Project Title:
Narrative Strategy & Civic Communications | City & County of San Francisco
The Context
Spanning a tenure across multiple departments within the City and County of San Francisco, I grew into a senior communications leadership role supporting executive alignment, strategic messaging, and public engagement across 172 agencies. This included work during a pivotal period of civic transformation, facilitating cross-department communication as San Francisco navigated infrastructure upgrades, expanded digital access, and transitioned between mayoral administrations. My work focused on helping government leaders communicate policy messages with clarity, empathy, and continuity while grounding outreach efforts in equity and accessibility for diverse city residents.
The Challenge
Within the City and County of San Francisco’s 172-agency structure, communications often prioritized volume over resonance, defaulting to excessive transparency that diluted message clarity. Strategic initiatives were frequently hindered by a risk-averse culture and competing priorities, resulting in a disconnect between public-facing efforts and internal alignment.
The real challenge wasn’t the volume of messaging—it was the absence of clear narrative ownership and cross-agency cohesion. Senior leaders needed support not just to communicate, but to lead with clarity, take informed risks, and build trust in a landscape where scrutiny often outweighed strategy.
The Approach
At the City and County of San Francisco, I served as a strategic partner to executive leadership, translating complex civic priorities into public-facing narratives that earned trust, aligned departments, and advanced policy. I equipped department heads and public officials with the tools to communicate purposefully, not just compliantly—developing messaging systems that balanced transparency with clarity and ensured information served both mission and audience.
Through cross-agency collaboration and leadership coaching, I introduced narrative frameworks that helped executives make confident, values-aligned decisions under pressure. Whether advising on mayoral transitions, citywide health initiatives like Black Infant Health, or major infrastructure rollouts, I focused on transforming public service messaging into public understanding, centering strategy, empathy, and measurable civic impact.
The Impact
By positioning executive communication as a driver of public trust and operational clarity, my work helped shift how San Francisco’s leadership engaged with communities, coalitions, and crises. I played a key role in amplifying initiatives like the Black Infant Health Program—reshaping outreach to center culturally responsive messaging for historically underserved Black mothers—and the Trauma-Informed Systems of Care program, where our reframed internal narrative directly contributed to a 130% increase in interdepartmental process efficiency across public health and workforce teams.
I also led communications strategy around bridging the city’s technology divide, working with internal IT teams and external partners to launch scalable digital inclusion efforts during critical service transitions. From managing citywide transitions, such as the transition of mayoral leadership after Ed Lee, to advising on statements that uphold civic values in high-stakes environments, my work consistently reinforced San Francisco’s ability to lead with both transparency and precision. These efforts laid a foundation for more coordinated, human-centered public service communications at a time when public understanding was as critical as policy itself.