Main Responsibilities of a Chief of Communications at High-Speed Rail
As Chief of Strategic Communications for California High-Speed Rail, Melissa advises the CEO on all communications, managing both internal and external messaging including "press releases, fact sheets, social media, and Public Records Act requests". A significant portion of Melissa's role involves extensive community engagement, directly interacting with the public to understand their needs and concerns regarding the 500-mile infrastructure project.
Communication, Public Relations, Stakeholder Engagement, Executive Leadership, Project Management
Advizer Information
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Melissa Figueroa
Chief of Strategic Communications
California High-Speed Rail Authority
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
none
Creative Writing, Journalism
Government & Public Sector
Communication and Marketing
Transfer Student
Video Highlights
1. Melissa serves as the chief communications officer, directly advising the CEO on internal and external communications strategies.
2. A significant portion of her role involves community engagement and public outreach to ensure transparency and address public concerns regarding the high-speed rail project.
3. Her responsibilities encompass a wide range of communication tasks, including press releases, social media management, and responding to public records requests, showcasing the multifaceted nature of strategic communications in a large-scale infrastructure project.
Transcript
What are your main responsibilities within your current role?
In my current role, I serve as the Chief of Communications for High-Speed Rail. I am a direct report to the CEO, and his primary advisor and barometer for all things communications, both internal and external.
This includes all of our internal and external communications, talking points, press releases, fact sheets, social media, and managing requests from the Board of Directors and Public Records Act. I speak with a fair amount of reporters, but I also engage with the public at large much more.
We do a lot of stakeholder and community engagement to inform the public about our progress. We are tasked with creating a 500-mile-long infrastructure project in the state of California.
So much of our work involves community engagement, being out in the public and talking to everyday people about what they want on their trains, what they don't want, how their communities are being impacted, and how we can better communicate that story to them. It involves managing press, managing managers, and beyond.