2026 Women Of Live: Teri Washington

Teri Washington
Oak View Group | Vice President, Communications

HER GUIDING PHILOSOPHY | “Lead with integrity, create with purpose, have some fun during the journey and be ready to PIVOT!”

Teri Washington’s experience includes high level communications roles at Events DC, the National Basketball Association and more. Like many in the entertainment industry, she was drawn to live entertainment from a young age, including taking in sporting events and concerts with her friends and father. She recalls that while attending Howard University, she often went to games and eventually discovered you could work behind the scenes.
“I enjoyed the energy and excitement of live events and knew that I had to be involved in some way,” says Washington, who joined Oak View Group (Pollstar’s parent company) in 2023.

“I met Ed Hill, then the sports information director at Howard, and he has served as a mentor throughout the years. I was a marketing major so he was the first to teach me the PR side of the business and kept pushing me to be my best self. He gave me many opportunities that most students wouldn’t have and it challenged me in ways that I still live by today. After Howard, I decided to go to Temple University for my master’s in sports administration to gain more experience – and I was off to the races.”

Those races at Oak View Group, which manages 400 venues and has had a steady pipeline of nine-figure venue projects under development, have been fast and furious, with the most major communications project surrounding the opening of the TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.

“This campaign culminated following a year of planning and execution – leading both the corporate and venue teams, integrating a PR agency in the latter stages and gaining the trust of a media market in Canada’s most populous region,” says Washington, who is based in D.C. “It is one of the most rewarding projects I have worked on in my career.”

“Storytelling defined this past year,” adds Washington, who credits former NBA Commissioner David Stern and senior communications advisor Brian McIntyre as instrumental in her career. “Since I joined the company just over two years ago, through focused strategy, consistent messaging, and collective efforts, we’ve significantly expanded awareness and sharpened our identity within the marketplace. And we’re just getting started.”