Director of Communications and Community Outreach

Theola leads the Office of Communications, which manages OSSE’s brand in all forms and across all platforms. This includes the strategic development of communications materials and marketing collateral, media relations, digital and social media, event support, the implementation of organizational culture initiatives, the agency's internal communications review process, and ensuring access to services for community members of all language backgrounds. Theola also serves as a strategic communications advisor to the State Superintendent, Chief of Staff, division leaders and other staff. She works to ensure that internal and external audiences and stakeholders are clear on OSSE's role, impact, direction and priorities, policy decisions — and the rationale behind them — through strategic communications.

Before joining OSSE, Theola served as an appointee in the Obama administration as the Director of Communications at the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal grantmaking agency in arts and culture.

She also led legislative affairs, community outreach, media relations, and digital as Director of Communications at the DC Public Charter School Board, the sole authorizer of public charter schools.

Theola started her communications career as a journalist and was an education reporter for The Washington Post.

She holds a master's in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley and a bachelor's degree in religion from Princeton University.