Leigh Claire McDonald Balon
Director of Communications at The Brookings Institution
- Role
- Director of Communications, Brookings Metro at The Brookings Institution
- Location
- Washington, WA, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Leigh Claire McDonald Balon
Leigh Balon has more than a decade of experience in communications, audience engagement, and product development. Balon is passionate about digital innovation, as well as developing analytics-informed and audience-first content and product strategies for social impact. Before joining the Brookings Institution, Balon worked in various sectors of the media industry, including local news, nonfiction television, and podcasts.
Experience
Director of Communications, Brookings Metro
Oct 2023 — Present · Washington, DC, US
Serves as the Director of Communications for the Brookings Metro research program, which helps communities across the country navigate change—from climate impacts to AI disruption to rapidly shifting demographics—to become more resilient, inclusive, and prosperous- Leads Brookings Metro\'s long-term strategic communications efforts to ensure the program is having high impact and visibility, aligned with Institution-wide priorities- Supervises and manages the performance and professional growth for a team of communications professionals responsible for the production and promotion of all of Brookings Metro\'s research content and thought leadership- Oversees event strategy and execution; media relations; social media; static and interactive data viz; web and newsletter production; copy editing; review processes; and partnerships- Cultivates and maintains relationships with key journalists on behalf of Metro and guides program scholars in the production and placement of commentary in nationally or regionally significant media outlets- Develops digital outreach strategies to maximize Metro’s impact and grow engagement on digital outreach channels, including X (Twitter) and other social media channels- Manages Metro’s web manager to ensure website is up to date, evaluates how external audiences interact with the Brookings website, and makes recommendations to improve user experience- Represents Metro internally and externally, to program partners and donors- Uses available analytics data to continually evaluate and improve digital marketing strategies and identify opportunities to leverage Brookings’s institution-wide outreach channels- Partners with Metro scholars on product-level communications strategy and proposes key messaging and develops tactics to effectively engage intended audiences
Education
Transom
Traveling Story Workshop
University of Maryland
Bachelor of Arts
University of Maryland
Master of Fine Arts
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