About
Jennifer Sharpe
Twenty years of corporate communications leadership inside Fortune 100 utilities — now applied to the organizations that need the same discipline at a fraction of the scale.
Why work with me
I have spent more than twenty years shaping corporate communications strategy and voice for internal and external audiences at Fortune 100 companies and global enterprises, partnering directly with C‑suite executives of publicly traded corporations to deliver clear, consistent messaging across every channel.
I am known for translating complex strategy into stories that engage people and move priorities forward. The skill I am valued for most is calm, steady, rapid leadership in a crisis — building, placing and executing messaging in the middle of natural disasters, organizational change and reputational damage.
The scale was large. What transfers is the judgment, and judgment does not need a department behind it.
What I do now is bring that to municipal utilities, cooperatives and local governments — organizations carrying real public‑facing risk without a communications leader to carry it with them.
Selected career highlights
Twenty years, briefly.
- Elevated a major utility’s executive communications to a White House audience, positioning an innovative rate structure on a national stage.
- Aligned energy and policy messaging across five Fortune 100 companies on a shared clean‑energy initiative.
- Transformed enterprise communications at a Southeast gas utility from fragmented execution into a single coordinated strategy.
- Ran federal crisis communications through Hurricanes Helene and Milton, synthesizing live operational data into executive updates under continuous deadline.
- Secured global and national coverage in Reuters, Utility Dive, E&E News by Politico and Power Engineering.
Twenty years at Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas. Named references available on request.
Areas of practice
What I am actually hired for
Most engagements draw on four or five of these. If you need something outside them, I will tell you and help you find the right person.
- Crisis and issues management — plans written before the event, and counsel during it.
- Executive and board communications — positioning your leadership as the credible voice on your system.
- Regulatory and rate communications — the narrative that begins before the filing, not after the headline.
- Enterprise messaging architecture — one standard, applied everywhere, by everyone.
- Internal and organizational alignment — so your own staff can explain what you are doing.
- Media relations — relationships and placement in trade and national press.
Education
Master of Arts, Queens University of Charlotte · Bachelor of Science, Appalachian State University · Bachelor of Arts, University of Southern Maine
Let’s find out whether this fits.
A thirty‑minute conversation, no charge. If what you need isn’t what I do, I’ll tell you that and point you somewhere better.
Schedule a consultation