Jeff Ortega Email & Phone Number

Columbus, Oh, Us

Indianapolis, In, Us

As the top government-affairs official for VS Engineering in Ohio and Kentucky, I build relationships with key Ohio Kentucky local government officials including Mayors, City Managers, City Council Members, Judge Executives and top administration officials, County officials including County Engineers and state officials with the goal of growing the VS portfolio of work in the public sector, primarily.I also build relationships with transportation and infrastructure agencies including Ohio Department of Transportation as well as water and sewer agencies.Additional duties include:* Engaging, educating and providing regular updates to state and local agencies on matters relevant to VS Engineering.* Representing VS Engineering while serving on community and industry boards and committees.* Participating in civic and community organizations whose mission aligns with VS Engineering.* Managing Ohio state, local and federal political affairs on behalf of VS.* Contributing to marketing communications and the preparation of Letters of Interest; Requests for Proposals and Statements of Qualifications and other marketing communications collateral and campaigns.Firm added significant municipal clients for transportation, bridge- and traffic related work after I had been on staff for a short time.VS Engineering (www.vsengineering.com) is a family-owned civil engineering consulting firm with offices in Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, Ky., and throughout Indiana. The firm is headquartered in Indianapolis.

Multi-client firm providing government affairs and related consulting services to clients in Washington, DC, and in Ohio. I advise clients on public policy and procurement and other matters.Clients include those in the higher education, environmental and consulting spaces. I have also provided government business development advice and services to all manner of businesses; analyzed complex Ohio tax-related legislation and developments; written about and analyzed developments in state government; appeared as an expert political analyst on television news programs; served as public affairs counsel for a Washington, DC-based advocacy organization and advised a Columbus-based law firm and political candidates on public relations matters.

Columbus, Oh, Us

I was a government affairs and public relations leader in Columbus city government in the administration of Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. I served in these capacities:• Assistant Director, Sustainable Columbus, Department of Public Utilities (October 2018 to November 2021)• Assistant Director, Department of Public Service (February 2016 to October 2018)• Deputy Director and Interim Director, Communications, Columbus City Council (March 2015 to February 2016)In the Department of Public Utilities I set up, led and managed Sustainable Columbus, the city organization which is embedding sustainability planning throughout city government.In the Department of Public Service I led the communications team and served as the chief liaison with Office of the Mayor and with the City Council, managing relationships between the department, City Council members and other elected officials.At City Council I was the top speechwriter for the City Council President and advised Members on communications matters.Achievements:• From 2016-2017, I served as the first Director of Communications for Smart Columbus, the multi-million dollar public-private partnership that used technology to enhance transportation and mobility in Columbus. I oversaw communications and community engagement and assisted with public policy and government affairs efforts.• Planned and executed news conferences for the Mayor, the Director of Public Service and other officials on issues ranging from the city’s snow removal plans to the unveiling of neighborhood initiatives to combat speeding to planned roadway improvements that were a part of the city’s 2016 $1 Billion Capital Improvements Budget approved by City Council.• Led briefings and other activities for Members of the Columbus City Council and the public to educate them on the workings of the Department of Public Service.

I was the top counselor to the OACC President and Board of Trustees with a communications, government- and corporate-affairs portfolio.I analyzed state and federal legislation for impact on community colleges; negotiated bills and amendments with state lawmakers, their staff and others; led grassroots member engagement on state & federal government matters and was the chief media spokesman for Ohio's community college system.Achievements:• Helped increase state funding for community colleges by $19.1 million and obtained state policy changes in two-year, $62 billion state budget and related legislation; helped develop and lobby for the community colleges portion of two capital-improvements bills that increased sector funding by more than $18 million over the last two cycles; assisted colleges in obtaining gubernatorial appointments to their boards of trustees; organized meetings with Ohio's U.S. senators and other federal officials for the OACC's presidents and trustees on Capitol Hill.• Raised the profile of the OACC by developing strong, proactive relationships with the news media, including opinion leaders around Ohio, to position the organization as the trusted source of information on career education and workforce development. I handled national, regional and local media inquiries - including TV and radio appearances and newspaper interviews - on higher education funding, on efforts to help more students succeed in college and on many other topics.• Led campaign to restore state financial aid to public two-year students that resulted in more than 40 news stories, seven newspaper editorial endorsements, the support of dozens of lawmakers and groups and changes to the law. The FY16-17 state budget partially restored this resource for public two-year students.

