Kara Gerhardt Ross

“Author and politician John Buchan once said, ‘The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.’ Qorvis strives to highlight and enhance our client’s strengths and then communicate that in an effective and creative solution.”

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Focus

Kara Gerhardt Ross, a senior director at Qorvis Communications, has served in senior communications positions at the White House, U.S. Department of Transportation and at Fortune 500 companies working on communications and media strategies and crisis communications. She brings more then 14 years of experience to Qorvis and she helps to lead teams for technology, aerospace and transportation clients, including Adobe, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Amazon.com and DynCorp International.

Pertinent Background & Relationships

  • Ross was President Clinton’s spokeswomen at the White House for the Midwest United States and served as a traveling press secretary on international trips. She was instrumental in helping to launch the One America initiative and increased regional coverage of White House initiatives.
  • She served as director for media relations and special projects for the U.S. Department of Transportation and was the spokesperson for Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater and the Department’s 12 agencies including the FAA, NHTSA and FHWA.  She created national and regional media strategies and helped to promote new international transportation agreements.
  • While serving as a press secretary at the U.S. General Services Administration, Ross was a key spokesperson in handling crisis communication in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. She was the prime communication liaison onsite between the media, contractors and the government during the implosion of the building, one of the most covered events in recent history
  • Ross also held public affairs roles at the Department of Defense, including serving as the operations manager for the 1993 Base Closure and Realignment Commission and as a spokesperson for the Office of Health Affairs.
  • Ross served on Capital Hill in the offices of Senator John Glenn (D-OH) and Representative Lynn Schenk (D-CA).
  • Most recently, Ross was the communications and marketing director for ACS Government Solutions a Fortune 500 technology company, where she developed overall transportation marketing and communications initiatives for ACS and its clients. This included working closely with governors, mayors and department heads on transportation programs such as E-ZPass, photo enforcement and parking and transit revenue solutions.
  • Ross also has extensive political campaign experience. She has worked on the last four national Presidential elections, serving as a National Press Advance Lead, and as a Press Secretary in key states such as Ohio. In addition, she has worked on numerous statewide and local campaigns.

Education

Ross received a B.A. in broadcast journalism from Ohio University and graduated with honors.

Affiliations