As the Director of Communications, I administered all aspects of communications related to the Office of the State Comptroller, an independently elected statewide office that monitors the state budget and administers state employee and retiree health care and other essential benefits on behalf of more than 200,000 people; decoded complex policy to facilitate broad public engagement; drafted speeches, press releases, opinion columns and legislative testimony; coordinated press conferences, public appearances and managed social and digital media strategies across multiple platforms; maintained strong relationships with state and national media outlets; served on executive team that develops public policy strategies, including public health care, financial and economic policy and open government. I have created and sustained communications strategies for the state comptroller since his first day in elected office that established him as a “champion of open government” and a reliable go-to voice for the media on matters including fiscal responsibility, retirement security, health care policy, LGBTQIA+ rights and equality, foster care awareness and advocacy for families and children with special needs; crafted communications strategies with a legislative team that championed policies to address a state and national retirement security crisis.

While Policy and Communications Advisory, I served as senior advisor to former state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal during the years leading up to and throughout his successful race to become Connecticut's U.S. Senator; created and implemented policy and communications strategies that distinguished him as one of the most popular public officials in Connecticut's history and a champion for consumer and environmental rights; managed daily flow of media inquiries and interviews, press conferences and consistent appearances on state and national media outlets, including CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, Good Morning America and The Today Show; routinely secured interviews with The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other national print publications; drafted talking points, briefings and helped construct legislative testimony; coordinated media and communications strategies for high-profile legal cases and issues, including: National investigations and legal actions related to broker steering in the insurance industry, predatory lending schemes and tainted credit ratings that enabled financial meltdown. Those efforts resulted in restitution and reform across industries. A multi-state action against social networking sites resulted in agreements to better protect children from online predators. Numerous environmental and consumer actions gained national attention for fighting harmful carbon emissions and consumer utility costs.

As a journalist for the New Haven Register, I directed daily news reporting on a broad range of topics, including local and state government, criminal justice, courts, business and stories of human interest. Compelling stories included coverage of a high-profile court case concerning a police shooting of a young unarmed black teenager, as well as the pervasive presence of illegal massage parlors on main streets throughout the region.

While in my role for the New Britain Herald, I administered daily news coverage of local government, criminal justice, courts, business and topics of human interest.