Mayor Horrigan Announces New Strategic Advisor to the Mayor and New Chief Communications Officer
Emily Collins joins as Strategic Advisor and Stephanie Marsh promoted to CCO
City of Akron Press Release
From the desk of City of Akron Press Office
Published: 04-05-2022
Akron, Ohio, April 5, 2022 — Today, Mayor Horrigan announced two new appointments to senior positions in his office. Emily Collins joins the City as Strategic Advisor to the Mayor and Stephanie Marsh has been promoted from within the City’s communications team to Chief Communications Officer.
As Strategic Advisor to the Mayor, Emily Collins will proactively develop, execute, and accelerate progress toward strategic goals of the City administration. She will help identify problems, research and analyze potential solutions, and lead the ideation and implementation of workable City strategies, policies, and legislation. Collins received her Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from New York University’s Gallatin School in 2001 where she studied political theory and literature. In 2004, she earned her Juris Doctorate and certificates in Environmental Law and International Law from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in White Plains, New York. Most recently, Emily founded and directed Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, a nonprofit legal services and access to environmental justice organization with offices in Pittsburgh, Akron and Philadelphia, from April 2013 through March of 2022. She has taught environmental ethics; water law, science and policy; and environmental law at the University of Pittsburgh and the Williams Honors College at the University of Akron.
“I’m excited to welcome Emily to the team,” said Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan. “She is highly qualified and will bring a necessary addition to our efforts here. Emily’s previous work in environmental law and her awareness of policy here in Akron will be instrumental in our work ahead. I look forward to her fresh perspective on our initiatives.”
As Chief Communications Officer, Stephanie Marsh will oversee City of Akron professional communications, community engagement strategies, event coordination and press relations from the Office of the Mayor. Marsh will lead citywide marketing strategy as well as ideation and execution of City communications initiatives, community engagement and events. She has a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from Kent State University where she studied English and graduated with University Honors. Before joining the Mayor’s Office in 2019, Stephanie worked in Cleveland at PR Newswire as a Senior Customer Content Specialist for over 5 years, providing personalized writing and distribution counseling to a variety of institutions in addition to advising clients on content marketing best practices.
“Stephanie has proven herself to be a valuable member of my communications team,” said Mayor Horrigan. “Her work handling our press operations and our social media communications puts her in a great position to take on the expanded responsibilities of this new role, and I look forward to her leadership in our marketing and communications.”
In addition to these two senior hires, Mayor Horrigan has also promoted Jake Bell in the City’s communications team to Communications and Media Supervisor. In this role, Bell will be responsible for broadening the City’s communications across emerging digital social platforms, creating content showcasing new and existing initiatives, and helping the City elevate its web presence across its forthcoming Akron Rescue Plan website and its flagship site. His broad experience in marketing, video production, graphic design, and web development is an important addition and will ensure the City is reaching audiences across a wide swath of demographics.
The City is currently seeking to fill an entry level communications position in the Mayor’s Office to round out the communications team. The Communications Specialist will work closely with Mayor's Office staff to execute verbal, written and digital communications on behalf of the Mayor, assisting with social media management, and community engagement and feedback. More information and an application can be found here. Applications are due by April 15, 2022.
For further information, contact:
City of Akron Press Office
Phone: 330-375-2754
E-mail: [email protected]
