Profile:  

• Key administrator in a large agency in Columbus city government

• An advisor to the Columbus Mayor and several members of the Columbus City Council

• Former external affairs lead for Smart Columbus, Columbus' Smart City initiative

• Former state higher education lobbyist and communications executive

• Former press secretary for statewide elected official

• Former award winning newspaper political reporter

Bio:  

Jeff Ortega is a seasoned communications and engagement professional, with city and state government experience as well as experience on the corporate side.

Among other experience, Ortega served as Assistant Director and later Interim Director of Communications for the Columbus City Council from 2015 to 2016, working on and later overseeing all manner of communications. Ortega later served as Assistant Director of of the Columbus Department of Public Service (2016-2018) where he oversaw media relations, public involvement and relationships between the agency and the City Council.

Ortega also served as Assistant Director of the Columbus Department of Public Utilities, where he oversaw and managed the environmental protection plan for the city and worked with the Mayor’s Office on city messaging related to sustainability.

Ortega has also served as the top press spokesman for the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, a top communicator with Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor.