served as Special Assistant to The White House Director of Communications in the Office of the Chief of Staff/Strategic Planning and Communications. There, Moffett was part of the strategic team that oversaw communications for the President’s major domestic events and initiatives. Before joining the White House staff, Moffett held a variety of political and consulting posts including positions with the 1992 presidential campaign, the staff of Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), former Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, and several non-profit organizations. During that time, she produced President Clinton’s first Economic Conference in Little Rock; coordinated the congressional delegation trip to the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro; and helped to direct Rock the Vote’s Motor Voter campaign. Moffett graduated with highest honors from Wesleyan University.
