Patricia Duff

Founder of The Common Good, Activist, Philanthropist

Patricia Duff has worked in politics, as a consultant in Washington D.C. for two of the top political strategy firms, and in New York and Los Angeles as a political organizer and as an activist, for decades. Her work has spanned the entertainment and political worlds, from local civic and community action to the national arena. Whether participating as a respected activist or, earlier in her career as vice president of two of the country’s leading political strategy and consulting firms in Washington, D.C., Squier-Eskew Communications and Patrick Caddell & Associates, Duff has lent her expertise to dozens of political races, including Mayoral, Gubernatorial and Senate campaigns across the country, as well as to several Presidential election efforts.

Patricia Duff founded and spearheads The Common Good, a nonprofit, nonpartisan network that encourages through its programs and initiatives greater civic participation, informed understanding of critical national issues, a vigorous free press, greater tolerance, good governance and accountability, and working across party lines. The group meets regularly with top national leaders and experts on headline topics, including Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Vice Presidents Dick Cheney and Al Gore, top Senate and House leaders such as Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi, top Cabinet officers John Kerry, Henry Kissinger, Chuck Hagel, Zbigniew Brzeziński, Peter Peterson, top Governors such as Jay Inslee and Terry McAuliffe, world renowned economists Paul Krugman, Kenneth Rogoff, Alan Blinder, Nouriel Roubini, Mohamed El-Erian, activists Mark Ruffalo, Bobby Kennedy, Jr., Gloria Steinem, David Hogg, Ruth Gruber, Daniel Ellsberg, Ai Weiwei, top Mayors like Mike Bloomberg and Cory Booker, top business leaders such as Ray Dalio, Bernard Schwartz and Alan Schwartz, top journalists and public intellectuals such as Fareed Zakaria, Jon Meacham, Tom Brokaw, Carl Bernstein, Bill Kristol, Bret Stephens, David Frum, John Mickelthwait, Sir Harry Evans, Lesley Stahl, and Katrina Vanden Heuvel, top political strategists such as Kellyanne Conway, Ken Mehlman, Paul Begala, Doug Schoen, Robert Shrum, Matthew Dowd, Steve Bannon, Ed Rollins and many, many others.
Over the years Patricia Duff has played an active role in several of the nation’s prominent organizations and political campaigns. Duff served as Special Assistant to the Chief Counsel and Public Information Officer for the Congressional investigative committee of the US House of Representatives which re-examined the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, produced a radio show for a national political commentator John McLaughlin, produced a feature film, served as Associate Producer of the Democratic Convention, and spearheaded women’s outreach for political campaign efforts such as WomenVote and charitable groups. She has made appearances on politics and issues on CNN, ABC, Fox and other programs.

Duff took on the issue of judicial reform in New York, made new law in New York and garnered numerous press reports and editorials for greater integrity and sensitivity of the courts to family issues.

Duff founded and chaired Show Coalition, the precursor to The Common Good. This entertainment industry organization helped fuse Washington politics and the Hollywood community by informing and involving its members in many critically important political issues. While leading Show Coalition, Duff also became a tireless advocate for Colors United/Living Literature, which school programs served at-risk teens from Watts/South Central Los Angeles to Venice. The group was established to encourage literacy and good citizenship in youngsters by exposure to the written works of great leaders, thinkers and authors. A documentary about Colors United, “Colors Straight Up,” was nominated for an Academy Award in 1998.

Duff is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and she has served on Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service Board of Advisors for more than 20 years. President Clinton awarded Duff a Presidential Commission to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board. She was appointed by Republican Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan to serve as Commissioner for the Los Angeles Commission for Women and she chaired a Commission on Teen Pregnancy under Governor Mario Cuomo. She has served on several other boards including Save the Children, National Public Radio, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Women in Film, the Hamptons International Film Festival and American Ballet Theatre.

Duff’s achievements have been frequently recognized. She was cited as a “Rising Star” by the Los Angeles Times; as one of Esquire magazine’s “Women We Love” for her political work; received the “Woman of Vision” from Women in Film; the “Golden Bear” award from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party; “Democrat of the Year” award by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, among other recognitions.
Born in California, Duff moved to Europe as a child, and was educated in Germany and Belgium. She graduated from the International School of Brussels and returned to the United States for college, attending Barnard College and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, earning a degree in International Economics. She has one child, Caleigh.
“Patricia Duff was the most high profile entertainment industry-related female political figure in Los Angeles… She quickly established herself as an independent and forceful individual in the forums she participated in.”
 David Patrick Columbia, Quest Magazine
Cover Story, “Women We Love,” “Political Hotshot – Patricia Duff” – “As a mogul’s wife, she could just as easily take lunch at Le Dome and perfect her workout. Instead, she hot-wires L.A. to Washington, driving the entertainment community to support the homeless, the hungry, and the environment. If Hollywood has a conscience, she’s it.”
 Esquire Magazine

Patricia Duff

Founder of The Common Good, Activist, Philanthropist