Santa Ana, California, United States
I am an award-winning communications executive and former journalist with more than 26 years of experience leading strategic communications, community engagement, crisis communications, and public affairs in one of California’s largest urban school districts. As Chief Communications and Community Relations Officer for Santa Ana Unified School District, I lead comprehensive communications strategies that strengthen trust, increase engagement, and elevate student and community voices across a diverse educational community serving more than 35,000 students. In 2026, I was honored as the California School Communicator of the Year by the California School Public Relations Association (CalSPRA), recognizing innovation, leadership, and impact in public education communications. My work focuses on modernizing organizational communications through storytelling, artificial intelligence, digital engagement, media relations, and strategic community partnerships. I have helped pioneer the use of AI in school communications to create more effective, efficient, multilingual, and accessible engagement strategies for families and stakeholders. Before transitioning into executive leadership, I spent 17 years as a print journalist in Southern California, covering education, government, and communities. That foundation continues to shape my approach to transparent communication, relationship-building, and authentic storytelling. I am passionate about: • Strategic Communications • Executive Leadership • Artificial Intelligence & Communications Innovation • Crisis Communications • Community Engagement • Media Relations • Public Affairs • Organizational Storytelling • Education Leadership
I am an award-winning communications executive and former journalist with more than 20 years of experience leading strategic communications, community engagement, crisis communications, and public affairs in one of California’s largest urban school districts. As Chief Communications and Community Relations Officer for Santa Ana Unified School District, I lead comprehensive communications strategies that strengthen trust, increase engagement, and elevate student and community voices across a diverse educational community serving more than 35,000 students. In 2025, I was honored as the California School Communicator of the Year by the California School Public Relations Association (CalSPRA), recognizing innovation, leadership, and impact in public education communications. My work focuses on modernizing organizational communications through storytelling, artificial intelligence, digital engagement, media relations, and strategic community partnerships. I have helped pioneer the use of AI in school communications to create more effective, efficient, multilingual, and accessible engagement strategies for families and stakeholders. Before transitioning into executive leadership, I spent 17 years as a print journalist in Southern California, covering education, government, and communities. That foundation continues to shape my approach to transparent communication, relationship-building, and authentic storytelling. I am passionate about: • Strategic Communications • Executive Leadership • Artificial Intelligence & Communications Innovation • Crisis Communications • Community Engagement • Media Relations • Public Affairs • Organizational Storytelling • Education Leadership
I worked to implement communications and marketing strategies with the primary goal of enhancing community awareness of the agency and of all Orange County public schools. I operated the agency’s official social media accounts, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I wrote blog posts for the www.Newsroom.OCDE.us site. Additionally, I assisted with the distribution of internal communications; coordinated event planning, logistics and media support for agency conferences and events; served as an agency liaison for local and regional news media; and helped provide crisis communication and support as needed.
Research, investigate and report on statewide education issues and trends including the implementation of the Common Core, and the effort to increase the number of students ready for college and careers for EdSource, which works to engage Californians on key education challenges with the goal of enhancing learning success. At EdSource, I work to provide timely, useful and accurate information to key education stakeholders and the larger public.
Led the newspaper’s coverage of more than two dozen k-12 school districts comprising 500,000 students. Wrote news reports, features, and investigations relating to the federal No Child Left Behind Act, standardized test scores, school finances and national and local education trends for the Register’s front page and Metro section. Sample of coverage included: the annual ranking of Orange County’s 500 public schools; local attempts to overhaul one of the state’s most crowded and poorest performing campuses; and efforts to implement the new national education standards, the Common Core.