Biography:

Teresa Valerio Parrot serves as Senior Counsel to Widmeyer. She brings her expertise in higher education media, crisis communications, marketing and administration to provide data-driven strategy and counsel to Widmeyer’s impressive client roster.

Valerio Parrot draws on extensive experience designing and implementing strategic media and marketing efforts aimed at enhancing institutions’ image, reputation and brand. She has conducted numerous communications analyses for colleges and universities, developed and launched multi-audience research projects and is experienced in communicating the tactics and techniques that drive effective media and marketing outreach efforts.

Previously, Valerio Parrot was Vice President of Media Relations and Crisis Communications for SimpsonScarborough, a higher education consulting firm. She provided media, communications and marketing assistance to institutions such as Augustana College, Baylor University, California Western School of Law, The College of the Holy Cross, Loyola College in Maryland, New Jersey City University, School of Visual Arts, St. Bonaventure University and Youngstown State University.

A prolific keynote and conference session presenter, Valerio Parrot has spoken on behalf of Academic Impressions, ACE Fellows, AGB national conference and online speaker series, AIMHO, AMA, AASCU, CAAE, CASE online speaker series and Districts I and IV, CCCU, Higher Education Hero, NAGAP, NAPAHE, NASPA, RMACRAO and United Educators webinar series.

Valerio Parrot counts almost ten years of experience with the University of Colorado System, including an officer-level appointment as Assistant Secretary of the University, in which capacity she assisted the board on policy and media/PR issues over two years filled with athletic and academic controversy that drew national and international headlines. In this highly sensitive role, she coordinated policy support, media/PR assistance, project management and internal and external communications with constituents statewide. In addition, she served the Boulder campus chancellor as director of donor relations during the University’s successful $1 billion fundraising campaign and served as special assistant to the System president.

Valerio Parrot earned a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in environmental biology, and a master’s degree in public administration with emphases in state and local government and nonprofit management, both from the University of Colorado. Her interests include anything and everything associated wither her husband (Kevin), daughter (Savannah Leigh) and the family’s cross-eyed Labrador retriever (Magenta).