Public-sector communicators are often expected to move quickly, respond to competing requests, and deliver tactics on tight timelines. In that environment, planning is frequently compressed or skipped altogether, making communication decisions harder to explain, defend, and evaluate.

This in-depth, in-person CAPIO regional workshop focuses exclusively on the RPIE framework, Research, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation, a nationally recognized planning model and the gold standard used in the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) process. Rather than treating RPIE as a template or academic exercise, this session emphasizes how the framework functions as a practical decision-making tool for real-world public-sector communications.

Through guided instruction, facilitated discussion, and hands-on exercises, participants will learn how to:

• Use research intentionally to inform decisions, not justify them after the fact
• Distinguish clearly between objectives, strategy, and tactics
• Write SMART objectives that define what success looks like
• Develop strategy as an approach, not a list of activities
• Select tactics that align with strategy and available resources
• Evaluate effectiveness in realistic, defensible ways
• Apply RPIE thinking to everyday requests, prioritization, and leadership conversations

Participants will work through realistic public-sector scenarios and practice building clear, defensible communication plans that can be confidently explained to leadership, colleagues, and the communities they serve. The workshop prioritizes clarity over complexity and focuses on strengthening planning habits that improve both decision-making and outcomes.

This workshop is good for the following credits:

• J. Lindsay Wolf CAPIO Certificate in Communications - Strategic Communications
• APR CEU

Speakers:

Sonja Dosti, APR
Communications Director
County Administrative Office, County of Fresno

Allison Mackey, APR
Communications & Brand Manager
City of Visalia

Taylor Danielson, APR
Communications and Marketing Analyst
City of Clovis

Date: March 11, 2026

Check-in: 8:30 a.m.
Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Location: Fresno County Department of Social Services
3500 Never Forget Ln
Clovis, CA 93612

Lunch and light refreshments are included.

Register

Cost: $100 – CAPIO Members/$165 – Non Members

BIOS

Sonja Dosti, APR

Sonja Dosti, APR is the Communications Director for the County of Fresno (County Administrative Office), which serves over one million residents.  She has more than 10 years of experience in public sector communications and PR, having served as the head of communications at Central Unified School District before moving to the County of Fresno. Prior to working in communications and PR, she worked in the film and TV industry in Los Angeles as a production, studio, and network executive.

She’s passionate about creating and sharing informative, compelling, and inspiring stories. In her first career in entertainment, she developed film and TV projects with Academy and Emmy Award-winning directors, writers, and actors including JJ Abrams, Aaron Sorkin, Francis Ford Coppola, Katheryn Bigelow, Demi Moore, and Josh Brolin, among many others.

As a Communications and PR Officer at Central Unified, her communications team won the National School Public Relations Association’s (NSPRA) 2020 Award of Excellence for a video PSA titled, The Dangers of Sexting, and the 2020 Award of Merit for the video PSA, Hoax Threats. She developed social media best practices training for staff, parents and students and created the district’s first crisis communications plan.

In her role as the Communications Director at Fresno County, she started as a team of one and expanded it to include two talented individuals, one of whom is a talented photographer and videographer and the other is a bilingual outreach and marketing specialist. Her communications team has won several awards. Both the CAO and District Attorney’s Offices received the 2023 CAPIO Epic Award of Achievement in the Preparedness/Public Safety Education Campaign category for their Fresno County Fentanyl Awareness Campaign as well as the 2023 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACo). The Juvenile Correctional Officer Promotional Video won the 2023 CAPIO Award of Distinction for In-House Video Production and the Fresno County Water Flows & Flood Warnings won the 2024 CAPIO Award of Distinction for In-House Video Production PSA. She and two of her colleagues won the Frank Potter Cowan Crisis Communicator of the Year Award in 2024. The team’s 2024 Traffic Safety Campaign received the CAPIO Award of Distinction in the Preparedness/Public Safety Education Campaign category.

She has served CAPIO for more than three years as the Central California Regional and Membership Chair and is now the President-Elect. She’s a proud Star Wars/Marvel/DC/Harry Potter geek, women’s ministry director at her church, and loves to travel, watch movies, read books, and spend time with her family, Golden Retriever Buddy, and Doodle-mutt Chewy.

Allison Mackey, APR

Allison is the Communications & Brand Manager for the City of Visalia, where she leads the city’s strategic communications and branding efforts, overseeing media relations, public information, and community engagement initiatives that share information, encourage involvement and drive connection.

Allison joined the City of Visalia in 2012, having most previously served the County of Tulare as the Health & Human Services Agency public information officer. With a career spanning media, public relations, community services, and the entertainment industry, Allison is passionate about building stronger communities through effective communication.

A proud Cal State Fullerton alum, Allison recently earned her Master of Communication from Eastern New Mexico University. She holds the PRSA Accreditation in Public Relations and is a graduate of the California Association of Public Information Officials PIO Institute. She serves as South Valley Liaison, and previously as a Trustee, for the Public Relations Society of America Central California Chapter Board of Directors and sits on the Tulare County Library Advisory Board.

Taylor Danielson, APR

Taylor Danielson is the first Communications and Marketing Analyst for the City of Clovis, serving as the City’s Public Information Officer and managing its Communications Division. With over ten years of experience, a bachelor’s and master’s degree in public relations, and an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), she specializes in strategic communication grounded in trust, transparency, and relationship‑building. Danielson is also an active member of both CAPIO and PRSA and has served on the CAPIO Conference Committee, bringing a passion for clear, community‑focused communication to her public sector work.