VIRGIE TOWNSEND

VIRGIE TOWNSEND has been appointed director of public relations at Strategic Communications, a Syracuse–based public-relations agency that Crystal DeStefano has owned since 2014. Townsend has more than a decade of experience as a communications professional in agencies, nonprofits, and businesses. Most recently, she led her own strategic marketing and communications consulting practice, focusing on the education and life-sciences sectors. Townsend has been with Strategic Communications since May 2022 and takes over the director of PR position from company president DeStefano as the business enters a new phase of growth. In her new expanded role, Townsend will oversee an increasing number of Strategic Communications clients, as well as provide public-relations direction and oversight to other members of the Strategic Communications team. She will also represent Strategic Communications within the local business community and lead new client opportunities and initiatives. Townsend received her bachelor’s degree in newspaper journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and her law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law.