There’s a version of communications work that’s about spin, shaping a story to protect the powerful. That’s never been the work I wanted.
The work I’ve done has been about giving voice to people who already have a story worth telling and making sure the right people hear it.
Leading Communications for Hawaii’s Public Workforce
For years, I’ve served as the communications director for one of Hawaii’s largest labor organizations, representing 13,000 public employees: teachers, first responders, clerks, custodians, the people who keep this state running. My job is to translate complex policy into plain language, to build campaigns that move people, and to make sure that when those workers need their message heard: in the legislature, in the press, at the bargaining table, it lands.
That’s not public relations in the abstract. That’s communications with real stakes. And I love every minute of it.
The iHeartMedia Chapter
Before the advocacy work, I was inside one of the largest media companies in the country. iHeartMedia gave me a ground-floor view of how media operates at scale — how brands are built, how audiences are built, how messages move across platforms. I took that framework into everything I did next.
What communications strategy actually means
A lot of people conflate communications with marketing or PR. They’re related, but they’re not the same thing. Strategy means knowing which story to tell, to whom, through which channel, and when to be quiet. It means building credibility over time, not just generating noise. It means your message survives contact with a skeptical audience.
That’s what I’ve been doing for 25 years in broadcasting, advocacy, event production, and the work I do today.
If your organization needs someone who can shape its message, train its spokespeople, or build a communications plan from the ground up,