Let’s all do our part…

“So much of what we take for  granted as a nation is at risk – our leadership in the world, our strong economy that supports our middle class, and our willingness to work together to solve our problems.  We need our democracy working better too.

With The Common Good, we’ve been advocating for reasoned debate, demanding reliable information from the media and our leaders, greater collaboration by  our elected representatives, and greater participation of all our citizens.

We can each start small and still have a large impact – with every one of us making a difference.” 

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Patricia Duff has spent most of her professional career in politics, working 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.

Duff spearheads The Common Good, a non-profit, non-partisan network that encourages political participation and increased understanding of critical national issues across party lines. The group meets regularly with national leaders and experts on headline topics.

Among TCG’s speakers: President Bill Clinton, Vice Presidents Dick Cheney and Al Gore, Governors Ed Rendell, Tim Kaine, Christine Todd Whitman, Bill Richardson, Tom Vilsack, and Kathleen Sibelius; Republican  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senators Amy Klobuchar,  Mark Warner, Claire McCaskill, Maria Cantwell and Alan Simpson, Chuck Hagel; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Barney Frank, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski,  former Secretary of Commerce Peter Peterson, world renown economists Alan Blinder, Nouriel Roubini and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman, activists Mark Ruffalo and environmentalist Bobby Kennedy, Jr., New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Mayor Cory Booker, New York District Attorney Cy Vance, Arianna Huffington and Jon Meacham, political strategists Ken Mehlman, Paul Begala, Robert Shrum, Matthew Dowd, Ed Rollins, and Kelly Ann Conway; Katrina Vanden Heuvel of the Nation, authors Carl Bernstein, Ken Auletta, Tim Weiner and Michael Hirsh, Col. Jack Jacobs and Colin Kahl on Iran, screenings with discussions, ie., Gloria in her Own Words with Gloria Steinem, Restrepo with Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington; Ahead of Time with documentary subject Ruth Gruber; Desert Flower with star Liya Kebede; Client 9 with filmmaker Alex Gibney, Daniel Ellsberg and the film The Most Dangerous Man in America, Ethel with filmmaker Rory Kennedy and activist Kerry Kennedy, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry with director Alison Klayman, just to name a few of their many and varied events.

Patricia Duff has played an active role in several of the nation’s prominent organizations and political campaigns, spanning 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, Ms. 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.

Ms Duff served as Special Assistant to the Chief Counsel and Public Information Officer for a 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 1996) and charitable groups.

Duff has also hosted a political talk show, Duff Talk, which aired on the groundbreaking PlumTV network in resort markets throughout the United States. Guests included Senator Bob Kerrey, Rev. Al Sharpton, Al Franken, historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., publisher Mortimer Zuckerman, Tucker Carlson, Monica Crowley, Ron Silver, among others. The informal, sleeves-rolled up atmosphere of the show invited a fresh approach to hot button political discussion. She has also made appearances on politics and issues on CNN, ABC, Fox and other programs.

Ms Duff took on the issue of judicial reform in New York.  Working with District Attorney Joe Hynes of Brooklyn, representatives from New York bar associations, the New York Civil Liberties Union, Council for Economic Development, Fund for the Modern Courts and several other public interest groups, Ms. Duff was involved in an effort to reform the judicial selection process in New York State.  She also worked to reform  the matrimonial courts, creating public pressure which resulted in the Matrimonial Reform Commission for New York, several reforms, made new law in New York and garnered numerous press reports and editorials for greater integrity and sensitivity of the courts to family issues.

Ms 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, Ms 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 the Economic Club. She has served on Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service Board of Advisors for almost 20 years.  Ms Duff 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.  President Clinton awarded Ms Duff a Presidential Commission to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board.  She has served on several other boards including Save the Children, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Women in Film, the Hamptons International Film Festival and American Ballet Theatre.   Ms Duff’s achievements have been frequently recognized. She was cited as a “Rising Star” by the Los Angeles Times in 1986; one of Esquire magazine’s “Women We Love” for her political work, received the “Woman of Vision” award from Women in Film; a “Golden Bear” award from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party; “Democrat of the Year” award by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party; and the “Citizen’s Achievement Award” from New Democratic Dimensions in New York City.

Born in California, Ms. 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, earning a degree in International Economics from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.  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 Columbier, 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