Marlena Medford

Marlena Medford brings more than 16 years of journalism, government, civic-tech, marketing and strategic communications experience. As Communications Director, she works to amplify our work to key stakeholders and engage them in meaningful ways.

After being a journalist for many years, Marlena served as the first Communications Director for the City of Encinitas, where she built a comprehensive communications program. She was later the Director of Government Outreach & Communications for Peak Democracy, a public engagement platform for local government—and Chief Content Officer for JPW Communications, where she helped government agencies craft their outreach strategies. Before joining Code for America, Marlena was the Marketing Strategist for CivicActions, a digital services firm that works with the federal government.

Marlena is passionate about building a more representative government and civic-tech industry, and is involved with DEIA groups striving for that.