Washington, D.C.

Immediately after graduation from college, Duff first worked on the House Select Committee on Assassinations as special assistant to the chief counsel, senior researcher, and public information officer.

Duff then worked with former presidential speech writer John McLaughlin to produce his political talk radio show. She left to work for the re-election campaign of President Jimmy Carter at the Democratic National Committee and with presidential pollster Pat Caddell.

Following her work on that campaign, she was made a vice president of Caddell's polling firm and worked on political statewide campaigns and corporate marketing campaigns until she was hired by the Squier-Eskew consulting firm.

Los Angeles

After working on several senate and gubernatorial campaigns, Duff moved in 1984 to Los Angeles to work with the Gary Hart presidential campaign. Duff was an activist in Democratic Party politics and in a number of causes.

Entertainment industry

In the late 1980s, Duff started an entertainment industry-related non-partisan political organization called Show Coalition, which became an element in the nexus between Washington politics and Hollywood and the precursor to The Common Good.

Not-for-profit sector

Duff founded a non-profit, non-partisan organization, The Common Good, in New York in 2007. The organization hosts events to encourage greater citizen participation in civic life and the political process.