Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly Monday announced the appointment of Kirsten Yates as senior advisor for Communications and Digital Strategy.
Working with the mayor and the chief of staff, as well as other senior administration officials, Ms. Yates will lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive and innovative communications strategy for the city of Chattanooga to help educate and engage residents through the lens of the Kelly administration’s goals and priorities. Ms. Yates will also manage the mayor’s Office of Communications, including a team who work together to ensure residents receive accurate, timely, and transparent information about issues impacting their communities, said officials.
Ms. Yates comes to the city with more than 12 years of experience leading communications for dynamic government programs, multifaceted social marketing campaigns, as well as crisis and emergency responses. She spent more than eight years in various leadership roles at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including two recent deployments to lead communications for major federal COVID-19 vaccine distribution programs and the agency’s vaccine effectiveness research efforts. Prior to joining the Kelly administration, Ms. Yates was serving as deputy lead of CDC’s new, multi-million dollar healthcare infection control education and partnership collaborative.
Ms. Yates received her master’s degree in public health from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, where a large portion of her studies focused on how to effectively use communication and education principles to motivate positive behavior change in communities. She holds a B.A. in English from Vanderbilt University.
“Kirsten has worked on some of our nation’s most important communications challenges and brings a tremendous amount of communications leadership and experience to our team and our city,” said Mayor Kelly. “I know she will play a vital role in keeping our residents informed, elevating our city across the nation, and engaging every part of our community. That’s why I am excited and grateful that she will be sharing her expertise and heart for public service with my administration and the city of Chattanooga.”
As Mayor Kelly focuses on advancing his One Chattanooga strategic vision, Ms. Yates will be responsible for ensuring Chattanoogans are engaged, informed, and involved along the way.