Elizabeth Emmett – Biography

In my looonnngggg career in public information, I have had the good fortune of working for special districts (Santa Clara Valley Water District and Sonoma County Water Agency), a private public engagement firm (CirclePoint), a local government agency (County of Napa) and now in schools (Napa Valley Unified School District).

So yes, I'm tired (!), but the exposure to so many aspects of public service has blessed me with an ever-present focus on relationships and common interests, which is an incredible gift in the communications world. Every time we encounter an issue, the first words out of my mouth are, "Who else cares about this and how do we talk to them?" Try it!

That said, at NVUSD, I, along with two awesome women, handle all aspects of our internal and external communications, including more than 30 websites, our social media accounts, media relations, crisis communications, parent and staff newsletters, communications planning for our programs, events and more. 

I've been a CAPIO member since the mid-1990s, and have served as president as well as Conference Chair twice (Napa and Yosemite). I've hosted workshops here in Napa, and have also presented at the annual conference, usually on crisis communications, because Napa County is, in the words of our former Emergency Coordinator, "an act of God theme park."

Love my work, love my funny and smart colleagues, and am gratified to know that our role is only getting more and more important in the age of constant, instant information. Glad to be here.