Overview

The California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) is a membership organization serving more than 600 professionals throughout the public sector who engage communities through honest and transparent communication. CAPIO provides education and networking that helps our members and their agencies develop and advance. We believe that good government requires good communicators.

But CAPIO is NOT just for city public information officials (PIOs). In addition to a core group of municipal and state communications professionals, CAPIO counts among its members the staff of school districts, counties, water and air pollution control districts, parks and open space districts, private PR firms, municipal television channels, police and fire departments, and more—professionals who handle public information and communications duties for these agencies and organizations. In fact, CAPIO’s special district and school district membership is growing daily. 

Our Mission

Our History

CAPIO was founded in 1971 by a group of ten public information practitioners in Orange and Los Angeles counties. Today—more than 40 years later and over 500 members strong—CAPIO owes much to the vision of its founders who recognized the value of well-trained and professional communicators in serving the public’s interest. They realized the importance of providing continuing professional growth opportunities and support for both veteran and new practitioners. In 2019 CAPIO unveiled a new brand at our annual conference:

CAPIO New Brand Reveal - April 10, 2019 from CAPIO on Vimeo.

Want to learn more? Read about how it all began.