Miami-Dade County

Chief Media Aide

Miami, Florida | March 2008 – August 2012

Miami Dade County Logo CMYKI served as the Chief Media Aide to the Office of the Chair, handling all communications-related requests from the 13-member commission. While I initially started off writing press releases and contributing to the quarterly commission newsletter, I was eventually placed in charge of writing speeches, public service announcements, advertisements (print, TV, and radio), light graphic design work, and web content management.

Miami-Dade Blue

In 2009, Miami-Dade County entered into a unique partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) to create a new health insurance plan targeting 600,000 local residents who could not afford insurance, but did not qualify for government assistance. I worked with commissioners, BCBSF, and corresponding County departments to promote the three-year pilot program. In addition to a media campaign, I also focused on reaching residents directly by placing program information in County newsletters, Miami-Dade TV, featured web articles, and social media sites. Additionally, I organized a collaborative effort among commission offices to promote Miami-Dade Blue at their various community events.

  • RESULTS:  Within first three months of program launch, more than 800 residents were enrolled in half the time projected. By the time the pilot ended in July 2012, over 10,000 residents were enrolled in Miami-Dade Blue and other products based on its benefit design. The Miami-Dade Commission voted to extend the program in June 2012 based on its success. See press coverage in my portfolio.

Here’s one story of a resident who was able to afford health insurance thanks to Miami-Dade Blue:

Humanitarian Aid to Haiti

Haitians and Haitian-Americans comprise the third largest population in Miami-Dade County. When riots broke out in Haiti in 2008 due to food shortages, residents in Miami were hit hard by the tragedy as well. The entire commission was inspired to help Miami’s island neighbor by organizing a countywide food drive. I worked closely with staff from Food For The Poor, a non-profit that partnered with us and served as a global food bank for the most impoverished countries. We promoted the two-week food drive on all media outlets, while I encouraged County employees to donate canned goods at our main office. I also reached out to our public hospital and local schools. Several months later, a group of commissioners traveled to Port-au-Prince to personally deliver and serve the donated food to affected Haitians living in the slum of Cité Soleil.

  • RESULTS: More than 39,000 pounds of rice, canned vegetables, baby food, and other goods were collected by the end of the food drive. Residents also donated $5,000, and a campaign partner doubled its financial match, leaving us with a total of $15,000 in monetary donations. Several media outlets covered the commissioners’ trip to Haiti, which raised more awareness about the island’s plight. See press coverage in my portfolio.

Becoming a Web Publisher

The economic downturn affected almost everyone in Miami, especially local government employees. With a massive decline in property tax revenue came budget reductions. When our Online Services department lost staff in a round of cuts, my office was informed the department could no longer provide online support on a daily basis to the commissioners’ websites. This was worrisome to my division since we generated news on a daily basis and wanted to keep residents informed.  To remedy the situation, I offered to be trained in Web publishing due to my knowledge of HTML and CSS. I quickly learned the ins-and-outs of Web content management systems and was able to continue regular postings on our websites, while making a few improvements to streamline the information.

  • RESULTS: Thousands of dollars saved in taxpayer money. Instead of the commissioners having to allocate funds from their budgets to hire a part-time or full-time Web publisher, I assumed the duties and saved them the cost of a salary. In addition, I convinced several commissioners to transfer their expensive print newsletters into more cost-effective online editions. These e-newsletters could be generated for free on our content management system, with the money saved put to better use in commissioners’ districts. I also helped several offices create a more prominent online presence by connecting their websites to Facebook and Twitter, allowing their constituents to easily follow the work of their elected officials.