Brittany Wise launches higher ed strategic comms firm, partners with Bascom Communications Group

Brittany Wise is launching B.Wise Communications and Strategic Advising to help universities and other public-impact organizations advance strategic goals, protect institutional reputation and demonstrate value. Wise, a veteran higher education communications professional, is partnering with Bascom Communications Group to combine system-level, flagship-university, and public-affairs expertise.

Wise has 15 years of higher education experience, including leadership roles with the Florida Board of Governors and the University of Florida. She is the only professional in the state who has led communications strategy for both the State University System and at the institution level, including the state’s flagship university. Her experience will offer clients a full range of communications and marketing services while allowing Bascom Communications Group, led by veteran strategic and crisis communications expert Sarah Bascom, to expand its footprint in the higher education sector.

“We are excited to form this new partnership and expand our scope of services with Brittany and B.Wise Communications and Strategic Advising,” Bascom said. “Brittany’s tenure in the strategic communications higher education space is unmatched, and our team is proud to add our brand and unrivaled level of expertise to this joint endeavor. Strategic higher education communications is a specialized niche, with many internal and external audiences, and we are ready to help institutions in Florida and across the country succeed in this evolving landscape.”

In addition to the new firm, Wise is also launching The Wise Higher Education Council to provide university Boards, Presidents and senior leadership with confidential access to a national roster of expert higher education advisors, such as current and former Trustees, university Presidents, chief academic and financial officers, communications leaders and government affairs executives.

The Council will offer experience-based guidance and a forum to test ideas, assess risks, and navigate consequential decisions as the higher education sector undergoes rapid change amid an evolving population.

“Higher education leadership is inherently complex, with institutions expected to engage audiences ranging from students and faculty to policymakers, alumni, donors, industry and research partners, and the broader public,” Wise said. “My work is focused on helping institutions navigate that complexity with clarity, credibility and strategic purpose.”

The partnership between Wise and Bascom Communications Group is already attracting praise.

“I’ve known Brittany and Sarah for many years, and together they form a powerful partnership combining institutional and system-level insight with deep experience in Tallahassee and public affairs,” said Marshall Criser III, President of Piedmont University and former Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. “In today’s changing higher education landscape, it is hard to think of a pair better equipped to help institutions succeed.”

Likewise, Mark Kaplan, the former vice president for Government and Community Relations at the University of Florida, said Wise and Bascom will offer “unmatched guidance on protecting and enhancing” university reputations in what he describes as a “rapidly evolving environment.”

“Their partnership unites two trusted voices who know the policy landscape and the mission of higher education,” Kaplan said.

B.Wise Communications and Strategic Advising will offer communications planning; state and national media strategy and support; executive speechwriting and public engagement; research visibility and public value communications; issues and crisis management; artificial intelligence communications and stakeholder messaging; and confidential, practical guidance from The Wise Higher Education Council.

While expanding its footprint to the higher education space, Bascom Communications Group will continue to offer its existing slate of services, including strategic and crisis communications, as well as award-winning messaging and public relations plans for trade associations, coalitions and corporations, candidates, referendum campaigns and issue advocacy campaigns.