In 2026, public-agency communicators will continue to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape shaped by emerging technologies, shifting public expectations, and increasing demands for transparency, trust, and engagement. Staying ahead will require communicators to continually adapt strategies, priorities, and best practices to effectively serve their communities.

During CAPIO’s 2026 State of Communications webinar, attendees will gain insight into the key issues influencing California’s communications environment. The webinar will feature updates from CAPIO’s President Brie Anne Coleman, APR, and President-Elect Sonja Dosti, APR, including association priorities, upcoming initiatives, and emerging trends impacting public-sector communications.

Attendees will also hear from Fred Cook, Director of the Center for Public Relations and Chairman Emeritus of Golin, who will share highlights from USC Annenberg’s Global Communications Report. The report examines the most influential industry findings and trends shaping the profession and offers data-driven insights that will inform communications strategies in 2026 and beyond.

Speakers

Date: January 21, 2026
Time: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Cost: $30 CAPIO members/Free for Professional+/$45 non-members

Register

BIOS

Fred Cook

Fred Cook has worked at Golin for over 30 years, during which he has had the privilege to work with a variety of high-profile CEOs, including Herb Kelleher, Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs. He has also managed a wide variety of clients, including Nintendo, Toyota and Disney. In 2014, Cook published Improvise: Unconventional Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO, which shares the wisdom he gained as a cabin boy on a Norwegian tanker, doorman at a 5-star hotel and chauffeur for drunks. In 2015, after speaking on college campuses around the world, Fred accepted an additional position with the University of Southern California as the director of the USC Center for Public Relations at USC Annenberg, whose mission is to shape the future of public relations and those who will lead it — through research, education and thought leadership.

Brie Anne Coleman, APR

Brie Anne Coleman, APR, is an award-winning communications leader and the Communications Manager for Placer County Water Agency, where she leads agency-wide strategic communications that connect 10 departments with the communities they serve. With a foundation in photography and design, she has grown her role from creative execution to agency-wide communications leadership, guiding messaging across complex, technical, and highly visible initiatives.

Known for her “more than words” approach, Brie Anne specializes in translating complex issues into clear, collaborative communications that build trust, understanding, and long-term public confidence. She partners closely with internal teams to develop solutions that are not only well crafted, but purposeful, empowering staff and stakeholders alike to engage confidently with the agency’s work.

An Accredited in Public Relations professional, she brings a strategic, people-centered lens to every aspect of her work, blending creativity, clarity, and collaboration to deliver communications with real impact.

Sonja Dosti, APR

Sonja Dosti, APR is the Communications Director for the County of Fresno (County Administrative Office), and 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.

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.