Glenda Johnson, Deputy Communications Director, works closely with the communications staff to develop and implement targeted communications strategies designed to promote the image and identity of PolicyLink and its partner organizations, and to increase media coverage on issues around equitable development. As a New York Community Fellow with the Open Society Institute, she provided strategic communications consultancy to immigrant-serving organizations. She has over 10 years experience in print and interactive media.
Dan Lavoie, Deputy Communications Director, helps guide media and outreach strategy, working with our on-the-ground partners to spread the word and drive change. Prior to coming to PolicyLink, he reported for daily newspapers in Washington, DC, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Chicago. From the oak daises of the U.S. Capitol to the kitchen tables of families struggling to make ends meet, he has spent his career chronicling the legislative process and its impact on America’s working families.
Rafael Shimunov, Associate Director, helps lead strategy and development around online communication, movement building, and collaboration for PolicyLink and its partners. Shimunov's 10 years of consulting includes award-winning websites, viral and social network strategies, ad campaigns, and collaboration spaces for The Rockefeller Foundation, The Ford Foundation, BBDO, Berlin Cameron, MTV, Fedex, Citigroup, IBM, and the Cannes Cyber Lion-winning Douglas Elliman website. He continues to explore the potential of online social movements and e-advocacy to engage media, government, NPOs, and to empower equity advocates and the communities they serve.
Erica Pelletreau, RWJF Center Communications Team Leader, leads RWJF Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity’s communications initiatives to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015. In this capacity, she develops, implements, and coordinates all public aspects of the campaign. Pelletreau has nearly 15 years of professional communications experience both domestically and abroad through which she has honed the full range of strategic and crisis communications skills. She has worked with a wide variety of nonprofit organizations and is committed to using communications in order to advance a just and equitable society.
Janet A. Dickerson, Press Secretary, helps guide day-to-day press operations, working closely with the communications team to create and shape stories that promote the image and initiatives of PolicyLink. Prior to joining PolicyLink, Dickerson worked as Deputy Press Secretary for Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker, and more recently as Deputy Press Secretary for New York City Mayoral Candidate Bill Thompson’s 2009 campaign. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Magazine Writing from Temple University.
Jessica Rodriguez, Senior Communications Associate, conceptualizes, writes, edits and updates content for PolicyLink online health initiatives, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity, and the Convergence Partnership. Rodriguez's prior experience in print, digital, and broadcast media outlets have informed her experience as a multi-media journalist and editor focused on Latino culture, communities of color, trends, and entertainment for outlets like Batanga Publishing, Si TV, MiGente.com, and the Buenos Aires Herald. She holds a MS in journalism from Northwestern University and a BA in English from Cornell University.
Jennifer Pinto, Senior Communications Associate, works with communications staff to maintain the image and identity of PolicyLink and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity. She predominantly serves as an editor and writer for online content, but also provides support with event production and media outreach. Previously, Pinto worked in editorial and production departments for two newspapers, where she reported on local issues and assisted with editing and layout. She holds a BA in Journalism from Rutgers University.
Leslie Yang, Design and Production Manager, coordinates layout, design, and production for PolicyLink publications. She works on a range of communications strategies and provides media outreach, editing, and research assistance to the program staff. Previously, she led student-run forums on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in public service and has a background in media relations, union organizing, and public health advocacy. Yang holds a BA in sociology with honors from the University of California, Berkeley.
Keith Forest, Communications Assistant, provides media research and general communications support to the New York communications staff. Forest holds a BA in mass communications from Clark Atlanta University and has worked as a consultant and freelance media/communications coordinator for various community-based organizations, emerging artists, designers, and entrepreneurs—while conceptualizing and producing event-driven press initiatives for nonprofit organizations, politicians, and others.
Ana Louie, Online Communications Assistant, produces layout, design, and updates for PolicyLink web initiatives. She works on a range of communication strategies, provides website support, and editing to the program staff. Louie's prior experience in interactive media includes work for various large corporations including Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Conde Nast, and Grey Advertising. Throughout the years, she has continued to expand her knowledge to keep up with the web industry’s rapid growth.
Twana Carney, Office Manager, staffs the New York front desk and serves as finance, facilities, and information systems liaison to the Oakland headquarters. Carney also assists in the production of materials for communications outreach. Previously, she provided administrative support to the United Nations Retirement Pension Fund and was an administrative assistant in the Office of the Public Advocate, New York City.
