Administration

Head of Community Relations

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Kerry Francis joined Columbus Recreation and Parks Department in April 2020 and serves as head of Community Relations. She leads the department’s communications and community relations efforts, including strategic communications, marketing, media relations, internal communications and community outreach.

Kerry has more than 20 years of communications experience spanning the public and private sectors and higher education. Prior to joining Columbus Recreation and Parks, she served as chief of communications for the Ohio Department of Commerce. Her previous experience also includes communications roles with the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, The Ohio State University, JPMorgan Chase, Nationwide and Alliance Data Systems.

An accredited public relations professional, Kerry has been an active member of Public Relations Society of American (PRSA) Central Ohio for more than 20 years and has served in numerous chapter leadership roles, including president and ethics officer.

Kerry holds an MBA from Franklin University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. She also earned a communications and AI certificate from New York University and a measurement and analytics certificate from PRSA.