Laura Neff-Henderson named communications manager for human resources
Laura L. Neff-Henderson has been named communications manager of human resources at Virginia Tech. She started in her position on March 26.
Neff-Henderson will be responsible for the development of a comprehensive, integrated communications program for the Department of Human Resources.
“I am confident Laura will make a positive difference in keeping faculty and staff well informed about the human resource topics that are important to them,” said Hal Irvin, associate vice president for human resources.
Neff-Henderson comes to the department from Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences where she worked as a communications project coordinator. She also teaches an advanced media writing course in the Department of Communication at Virginia Tech.
Prior to coming to Virginia Tech, Neff-Henderson was the director of communications and public relations at North Cross School, in Roanoke, Va., from 2006-10. In that position she served as the organization’s chief communications strategist, overseeing the school’s communications, marketing, and public relations activities.
A native of Norfolk, Va., Neff-Henderson has also held public relations positions with Arlington Public Schools, in Arlington, Va. and Petersburg Public Schools in Petersburg, Va. She also has experience as a newspaper reporter and graphic designer and has taught high school and college English and journalism courses.
Neff-Henderson is actively involved in the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and has served on the leadership board of the chapter since 2004. She was the president in 2011 and now serves as the immediate past president, nominating chair, and leadership assembly delegate.
She is also a member of the board of directors for the Girl Scout Virginia Skyline Council, and has previously held leadership positions with the Chesapeake Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association.
Neff-Henderson has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Radford University, and a master’s degree in English from Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2008, she earned the APR (Accreditation in Public Relations) from the Public Relations Society of America -- an accreditation that less than 20 percent of public relations practitioners across the county have earned.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
