Zach Friend

A graduate of the Georgetown University, Zach Friend has dedicated his career to public policy and public relations. Zach Friend has utilized his astute management of media and press relations for various institutions and politicians. During the 2008 presidential primary and general election, Zach Friend served Barack Obama's Obama for America campaign as Press Secretary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Responsible for managing the state's constituent press operations, Zach Friend generated weekly media plans, creating opinion pieces and letters to the editor regarding specific campaign proposals. Zach Friend acted as spokesman to the Philadelphia media outlets. Prior to his role in the Obama campaign, he honed his skills as a policy and press professional in several other political offices in Washington, D.C. Zach Friend launched his career in Washington, D.C., in 2000, as Economic Policy Assistant for the Council of Economic Advisors in the White House. He produced briefings on foreign investment and digital divide and edited chapters of the Economic Report of the President. In 2001, Zach Friend returned to Santa Cruz briefly as Management Assistant to the City Manager, where he developed and implemented new online communication and environmental programs for the Santa Cruz community. A year later, Zach Friend returned to Washington, D.C., to serve as Legislative Assistant for Senator Tom Daschle. During which, in addition to recruiting local media coverage on community, state, and national levels, he scripted speeches, editorial pieces, and talking points. In 2004, Zach Friend continued his political pursuits as Social Policy and Press Assistant for Congressman Sam Farr and Deputy National Director of Special Projects for the Democratic National Committee. Zach Friend penned press releases, outlined staff reports, and put out a monthly newsletter for Congressman Farr's constituency. He also developed and carried out campaign strategies for outreach in battleground states and supervised field staff, payroll, travel, and voter targeting. Currently, Zach Friend is the Press Information Officer and Crime Analyst for the Santa Cruz Police Department. He is responsible for a $23 million budget and directs media relations for all press channels including print, television, and radio.