Suzi Emmerling founded Calina Strategies LLC in 2024, bringing nearly two decades of experience at the intersection of policy, media, and advocacy.

What sets Suzi apart is a rare ability to move fluidly across sectors — government, philanthropy, academia, campaigns, and corporate affairs — while consistently identifying the right message, the right audience, and the right moment to place a story that advances a client's business or policy goals.

Her career spans the highest levels of American public life. As Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation under President Obama, she advised Secretary Anthony Foxx on the initiatives that shaped the nation's transportation future. In Los Angeles, she served as Communications Director for Mayor Eric Garcetti and Chief Communications Officer for philanthropist Eli Broad. Earlier, she honed her advocacy instincts at the Center for American Progress, where she learned to drive narrative on energy, immigration, education, and national security during the Bush years. She has also worked at UCLA, the BlueGreen Alliance, and the Apollo Alliance.

In corporate public affairs, Suzi has built coordinated earned media campaigns targeting top reporters at Bloomberg, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Politico, Reuters, and Axios — developing the kind of long-term reporter relationships that produce sustained, credible coverage when it matters most.

Her approach is methodical and audience-driven: she works alongside government affairs teams to identify who needs to be reached, where they get their news, and what they care about — then builds earned and paid media strategies to reach them with precision.

Calina Strategies is named after Suzi’s children, Inez and Cal.