Whitney leads Culture, Communications, and Employee Engagement at Southwest Airlines through a collection of Teams unified in differentiating the Southwest brand for internal and external audiences with transparent and creative communication, strong support for communities the airline serves, and a highly engaged workforce that’s well recognized for celebrating Customers and each other while working hard and smart.
Whitney’s passion for the iconic Culture of Southwest propelled her to Vice President, Culture and Engagement where, along with a focused effort to keep the Culture strong, she led strategy and delivery of Employees’ Experience through curated Employee Insights and thoughtful Change Leadership.
Prior to returning to Southwest, the company where she launched her career with 15 years of service in Communications & Outreach, Whitney led Communication at Detroit-based Rock Ventures and Bedrock, a commercial real estate investment firm owned by Dan Gilbert, Founder and Chairman of Quicken Loans and Chairman of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Through the storytelling of the more than 100 businesses that comprise Gilbert’s Rock family of companies, Whitney’s team championed the success stories of a Detroit renaissance. Prior, Whitney joined Ford Motor Co. in 2014 to focus on financial, investor, and legal communications, as well as those surrounding the Lincoln brand.
Across more than two decades in Communication and Culture, Whitney has built strong relationships with peers inside and outside the airline industry. She’s a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, the world’s leading professional association for senior public relations and corporate communications executives and educators. She serves on the College of Charleston Communications Council that fosters collaboration between leaders of Fortune 500 Companies and those studying Communication, as she did in achieving a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at the University of Texas at Arlington.
While her professional passion is the world of communication, her love for animal welfare runs deep. She serves as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors for the SPCA of Texas and is a past chair of Fur Ball and Strut Your Mutt, and hopes to be a foster one day! 2 Along with their dog, Chief, Whitney, her husband, Erik, and their son, Owen, live in North Texas. She fills any spare time with traveling the globe, listening to podcasts, and scouring The New York Times cooking app for new recipes.