Policy Communications
The success of public policy hinges as much on narrative as it does on legislation. Policy change almost never happens in the language of policy; it requires translation into coherent and accessible stories, ideas, models, and materials that resonate with decision-makers. I’m passionate about rendering complex policy data or details into high-leverage communications assets.
With the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund—a public-private partnership of 40+ funders and 170+ nonprofit organizations—I edited and helped design a policy platform spanning immigration, health, housing, education, environmental justice, land use, and the digital divide. Beyond publication, I operationalized it through op-eds, social media campaigns, and talking points for funders, community leaders, and elected officials, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta. Similarly, I supported philanthropic collaborative California Funders for Boys and Men of Color with the development of multi-level policy publications, complemented with an earned media strategy that scored a feature in Inside Philanthropy.
Policy communications also often entails the communication of insights, based on policy research, analysis, and evaluation. I helped philanthropy Sierra Health Foundation’s executive leadership and staff craft, curate, and present narratives and insights across several impactful public-private partnerships—including the 2020 Census, California’s COVID-19 Community Outreach, and the Black Child Legacy Campaign—on platforms like the Stanford Social Innovation Review and to public decision-making bodies including the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, First 5 Sacramento Commission, and California’s Little Hoover Commission. My own academic training in public policy involved the development of multiple policy analyses, briefs, and bill proposals.
Examples
Op-ed for Asm. Joaquin Arambula
Policy messaging for Governor Gavin Newsom
Presentation on industry insights for Stanford Social Innovation Review
Mini-playbook on public engagement for City of Elk Grove
Writing & Editing
I believe any communications enterprise is only as strong as its writing—and writing is only as strong as the attention a reader gives it. While GenAI catalyzes new hurdles and possibilities to the world of writing, it still requires a practiced conductor to engender coherence, value, and inspiration for intended audiences.
For a decade, I’ve written and edited press releases, policy briefs and memos, research papers, essays, op-eds, feature stories, blogs, e-newsletters, books, and much, much more. Whether drafting one-off blog posts or facilitating content development of sweeping biennial reports, my writing approach demonstrates my core principles: brevity, clarity, beauty, efficiency, and user-centric design.
When I edited and coauthored books On Beauty and Faith, Towards Rest, and Fruit for publishing company Alabaster Co, I had the task of fashioning the voices of a dozen or so different writers into a unified, elegant, and coherent narrative. Similarly, ghostwriting op-eds for elected officials and public statements and speeches for executive leadership earned me proficiency in weaving unique voice, calculated priorities, and persuasive arguments into succinct, effective pieces. On my own time, I also write Dalit Americana, a Substack publication exploring caste, religion, public policy—including my graduate research—from my perspective as a Dalit-American.
Examples
Executive update affirming California budget decision to protect Family Urgent Response System
2023-24 Biennial Reports for Sierra Health Foundation and The Center
Alabaster Co books: On Beauty and Faith, Towards Rest, and Fruit
Narrative-driven annual reports for Servant Partners (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
AI-Powered Graphic & Web Design
In many years leading brand and content production at nonprofit Servant Partners, I developed fluency with graphic design tools like Canva and Adobe Illustrator—in particular, experimenting with and implementing GenAI technologies. I applied AI-powered graphic design across social media graphics, reports and documents, presentations, signage, and more; specifically, I used DALL-E and Midjourney to generate custom illustrations for print and digital editions of The Mural, a quarterly art magazine I published.
From wireframe development to site design, I have also helped niche businesses, nonprofit programs, and public programs imagine, design, and develop websites. For example, I helped design Community Responsive Wellness Program’s website to enable an intake flow for therapy clients and am currently redesigning a website for Black Child Legacy Campaign to feature comprehensive program overviews, resources, reports, and interactive pathways for engaging with program hubs.
Examples
End-to-end website redesign for Sacramento County’s Black Child Legacy Program (Forthcoming)
End-to-end website redesign for Sacramento County’s Community Responsive Wellness Program
Managed, designed, and published quarterly art publication The Mural
Designed campaign materials for Servant Partners’ strategic plan Vision 2030, including fund development presentation decks, social media content, documents, webpage, etc.
Strategic Communications Consulting
“Consulting” can be a broad and convoluted idea. Strategy too often lives in the domains of aspiration—lofty visions without execution or evidence. I believe in a deliverable-first consulting approach grounded in a tangible product, defined purpose, or achievable goal. My work is guided by five core principles: beauty, clarity, brevity, efficiency, and user-centered design. I believe 90% of gold-standard communications can be achieved with attention to these principles—even if only once.
At nonprofit The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, I’ve consulted across eight public and philanthropic programs, guiding teams through the full life-cycle of communications systems and projects—budgets, goals, strategies, platforms, tactics, roles, contracts, and implementation. At Servant Partners, I advised executive leadership on implementing change communications and consulted department leads in developing campaigns tailored to target audiences for development and recruiting.
