The City of Des Moines is pleased to announce that Nicole Nordholm has been named the new Communications Director for the City. In this role, which is effective immediately, Nicole will be responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining a comprehensive communication plan consistent with the City’s strategic goals and objectives.
Nicole Nordholm has her Masters of Public Administration (MPA) and has worked for the City of Des Moines for over 6 years in several departments. She served as a Management Analyst as well as the Parks, Recreation and Senior Services Director and most recently as the Community Events and Services Director. Her education, experience and familiarity with the City will allow her to hit the ground running on day one.
Over the last 18 months, a professional communications consultant (Consor) undertook a comprehensive review of the City’s communication methods and strategies. This review involved extensive engagement with the community, staff and the City Council. One of the outcomes of that study was the strong recommendation that the City retain a full time communications director.
After receiving an initial draft of the final study, the City’s Executive Team began reviewing options for how to implement the report’s findings within existing budget constraints. Nicole was identified as an ideal person within the organization for this role given her education and experience. Nicole’s previous job duties will be handled by additional internal staffing realignments. The Communications Director will report to the Assistant City Manager.
Using the findings of the Consor report, numerous inputs from the community as well as City Council priorities and recommendations, the City has a clear path on items that can be implemented immediately to improve communication. You will begin to see action very soon as we roll out new communications strategies/methods and start to develop our strategic plan.
The City of Des Moines has a great story to tell, and our employees are proud of the work that they do. Historically we have not had a dedicated staff member to actively tell that story to the community. Moving forward, Nicole will be working with each department on ways that she can tell all of our stories and make the community aware of the important work that is done on a daily basis.