Olivia Dedner is the Chief of External Affairs at DDOT where manages the Community Engagement, Policy and Legislative Affairs, and Communications Divisions.
Her entrance into DC government, however, was as Communications Director in the Office of the City Administrator where she also led communications for the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice and the Assistant City Administrator for Internal Services. In this capacity she was responsible for the strategic communications of 18 agencies and three cabinet-level appointees.
Prior to joining District Government, Olivia served as Assistant Press Secretary for then U.S. Senator Mark Pryor(D-AR) in the Washington, D.C. office. Olivia began her career in communications as an account executive for Advantage Communications, Arkansas’s first full-service advertising agency specializing in market segmentation. She concluded her tenure at the agency as Vice President for Account Services, where she managed the firm’s health and education client portfolios. In addition to communications, Olivia has extensive experience in community engagement and non-profit programming and management.
Olivia holds a BA from the University of Arkansas and is a proud DC resident.