I’m not in the witness protection program; my parents just didn’t think it through.

I have decades of communications experience, mostly working with nonprofits on planning, branding, messaging, media relations, and other communications strategies.

Most recently I’ve been interested in how communications leaders build and manage strong-performing, fun-loving, and equity-minded teams (and correctly use hyphens).

Want more?

Okay, 2016-2024 I was Director of Communications at The James Irvine Foundation, a private philanthropy focused on expanding opportunity for the people of California. I joined during dramatic shifts in strategy and operations, providing the opportunity to rebuild the Communications team and help the organization communicate, internally and externally, its changes, new initiatives and ways of working. Oh, and external developments were a doozy and required navigation.

Before Irvine, I led communications at Californians for Safety and Justice, a new (back then) nonprofit that wanted to reframe the public safety debate to better support individuals and communities who experience crime and to better spend public dollars for long-term health and safety. It was an honor to develop the communications function there and see the organization’s impact on policy and narratives about who survivors of crime are and what they actually want from the justice system.

I also spent 10+ years at Fenton, working with nonprofits and campaigns. I’m particularly proud of helping the Polly Klaas Foundation start and run an effective campaign to get Amber Alerts in California and then in the rest of the United States.

Before that was some for-profit PR, marketing, and advertising, including the resume blip that always gets questions: my short stint at The Onion. Yes, it was fun, and, no, I didn’t write ___ article that you love.

Oh, and I live in Oakland with a hilarious wife, two sweet pit bulls, and three pigeons. It’s a hoot.