Chris Wood, Ph.D.
Chris Wood, Ph.D., joined his father’s PR firm – Jim Wood & Associates (JWA) – as an associate fresh out of grad school in 1991. His role in the firm progressed to Vice President of Account Services before taking over as President in 1999. Upon the acquisition of controlling interest in the firm from his father and brother in 2006, Chris added the responsibilities of principal owner to his management duties.
Chris Wood covers the annual Kids Fishing Derby hosted by the Macon Water Authority (MWA) at Javors Lucas Lake. The MWA has been a long standing account of JWA.
Chris began working in his family’s newspaper business early in life, beginning as a sports writer and correspondent with the Clayton News Daily while he was in high school and college. He received his bachelor's degree in Journalism (a publication management major) from the Grady College at the University of Georgia and his master's degree in Mass Communication from the University of Alabama. In between degree programs, he served as managing editor of the Airport Newspaper in Houston, Texas, a former property of his family’s Wood Publications, Inc. Chris remains involved in consulting and management for Wood Publications, currently serving as an associate publisher of DFW People.
Chris returned to UGA to pursue his doctorate, while continuing to work full-time at JWA, and graduated in 2006 with his Ph.D. During his time in grad school at Georgia, he obtained an assistantship in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations within The Grady College, which has been ranked as high as fourth in the nation among graduate school public relations programs.
Currently, he continues to manage JWA, while teaching as a part-time instructor when needed at UGA. His research interests include political communication, applications of new technology, public relations management strategies, and the effectiveness of successful public communications campaigns for public utilities and local governments, which was the emphasis of his dissertation. He has published a handful of journal articles and conference papers, the most recent in the area of fan-based Internet sports communities and intercollegiate athletics.
While on staff at the University of Georgia, Chris was selected as a William Ray Scholar and named one of the University's most "outstanding graduate teaching assistants." He currently sits on the Board of Trust (advisory board) for The Grady College at UGA.
Chris is the author of the book: "Clayton County, Reflections of a Crescent Jewel," published by Longstreet Press and currently distributed by JWA. He is also a member of the Georgia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), as well as a corporate member, through JWA, of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP), where he serves on the public education committee. Academically, Dr. Wood is an associate member (the category for practitioners rather than educators) of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), as well as a member of the International Communication Association (ICA).
