Stratacomm Senior Partners

Stratacomm Sr. Partners Bill Buff, Ron DeFore and John Fitzpatrick

Bill Buff, Ron DeFore and John Fitzpatrick.

 
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Creative.  Results-driven. Motivated.  Inquisitive.  Risk-taking. Innovative.  Spirited. Ethical.  Fun.   These attributes aren’t things easily discernable from a resume.  They are, however, the core characteristics Stratacomm looks for when someone wants to join us.  

Those making the cut are a balance of seasoned professionals and rising stars. They are experts in transportation, energy and environment, infrastructure, defense and security, education, and healthcare, to name but a few areas.  They are digital experts, policy wonks, powerful writers, special events mavens, and media junkies.  This rich and varied blend of people and expertise allows us to build customized account groups that are tailored specifically for each client’s particular needs.  Our people embrace a challenge and dig in to help our clients win. We create a dynamic culture that brings out the collective’s very best work.

We value the individual and cultivate the team. Together, we work hard, have fun, and understand that our reputation is built (and maintained) by two things: unmatched client service and winning results.

John F. Fitzpatrick

Executive Vice President & Senior Partner

  • Manages Stratacomm, along with two other senior partners
  • Offers strategic counsel, crisis communications, media relations, media training, presentation coaching and editorial services to Stratacomm clients
  • Joined the firm in 1998

Working with leading companies, influential trade associations and federal agencies, John has a winning track record for helping clients create and run research-based, integrated communications campaigns. An admitted news and politics junkie, he loves the media game.  His specialties include crafting campaign strategies and tactics to advance clients' public policy positions.  He also helps ensure the firm remains at the forefront of digital communications to infuse new and evolving media solutions across Stratacomm's service offerings.

Prior to joining Stratacomm, John led the communications efforts at the Association of American Railroads, served as the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) public affairs director/deputy director, and was appointed deputy communications director for the White House Conference on Travel & Tourism. While with FRA, he received the Administrator's Award for Excellence in Public Service, the agency's highest annual honor to a single employee.

In his role as spokesman at FRA, John was often interviewed by the national television, print and radio media; clients continue to turn to John today to serve as their media spokesman as needed. He also media trains top government and industry officials for challenging television interviews and debates, as well as for high-visibility interviews across all mediums.  John is also an active member of Stratacomm parent company Fleishman-Hillard’s Media Counsel, a global group of senior media relations exerts offering real-time media relations expertise to benefit firm clients worldwide.  

Well-tested in crisis communications, John led media relations for FRA onsite at rail crashes, including from the sites of some of the nation's deadliest passenger rail crashes. He continues to offer his clients counsel and media strategy for high-risk, high profile crisis situations, reputation threats and product liability trials.

An accomplished writer and public speaker, John earned a M.A. in public communications from The American University in Washington, D.C., and a B.A. in political science and history from Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia.

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