Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Thursday the hiring of two top communications officials in his office.
Dae Levine was named the office’s director of communications and Andre Herndon was appointed as Garcetti’s senior communications adviser.
Levine comes to the Garcetti administration with more than two decades of experience as a communications strategist, according to the mayor’s office. Levine served as a senior vice president at Revolution Messaging, working on behalf of progressive causes.
“Dae’s breadth and depth of experience make her the right person to lead my communications team,” Garcetti said. “From fighting for marriage equality to protecting our environment, Dae’s successful track record is a perfect match for my administration. I have no doubt she will excel in this role, and I am proud to welcome her onto my team.”
Levine was the stakeholder director for the Equality Campaign to achieve marriage equality in Australia and led communications for Greenpeace Australia Pacific. She also ran her own communications firm and worked for Human Rights First, Planned Parenthood and the Democratic National Committee.
Levine began her new position this week. She succeeds Suzi Emmerling, who is now chief communications officer for The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.
Herndon joined the Garcetti administration in 2015 and was the mayor’s deputy director of communications.
“Andre’s thoughtful leadership and dedication have been essential to everything we’ve done to shape our message and share my priorities with Angelenos and people around the world,” Garcetti said.
Herndon was a public information officer for the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation and communications director for City Councilman Curren Price’s 2013 campaign, according to the mayor’s office. For close to a decade, Herndon was the executive editor of the Los Angeles Wave and L.A. Independent, where he oversaw all editorial operations for the dual newspaper chain.