Jen Houston

Senior Vice President

Jennifer Houston has 15 years of experience in building and implementing on-line and off-line communications strategies for companies of all sizes, including well-established global corporations and startup ventures.

Jennifer built and leads the global WE Studio D team – Waggener Edstrom’s business focused on powering digital influence and engagement. Her areas of expertise include perception-shifting campaigns, digital influence, storytelling and narrative generation, competitive strategy development, business strategy and development, crisis communications, and influencer relations. Jennifer has also served as vice president in both product development and business development roles.

Jennifer has ten years of experience working on Microsoft accounts. She has served as the agency’s communications lead for Microsoft’s integrated communications efforts by evangelizing and systematizing communications into cross-discipline campaigns, including the recent Windows FTP campaign. Prior to that, she ran the PR team at Waggener Edstrom responsible for the global communications for Microsoft Windows post-Windows Vista launch. She also built the communications strategies for and launched Microsoft’s People-Ready Business campaign to extend Microsoft’s dialogue with business decision-makers. Before that, Jennifer spent three years leading a team focused on building Microsoft’s competitive and intellectual property PR strategies regarding Sun, Oracle, IBM and open source. She spearheaded the company’s “Get the Facts” and intellectual property public awareness campaigns, shifting public perception and garnering coverage in top media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Fortune and the Associated Press. She led the infrastructure, embedded and security businesses for Windows 2000 and was part of the broader Windows 2000 launch team. She also developed strategy for Microsoft’s giving and community affairs campaign and managed the announcement of Microsoft’s largest donation and investment in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

In addition to Microsoft, Jennifer has also provided strategic communications counsel to other innovation brands including BMC Software, Boeing, HTC, Fran’s Chocolates, Shurguard Storage, Homegrocer.com and VoiceBox.

Jennifer has a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a minor in Spanish language and literature from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Jennifer lives in the Puget Sound area with her husband and their four children, as well as their cat, guinea pig, goldfish, turtle, and Cairn terrier. She is an avid outdoors enthusiast and lover of her husband’s gourmet meals, and when she isn’t chasing around the kids and pets, she’s running, biking and swimming to prepare for sprint triathalons.