Chief Communications Officer for the New York City Department of Transportation, the nation’s largest and most complex municipal transportation agency.
Who am I?
I am the son of a third-generation firefighter, the first in my family to go to college, and a working class kid from Appalachian Ohio.
Why does this matter? Where I came from has everything to do with who I am. Growing up in a region ravaged by economic inequality and in a family that taught me the importance of public service, I knew from a young age that I wanted to do purposeful work to advance the cause of social and economic justice.
This upbringing also forged within me the gritty, scrappy, and determined spirit that I bring to everything I do.
What am I proud of?
Leading the Most Accomplished Press Office in NYC Government
The NYC Department of Transportation has had three straight record years of earned media, leading all city agencies.
Making roughly 400 announcements over the past three years, I helped reposition the NYC DOT Press Office from one with a defensive posture to one that proactively communicates information to the public and advances the mission of the agency.
In an era of deep cynicism about government, it is more important than ever for public sector communicators to build a connection with the people we serve. At times, politics obscures the profound work of dedicated public servants, and I am honored to play a role in shining a spotlight on this work and helping New Yorkers access critical information and services.
Wait, City Government Can Be Funny?
Social media is not for 280 character press releases.
While the legacy media remains central to effective communications, social media can build a deeper connection with audiences, effectively tell a story, and even have a wider reach. The best part? It is all unfiltered.
Social media that is fun, authentic, and a tad bit irreverent can build an audience and – gasp – even get people excited to follow government accounts.
I am proud that the NYC Department of Transportation has successfully built a social media presence that has done just that – with record growth on Instagram that has outpaced all other City agencies.
Sometimes a worker dancing in a crosswalk brings you millions of views, and sometimes ribbing the creator of The Wire drives new engagement and raises awareness about speeding.
Sign Drops are the New Sneaker Drops
The NYC Department of Transportation’s Sign Shop, which makes over 70,000 street signs every year, has for many years sold street signs to the public – but nobody knew. While I wanted to lead a full-scale communications strategy to raise awareness and boost sales, it was clear that limited staff capacity could only sustain a certain level of additional sales.
In comes the Sign Drop. To increase sales while avoiding a deluge of orders we could not fulfill – we landed on a strategy to sell limited edition batches of fun and iconic signs. So-called Sneaker Drops have long capitalized on false scarcity and slick marketing to move products and create buzz for major players in the industry like Jordan Brands. We developed a similar model that increased sales, generated goodwill PR for NYC DOT, and drove engagement on social media.
By announcing drops on social, the sales are often amplified by influencers and help NYC DOT reach new audiences.
What are a few of my favorite stories I have told?
NY Times: The Man Who Turns Back New York City’s Clocks, Hand by Hand
The New York Times ran a feature on the City of New York’s Clock Master Marvin Schneider, an employee at the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services. As a less public-facing department, I had to find creative ways to highlight the agency’s work, often by finding the unique people and functions of city government that few New Yorkers get to see first hand.
Read the full story.
CBS New York: 70 Years of History in One Car
One 70 year old city vehicle has been used in ticker tape parades dating back to the 1950s. New York City’s 1952 Chrysler Imperial Parade Phaeton was one of just three that were made and ushered the likes of John Glenn, Ben Hogan, Lyndon Johnson, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Joe DiMaggio, and countless other dignitaries through Broadway’s famed Canyon of Heroes.
I placed several stories on this vehicle over the years, but I particularly enjoyed this piece for CBS New York because of reporter Steve Overmyer’s obvious passion for classic cars. The New York Times also ran a terrific feature.
NY Times: Nail Clippers, a Parking Meter and a River Barge: This Is N.Y.C.’s Yard Sale
What happens to the things city government buys when they are no longer needed? This feature gives a fun, behind-the-scenes look at the unusual world of the City of New York’s surplus auctions.
As the headlines says, you can buy everything from nail clippers, to parking meters, to a river barge in New York City’s municipal yard sale.
Oh, and sometimes you can even buy a Staten Island Ferry. Yes, that Staten Island Ferry.
Recapturing the Narrative on Vision Zero
New York City’s Vision Zero initiative has been a game changer. By focusing on safer street design, public education, and enhanced traffic enforcement, Vision Zero has saved lives and reduced traffic deaths to historic lows.
But, a few short years ago you would not have known it. Harmful media narratives took hold, leading many New Yorkers to wonder: if my streets are changing with all of these new bike lanes and bus lanes but they are not getting safer, what’s the point?
By aggressively and proactively telling the story of Vision Zero’s progress – the media narrative has shifted and it is helping build public support for street redesigns and other proven measures to make our streets safer.
The New York Post, which is not always hospitable to NYC DOT’s street redesigns, even covered the story.
A Powerful New Traffic Safety Campaign
Every day, we all face information overload — and that makes it harder than ever for communications professionals to break through the noise.
When the New York City Department of Transportation set out to launch a new traffic safety campaign, I knew it had to feel different from a standard PSA. It needed to elicit real emotion — to humanize traffic safety and show that dangerous driving is a choice that can result in life-altering consequences.
In November 2025, we launched Rewind, a powerful new campaign that accomplishes that goal while delivering a simple message: One Choice Can Change Everything. You Can’t Rewind a Crash.
NY1 previewed the new ad and highlighted the success of the city’s Vision Zero initiative to curb traffic deaths and injuries.
Governing: How New York Made Big Diversity Gains in Transportation Contracts
How do you decide where to pitch a story? Start with the goal.
While much of the earned media we seek for NYC DOT is to reach a broad audience of New Yorkers, other times the goals are more specific. NYC DOT has had remarkable success expanding its utilization of minority and women-owned contractors, growing from 11% utilization to 32% in only three years. This was a remarkable achievement in government administration.
Positioning the agency as a leader in this space required targeting audiences most interested in public administration. That is why I worked with Governing to tell this important story.