FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 2, 2021
Media Contact:
Layla Crater, layla@change-llc.com, 310-804-3107
Stephanie Ong Joins Change Consulting as First Vice President of Communications
Ong will drive the social justice communications agency’s engagement portfolio
OAKLAND, CA — Change Consulting announced today that Stephanie Ong has joined as the social justice communications agency’s first Vice President of Communications. In her new role, Ong will lead the agency’s content, digital and earned media teams.
Ong is a communications professional with over 20 years of experience leading strategy for nonprofit organizations, electoral campaigns, and government agencies. She has a breadth of work on issue areas including education equity, tech policy, criminal justice, immigration reform, children and family-focused policy, and healing and trauma informed practices.
“In the many years that I have known and worked with Stephanie, as a colleague and as a client, I have known her to be a skilled communicator, leader and connector who brings her values and her whole heart to everything she does,” said Bilen Mesfin Packwood, Founder and CEO of Change Consulting. “In this new leadership role, Stephanie will push Change Consulting to continue providing our clients with excellent communications strategy and tactical implementation, and grow our impact in helping racial justice leaders and changemakers achieve their visions for justice. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from her.”
Ong has served as Director of Communications for The Education Trust-West, Common Sense Media, Californians for Safety and Justice, Center for Youth Wellness, and for San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón. She was also a pioneering co-founder and principal of a political consulting and public relations firm where she ran candidate, issue-driven, and media campaigns that focused on the needs of children, families, and communities of color. In these leadership positions, Ong drove messaging and communications strategy, oftentimes building a communications infrastructure from the ground up. She thrives on harnessing the power of storytelling to shape the narrative on complex issues.
“It is an absolute honor to be working with Bilen Mesfin Packwood and Change Consulting, especially as a former client who has been inspired by the agency’s rise since its beginnings in 2008,” said Ong. “I am excited to work with the talented group of professionals that make up Change Consulting and with their impactful– and expanding — roster of clients working to build a more racially just future for all of us. Together, we can deepen our engagement and relationship with these visionaries driving change in our communities to help them make an impact in the world.”
Originally from the Philippines, Ong immigrated to the United States when she was nine years old. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Asian American Studies from San Francisco State University. She lives in Oakland with her partner and seven-year-old son, who is a second grader in Oakland Unified School District. Follow her on social media @Stephongtweets.
About Change Consulting
Change Consulting is a Black-led and women-operated social justice communications agency based in Oakland working in service of and in partnership with changemakers – visionaries at nonprofits, foundations and mission-driven entities – committed to making love and justice a reality. Change Consulting provides a continuum of communications services to help mission-driven organizations achieve their programmatic, policy and fundraising goals. More information online at www.change-llc.com and on social media @ChangeCo_ and @changeconsulting