Sean CoffeyDirector of Communications and Outreach, Berkeley
Sean Coffey is the Director of Communications and Outreach at the California Policy Lab where he oversees CPL’s research releases, manages media relations, and directs CPL’s digital communications. One of the most fulfilling parts of his job is sharing how CPL’s research can inform improvements to policies and programs that millions of Californians use every day.
Sean’s interest in communications was sparked while working with Californians at risk of losing their homes during the Great Recession. He saw how media coverage of the crisis (including some he helped generate) informed the government’s response, and how important it was for homeowners to have access to accurate information.
Before joining CPL, Sean worked at the California Reinvestment Coalition, where his strategic communications work supported successful advocacy campaigns, including enacting a state law to stop “widow foreclosures,” working to prevent “displacement mortgages” in San Francisco, and helping to secure significant community reinvestment agreements from banks across California.
Sean’s nonprofit career has focused on communications, policy change, and providing front-line services to vulnerable populations. This includes changing long-term care policies to better support family caregivers while working at Family Caregiver Alliance and helping homeowners facing foreclosure during his time at the Housing Trust of Silicon Valley and at Lao Family Community Development.
He holds a B.A. in Sociology from Colorado College and an MPA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. One of the accomplishments he’s most proud of during his time at CPL is managing communications for a series of more than 20 rapid-response publications focused on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on California workers.