Responsibilities

• Lead all press conferences and media events.
• Provide strategic communications support to CEA leadership through media training, message discipline, and public speaking coaching.
• Oversees crisis communications, planning, and rapid response for CEA and local affiliates.
• Oversee media monitoring to track coverage, identify stories to elevate to members, and inform proactive communications and strategic response efforts.
• Manage CEA’s relationship with third party PR firms including coordinating PR support, ad buys, and placements.
• Develops and lead proactive strategies to advance CEA’s brand, mission, policy positions, and reputation.
• Develop and manage relationships with media; serve as first point of contact for media inquiries.
• Write press advisories/releases, Op-eds, LTEs; respond to inquiries from media and local affiliates with urgency.
• Collaborate with CEA leadership to write conference speeches, talk points, publication of membership letters, and conduct interview prep.
• Collaborate with Government Relations, to develop legislative and electoral communications strategies including meeting with reporters prior to legislative session, coordinating committee testimony and messaging, work with members on lobby day communications, craft relevant talking points and collateral materials for legislative priorities and develop strategies to support letters to the editor from members and leaders.
• Collaborate with the Communications team and CEA leadership to develop and implement CEA’s strategic communication plan and annual editorial calendar.
• Collaborate with the Communications team on comprehensive messaging guides and narrative frameworks, including core messaging, talking points, FAQs, and toolkits, that ensure consistent, aligned communication of CEA priorities and values across all departments, affiliates, publications, and public platforms.
• Support and contribute to the creation of content for all CEA publications, including but not limited to the CEA Journal, emails, digital newsletters, one-pagers, reports, website content, and public facing materials ensuring consistent messaging and voice.
• Provide editorial support for major publications that include The CEA Journal, State of Education Report, and the Delegate Assembly Report, ensuring consistency and alignment with CEA’s messaging and voice.
• Manages the State of Education Report and collaborates with other departments to gather content.
• Collaborate with the Communications team on internal reports, such as Strategic Plan Reports and Board Reports.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with local affiliate leaders and field staff to provide strategic communications support to strengthen local campaigns and organizing efforts.
• Partner with local affiliates to align messaging and strengthen member engagement across locals and units.
• Develop and implement strategies that equip members to serve as trained and confident public ambassadors for CEA in their communities and in the media, including building and sustaining a statewide network of trained member speakers and storytellers.
• Develop and implement plans to collect member stories for CEA priorities, values, policy positions, and CEA activities and programs