Avery Wagner is Communications Manager for the Public Service Pathways Program and Madison House, where she leads communications strategy, storytelling, and creative initiatives that connect students with opportunities to engage in public service. She brings more than seven years of experience in higher education communications at the University of Virginia, translating complex ideas and programs into clear, accessible, and compelling communications.

Before joining the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Outreach, Wagner served in communications and creative roles across UVA, most recently with the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, where her work spanned multimedia design, research communications, digital campaigns, and publications. Previously, she served in communications roles supporting UVA Facilities Management and the Office for Sustainability. Her career also includes nearly a decade in advertising, working across branding, design, copywriting, web development, and creative direction before bringing that multidisciplinary perspective to a public service mission. 

Wagner is particularly interested in the intersection of strategy, storytelling, and design, and in building communications systems that help complex organizations communicate with greater clarity and purpose. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Missouri, with an emphasis in Multicultural Studies, where she studied the intersection of visual culture, history, identity, and storytelling. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring art, music, film, local ecology, and the many ways creative exploration can help people see familiar ideas from a new perspective.