As a public-sector communicator you wear many hats. Oftentimes, you may find yourself leading an agency wide community engagement effort for a challenging project and program. Building trust and rapport with challenging internal and external audiences as well as making decisions in the face of adversity is crucial.

Join veteran community engagement and communications pro Kit Cole, founder of Kit Cole Consulting, as she shares key tips for leading effective, strategic community engagement efforts.

Key Takeaways:

• The two things to always do before you start community engagement
• The critical difference between being a PIO and doing community engagement
• Why being an amazing PIO doesn’t automatically translate to being amazing at community engagement
• How to shift gears and get great at community engagement fast (while still being a great PIO)

Presenter

Recorded: January 19, 2023

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BIO

Kit Cole founded Kit Cole Consulting, LLC, in 2015 after she worked for more than a decade in the private sector for Fortune 200 companies, including Southern California Edison and Waste Management. Bringing a strong background in public service from her time in Sacramento, working in the Legislature and the Executive Branch (California Environmental Protection Agency – CalEPA), Kit specializes in providing public outreach and stakeholder engagement services, government relations, and communications services for companies with large infrastructure projects.

Kit is a nationally recognized authority on engaging community stakeholders near large infrastructure projects, including ports, high-powered transmission lines, mines, gold exploration and hazardous waste landfills.  She is also the CEO and Co-founder of TheP2Club, an online community of Public Participation (P2) professionals who meet weekly (Thursdays at noon) to share best public participation and community outreach practices and develop themselves, both personally and professionally.