I led the Mid-Ohio Division's earned media efforts, identifying and developing opportunities to position and promote Time Warner Cable's products, services and community-relations projects.I strengthened relationships with the news media throughout the region -- with an emphasis on business and financial reporters and editors -- and wrote communications plans, speeches, talking points, news releases and other external communications materials. I also served as a company spokesman with the media and as a trusted communications counselor and strategist to company leaders.I also assisted the government affairs team with communications matters, promoted the Time Warner Cable Political Action Committee internally and attended TWCPAC events for elected officials.Achievements:• Served as the lead local media spokesman on several high-profile issues such as service continuation negotiations between the company and ESPN and between the company and Sinclair Broadcasting (WSYX-TV, Columbus). • Spearheaded the redesign of the employee newsletter that boosted readership by 40 percent in one year and turned the publication into an industry award winner. Developed and launched internal communications program to educate division employees on customer-impacting issues. Used an extensive network of contacts to help secure nearly $50,000 in new business for Time Warner Cable Media, the company's advertising arm.Time Warner Cable Inc. was the nation's second-largest provider of video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States, connecting more than 15 million customers to entertainment, information and each other. The company was purchased by Charter Communications.

I worked with the Secretary of State to craft and manage the message. I led the high-profile Media Services Section and oversaw relations between the office and the news media. The Media Services Section works with the news media to facilitate coverage of the state's top elections officer and the office. The section also writes news releases and other external communications materials. The Media Services Section is one of the busiest media relations shops in state government, handling more than 1,300 media inquiries a year on average.Achievements:• Served as the chief press spokesman for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and the office during the successful administration of the highly-watched 2008 presidential election in Ohio, which saw the second-highest turnout in raw numbers of voters in state history.• Served as the top counselor to the Secretary of State, a statewide elected official, on all media matters including crisis communications, served as the principal point of contact for national and regional reporters and led outreach with opinion leaders. Organized editorial board meetings with every major newspaper in Ohio as well as with national news organizations such as The Washington Post and The New York Times.• Hired, successfully supervised and mentored a deputy press secretary.

I was the chief political correspondent for Dix Newspapers, which owned seven daily newspapers in Ohio and Kentucky, and led a two-person office that covered state government and the appellate and federal courts for the chain as well as for The Youngstown Vindicator. Coverage areas included the governor's office, state executive agencies, the Ohio Legislature and the Supreme Court of Ohio.Achievements:• Wrote significant stories about the impact of the state budget locally, especially in the areas of public schools, higher education, agriculture, prisons and taxes. Wrote stories about issues and fights in the legislature on issues ranging from crime and safety to civil rights to education. • Covered the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections in Ohio and the 2002 and 2006 gubernatorial and statewide elections. • Reporting directly to the publishers, wrote a regular Sunday op-ed column on politics and government that was syndicated throughout the Dix chain. • Appeared regularly as an expert political analyst on two weekly public affairs television programs. Also was interviewed regularly on the radio as an expert political analyst.• Served on the executive board of the Ohio Legislative Correspondents Association. Also a leader in the national Association of Capital Reporters and Editors, serving as a national conference co-chair as well as the newsletter committee chair.Newspapers in the Dix chain: The Alliance Review; The Ashland Times-Gazette; The Cambridge Daily Jeffersonian; The Defiance Crescent-News; The Kent-Ravenna Record-Courier, The Wooster Daily Record and The Frankfort (Ky.) State Journal.Gatehouse Media has purchased the properties.

I landed big stories and wrote compelling work at one of Ohio's major daily newspapers. I wrote news and feature stories on the metro desk for a newspaper with daily circulation of more than 230,000 copies. I did everything from covering cops and robbers to writing about economic development, suburban city halls and government and covering schools and education.

Communications And Political Science

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Political Science