LEADERSHIP
Theresa Rice, Chief Engagement Officer
Theresa Rice is an award-winning communications professional with more than 25 years of success helping government and multilateral institutions and Fortune 500 companies in Asia, Europe, North America and South America position themselves, their executives, their products and services and their causes to publics around the world.
Theresa has served as a trusted communications advisor to public and private entities during natural and man-made disasters, political and economic turmoil, security threats, bankruptcies, litigations, mergers and acquisitions, product recalls and epidemics. She has trained hundreds of corporate executives and government officials to communicate effectively with stakeholders in times of crisis or change.
Theresa's experience includes senior management roles at two of the top five global communications firms, a leading regional marketing communications agency and a marketing, public relations and advertising start-up, as well as in corporate communications and as a journalist in the United States and Latin America.
Theresa has been featured by media outlets around the world on such topics as country branding, digital communications, corporate positioning, political campaigns and crisis management. She has spoken at the International Public Relations Association's World Congress, the International Country Branding Forum, the Tourism Branding Forum, the Desachate marketing conference and other venues. She has also been a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Miami and Florida International University as well as a faculty member of the Young & Rubicam Brands/ ORT International Program in Communications and Marketing Trends.
Theresa's early career included stints at the US Department of Commerce, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Fundacao Vitoria Amazonica (an NGO committed to promoting environmental and social sustainability in the Brazilian Amazon), in addition to speechwriting.
Theresa graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude in Latin American and Iberian studies from Columbia University, receiving the scholarship and leadership award of her graduating class. She holds a Master in international economics and Latin American studies from The Johns Hopkins University´s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and completed a year of doctoral coursework as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in Mexico.
Theresa has lived and worked in Brazil, Italy, Mexico and Spain; speaks French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish; and is studying Japanese. She is a member of the Organization of Women in International Trade, Global Ties Miami and the Uruguayan Chamber of Commerce in Florida. She serves on the executive board of NPH USA, a charity dedicated to raising orphaned, abandoned and disadvantaged children in Latin America and the Caribbean and providing them with educational opportunities.