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Chicago 2016 announced on Tuesday that Valerie Barker Waller has joined the bid committee as director of marketing and communications. In this role, Waller will focus on furthering the bid’s marketing and communications efforts and spreading the key messages about Chicago 2016 to domestic and international audiences.

Waller joins Chicago 2016 from the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, where she was vice president of marketing and public relations. In this role, Waller was responsible for marketing strategy, advertising, promotions, media relations, crisis communications, photography, publications, internal communications and Web-related activities. During her nine years at the museum, she reframed the role of the marketing and public relations function to drive more than 14 million visitors to the museum, increase the institution’s visibility and strengthen its brand reputation. Under her leadership, the museum’s marketing and public-relations efforts have gained national recognition, including winning the museum’s first Effie award, receiving a Sabre award and being named PR Week’s “Non-Profit Team of the Year” in 2006.

“Valerie is a highly respected marketer, and we look forward to having her leadership and guidance as we move forward in the bid process,” said Patrick G. Ryan, chairman and CEO of Chicago 2016. “She joins a well-established marketing and communications team and will play an integral role in building our brand and telling our story, locally, nationally and internationally.”

Waller is on the board of Women Employed, recently completed a term on the board of the Chicago chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and is an active member of the National Black MBA Association. She is also on the Mendoza College of Business Advisory Council at the University of Notre Dame and served for three years on Notre Dame’s National Alumni Board. A Chicago native, Waller holds a degree in finance and business economics from the University of Notre Dame and earned a master’s in business administration at the University of Michigan.

“This is a very exciting time for the City of Chicago and the country, and I look forward to helping my hometown as we embark on the last 12 months of this campaign,” said Waller. “Marketing a world-class city like Chicago is an honor, and I am thrilled to join the team.”