New Albany hires third public-information officer, Denise Alex-Bouzounis
A community that only 12 years ago was still a village has seen monumental growth ‒ so much so that it has hired a third public-information officer to help disseminate all the information there.
The city on Nov. 7 announced the addition of Denise Alex-Bouzounis to its communications department. She joins Scott McAfee, chief communications and marketing officer, and Josh Poland, also a public-information officer.
Alex-Bouzounis' primary duties will be media relations and taking responsibility for a lot of the city's digital tools, such as the community e-newsletters, social media and website, according to McAfee.
"She will also assist with some video projects," he said.
City Council didn’t vote specifically on her employment but already had approved her position as part of past budgets, McAfee said. Her salary is to be $87,000, with a benefits package worth about $30,000, effective Nov. 7.
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She previously spent eight years in public relations with the Columbus Division of Police, working as the sole civilian public-relations specialist for the state’s largest police agency and the agency’s first civilian Central Ohio Crime Stoppers coordinator, according to information provided by McAfee.
Prior to that, she was a multimedia journalist, backup anchor and lead crime reporter at WCMH NBC4 in Columbus; anchor, reporter and multimedia journalist at the Ohio News Network; and anchor, reporter and producer at WTAP-TV in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
She received her bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and communication from Ohio State University, with a minor in modern Greek.
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“I’m very excited to have Denise join our staff,” McAfee said. “She is a great storyteller, she has a proven track record of success working in a challenging municipal environment and she has a very warm and honest personality. She is going to love working in New Albany, and our residents are going to enjoy engaging with her.”
Alex-Bouzounis said she's honored and thrilled to help lead the city's communications team.
“Informing and educating the public with honesty and transparency, for me, is key to creating and maintaining relationships," she said.
"I look forward to meeting and working with the community to showcase all New Albany has to offer.”
Alex-Bouzounis, 45, is married with twin 7-year-old daughters and two rescue dogs.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Former CPD PR specialist Denise Alex-Bouzounis joins New Albany as PIO
