Lindsey Willis
Lindsey Willis is a principal communications specialist at AIR. She leads government and nonprofit communications campaigns, particularly in the public health, disabilities, and workforce sectors. She has more than 18 years of experience, and specializes in leading research-informed campaigns that leverage the most effective digital and traditional outreach methods to reach target audiences. She leads teams of integrated communications and research and evaluation staff to best understand target audience behavior to inform campaign development, produce content and implement strategies, and evaluate outreach success in order to continuously improve campaign efforts.
Willis serves as the project director and task lead for complex contracts, involving managing activities of internal staff, subcontractors, and consultants; leading planning and evaluation activities; interacting with clients; and managing multi-million dollar project budgets that include labor, travel, and other direct costs. She also serves as a subject matter expert by providing technical assistance to projects around developing communications strategies and disseminating materials.
Willis’ clients primarily include various programs in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Labor. Highlights of her project management experience at AIR include leading multiple Surgeon General’s Reports for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CDC’s HIV Treatment Works campaign, CDC’s VetoViolence social media program, and communications and technical assistance task management for the Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN).
Willis has presented at national conferences and in webinars about the importance of employing research-based methods in developing public health communications campaigns. In addition to her communications expertise, Willis has a background in computer science and spent almost a decade as a press officer, including holding positions in Maryland’s Office of the Governor, the U.S. House of Representatives, and as a White House appointee. Willis is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
