Traci Otey Blunt

A nationally recognized and award-winning communications and public affairs strategist, Traci Otey Blunt is known as a politically savvy and fearless communicator and architect of positive, proactive, strategic messaging for even the most challenging of situations and issues facing organizations across both the public and private sector.
Serving as a loyal and trusted communications advisor to prominent political figures and senior corporate executives—Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Presidential elections and Robert (Bob) L. Johnson, the well-known American entrepreneur, media magnate, and investor—Traci has been the mastermind behind award-winning media relations, public affairs, executive visibility, and government relations campaigns for corporate, political, and nonprofit organizations for the past 20-plus years.
Traci joined the National Football League as SVP, Corporate Communications in October 2018, where she will lead communications strategies across key areas within the NFL, including current affairs, business operations, NFL Media, government affairs, health and safety and social responsibility.
Prior to joining the NFL, in 2017, Traci was appointed by Bob Johnson as president of RLJ Entertainment’s Urban Movie Channel (UMC) where she leveraged her experience in building brands and leading consumer campaigns to launch and grow the first-ever subscription video on demand (SVOD) channel dedicated to showcasing Black film and television. At the behest of Bob Johnson whom she had met through her work on the Clinton campaign, Traci first went to work for RLJ Companies in 2008, as EVP in charge of corporate communications and public affairs for the multiple diversified companies in the RLJ portfolio, including RLJ Entertainment.
In the fast-paced world of politics and government, Traci has served as a media specialist on Capitol Hill, with the District of Columbia government, and in mayoral, state legislative, gubernatorial, and presidential campaigns. She was national deputy communications director and national director of African-American media to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, served as a communications director during the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and was communications director for the Tennessee-coordinated campaign during the Gore-Lieberman 2000 presidential campaign.
Early in her career, Traci also worked at two leading public relations agencies – Porter Novelli as a senior public affairs specialist and Ogilvy Public Relations as VP in the agency’s multicultural and public affairs practice groups.
Honored with multiple national awards for her communications and public relations prowess, Traci was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business from The Network Journal and was honored with the Circle Award from ColorComm and Hall of Femme from PR Week. Traci has also been featured in national media articles, such as Mocha Market magazine’s “Women in Charge, On Fire and Changing the World: National Advisor to Presidential Contender and Business Tycoon.”
Traci is a current board member of Capitol Hill Day School, is on the board of ColorComm, and is a member of the International Black Film Festival of Nashville. Traci earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Tennessee State University where she has since been recognized with university’s Women of Legend & Merit honor.