Rene Petties-Jones

Rene Petties-Jones is the President of the National Federation for Just Communities of WNY, Inc. and a member of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo’s Racial Equity Roundtable. She currently is Co-Chair for the National PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) DEI Committee and serves on the PRSA Northeast District Board of Directors as their first ever DEI Officer. She has also served as a member of the National PRSA Governance Nominating committee. Rene is currently Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Federation for Just Communities, an independent 501c(3) federation serving affiliates from across the country and internationally.

A proud University at Buffalo Alum, Rene has received the May C. Randazzo Outstanding Practitioner Award and the Board of Directors Distinguished Service Award from PRSA Buffalo Niagara, and the Women of Influence Award, Behind the Scenes, from Buffalo Business First. She is also on the Business First Power 200 Buffalo list for 2021,2022, 2023 and 2024. Rene is on the inaugural Power 100 Business Leaders of Color list and the same list for 2023, also from Business First. She has received the inaugural Black Excellence Diversity Award from Tapestry Charter School. Additionally, she is a Rockwood Institute Fellow, a member of the Oishei Leaders of Color Cohort 3, an FBI Citizens Academy graduate, and a former member of the Commission on PR Education Research Panel.

Rene is a former member of the Buffalo News Diversity Advisory Board and currently sits on the Superintendent Advisory Board for the Williamsville School District, the Alberti Center for Bullying Prevention, the Editorial Advisory Board for the Buffalo Healthy Living Magazine, the President’s Advisory Council for Buffalo State University, in addition to numerous other committees and advisory boards.