2012 Top 40: Katie Jones

Aug. 21, 2012

Katie Jones

Public Relations Specialist

San Diego County Regional Airport Authority

Date of Birth: 3-8-81

Years in Aviation: 5

Katie Jones is the Public Relations Specialist for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, operator of San Diego International Airport. She serves as the Airport Authority’s spokesperson and primary media contact, and communicates daily with the public as one of the airport’s social media editors. Katie performs public outreach for the Airport Authority’s major initiatives, including the billion-dollar Green Build, the largest construction project in the airport’s history.

Katie has worked for the Airport Authority since 2007. Despite coming from a book publishing background, Katie rose quickly in the ranks, becoming the youngest spokesperson in the Airport Authority’s history.  Her public outreach campaigns have been recognized in both the aviation and public relations fields, garnering awards such as the 2012 ACI-NA Marketing and Communications Award – Public Relations Campaigns, a 2012 Gold SABRE Award – Government Agencies and a 2011 Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America in Community Relations.

Katie has been integral in developing the Airport Authority’s social media presence. Under her leadership, the airport’s Twitter profile was named “One of the Top-Ten Airports on Twitter” by both Forbes.com (2010) and Simpliflying.com (2012).  Seizing the opportunity to reach a new audience, Katie also recently launched the Airport Authority’s Pinterest profile. She has spoken to small business groups, community organizations and international conferences on the power of social media.

Katie holds a BA in English from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the LEAD San Diego Alumni Association. Katie lives in San Diego with her husband David and their son Luke.