(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Nationwide Children’s Hospital has named two new leaders within the organization’s Marketing and Communication function.
Arundi Venkayya
Arundi Venkayya serves as vice president for public affairs and media relations. She is responsible for shaping internal and external communications strategy, framing local, regional and national strategy for the hospital’s public affairs agenda, elevating the hospital’s thought leaders and promoting the hospital’s research and innovations in pediatric care. She leads Nationwide Children’s internal communication, media relations and public affairs teams.
Tiffanie Hiibner
Tiffanie Hiibner has been named vice president for integrated marketing and brand advancement. She is responsible for strengthening and amplifying Nationwide Children’s as a local, regional and global pediatric leader, as well as supporting the delivery of an outstanding experience for patients, families and clinicians through an integrated digital-first strategy. She will lead brand strategy and experience, integrated marketing, process and operations, creative operations and agency infrastructure.
Venkayya and Hiibner will also provide communications and branding counsel for On Our Sleeves, the national Movement for Children’s Mental Health, founded by Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2019 and powered by the hospital’s behavioral health experts.
Venkayya, a Galena resident, and Hiibner, a Powell resident, were both selected following national searches.
“It’s always wonderful to find the best and brightest talent in our hometown community,” said Donna Teach, chief marketing and communication officer for Nationwide Children’s. “We are incredibly fortunate to have two outstanding leaders who have the experience to help take our talented integrated marketing and communication teams to the next level. Arundi and Tiffanie have a track record for building partnerships both internally and externally and driving results.”
Venkayya has more than two decades of journalism, communication, issues management and crisis communication experience. She previously served as deputy director and chief communications officer for the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). During her tenure with ODH, she led Ohio’s communication efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, working closely with Governor Mike DeWine’s communications team. She also worked with more than 112 local health departments across Ohio, helping them navigate pandemic communications challenges at the local level. She worked for more than seven years as public relations manager for Dayton Children’s Hospital before joining the Dayton Daily News, where she led the newsroom as a metro and business editor and served as editor of the newspaper’s monthly business-to-business magazine. Venkayya has bachelor’s degrees in English/Journalism and Political Science from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“Everyone at Nationwide Children’s is dedicated to helping all children achieve their best outcomes,” said Venkayya. “We do moonshot, life-changing research here, and we bring that work to patients’ bedsides. Our work extends beyond the walls of our hospital, and we are consistently working upstream to meet families exactly where they are. It’s awe-inspiring, and to be a part of sharing this work is humbling and an honor.”
Hiibner has spent her career leading marketing and advertising activities for top brands, most recently serving as senior vice president for brand, advertising, creative, social media, content and user experience at Fifth Third Bank, where she oversaw the vision, strategy and activation for brand, advertising, creative and digital design for the organization. She was also responsible for driving customer-first level journeys and experiences in all digital channels. Prior to joining Fifth Third, Hiibner was senior vice president of marketing services and led B2B brand strategy for Nationwide Insurance and Financial Services. Her roles prior to Nationwide were senior level management positions at advertising and marketing agencies including The Shipyard, The Integer Group and Draft Worldwide. During her time as chief client officer for The Shipyard, she was part of the team and early work to support the national growth for On Our Sleeves. Hiibner has a bachelor’s degree in design from Syracuse University.
“What I love most about being part of Children’s is that my career is now devoted to the health and well-being of families in my own backyard, as well as those around the world who will benefit from the many things Nationwide Children’s is doing as it relates to innovation, research, care and resources,” said Hiibner. “I have the highest regard for the passion and expertise of those that are part of this unparalleled mission and am honored to be part of this organization.”
About Nationwide Children’s Hospital:
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 14,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.7 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.