Liz Hutchison Taff

Swimming with Beluga whales wasn’t in her job description at SeaWorld Orlando, but when given the opportunity, Liz Hutchison Taff jumped right in. “I was the first to volunteer for the program,” she said. “I wasn’t scared, because Belugas are gentle by nature and have no interest in hurting people. If anything, they were more skittish than I was – at least until they got comfortable with me being in the water with them.”

Liz, who at the time was working on the animal park’s communications team, came away with an important lesson: the value of slowly building relationships built on transparency and trust with animals and people alike. And she has put that lesson to good use ever since.

“I believe in giving people the information they need when they need it, and in keeping that communication as simple and straightforward as possible,” she said. “The best communication is usually direct communication – and that includes careful observation and listening, too.”

Liz joined ROI Communication in 2016 after more than a decade managing internal and external communications in the hospitality and media industries. As a VP and Account Manager, Liz helps clients develop and effectively execute strategic, multi-pronged communication plans.

Following her stint at SeaWorld, Liz spent six years working for Wyndham Worldwide, the parent company of several major hotel chains, timeshare brands and vacation exchange platforms.

There, she served as director of external communications for the timeshare division, before shifting to internal communications for the hotel group. In these roles, she handled all aspects of communication, from building relationships with trade press to developing social media strategy to overseeing executive communications.

After leaving Wyndham Worldwide, Liz became the director of corporate communications for NBCUniversal, working at Rockefeller Center in New York. In this role, she helped lead internal communications planning and advised the EVP of HR on change communications following Comcast’s acquisition of NBCUniversal from GE.

Liz also partnered with a wide range of stakeholders and vendors to revamp the company’s intranet, and produced editorial and video content for internal digital platforms. Later, after moving to Boston, she ran her own communications consultancy before joining the ROI team.

A graduate of Florida State University with a B.S. in Communication, Cum Laude, Liz is also an avid Soul Cycle enthusiast who loves to travel, cook, and spend as much time as possible in Nantucket.