Heather McDonnell is a Director at Kearns & West with over a decade of experience in public outreach and education, public policy, communication, and digital marketing working with local, state, and federal government agency partners and stakeholders. Her work has focused on natural resources, spanning climate resilience, biodiversity, clean energy, water, forest health, and wildfire resilience. Building public trust is a focal point of Heather’s approach to communication, often with using authentic storytelling and adapting complex technical issues into audience-friendly messages. She has a track record of successful project management and working in high-stress situations, having spent over six years working in an emergency communication response capacity for a state agency in the role of drafting, posting, and approving public information.