Capitol Spotlight: Cynthia Moreno, Press Secretary for Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas

When she was working as a journalist, Cynthia Moreno rejected the possibility of ever working in government communications.

When the idea was suggested to her, it was a “hard no,” she said. “That’s the dark side,” she thought.

But today, she is Press Secretary for Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas and considers it a dream job – one of the best positions she’s ever had.

“Being a journalist, I thought I had visibility, but this is on another level,” she said. “All eyes are on what the Speaker is doing. He’s the second most powerful elected official in California.”

The job requires her to respond to media inquiries, write and make sure what is said about Rivas is accurate. “We’re strategic with what we want to share, how we want to share and what platforms we want to share it in,” she said.

Moreno, 40, grew up in Coalinga, the child of immigrants from Mexico. When she thinks of where she started, she is amazed at how her life has turned out. It’s a life her parents never envisioned.

“For me to be in a position like this, they don’t even understand it,” she said. “I feel like I was that trailblazer for my family.”

Brian Green, the Sacramento media consultant who encouraged Moreno to make the jump to communications, said Moreno’s background makes her an ideal fit for her current position.

“Having grown up in the Central Valley and having been a reporter covering the valley, Cynthia has a deep understanding and sensitivity for the diverse communities throughout Central California,” he said in an email.

Green also praised her intelligence and compassion. “She is brilliant, strategic…and is also an incredibly gracious and caring person.”

Moreno credits education as being a huge reason for her success. She got a full ride to the University of California at Berkeley, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in legal studies and religious studies.

“For me to be in a position like this, they don’t even understand it…I feel like I was that trailblazer for my family.”

Her career has spanned a wide range of experiences over the years, including developing Spanish language materials for tourism in Sacramento and serving as a communications officer for a health foundation. Along the way, she has become known for her skill in multicultural communications and strategy.

“In all the leadership positions I’ve been in, there’s never people who look like me,” she said.  “I’m the youngest, the only Latina, the only person who is fluent in Spanish.”

She started out in journalism because she wanted to tell stories that weren’t being told. “I’ve always loved to write and write stories about underprivileged, underserved communities not really covered by mainstream media,” she said.

She had a 15-year career in the media, working as a reporter for the Fresno Bee, Azteca America and KCSO Telemundo 33 before landing a job as a capitol correspondent for the bilingual McClatchy publication Vida en el Valle (Life in the Valley). She worked at Vida en el Valle nearly five years, winning awards for her work, and was stunned when she was laid off in 2017.

“I was really driven in journalism,” she said. “I thought I was never going to be laid off. I was writing stories that wouldn’t be written by any other reporter.”

She applied to every journalism job she could think of but wasn’t able to get hired. It was then that she knew she should give government communications a second look.

Her first job on “the dark side” was serving as communications director for then-Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, who represented Santa Barbara County and a portion of Ventura County.

She was hired to help with communication and outreach to the Spanish speaking community, a skill that became even more valuable when she was called to communicate with that population during the massive Thomas Fire that broke out in 2017.

People in the Capitol also appreciated her knowledge of how to talk to the media. “I didn’t realize how valuable it was to be a journalist for so long and how helpful it was for people on the other side,” she said.

A highlight on her career journey was getting a governor’s appointment to serve as assistant deputy director in communications for the California Department of Motor Vehicles in 2019. The job posed the challenge of reaching everybody in the state young and old about the DMV’s efforts to improve service.

“I was on TV all the time, traveling all around California, talking to communities, groups, making connections,” she said.

Moreno had been hesitant to take the job because the DMV was under fire at the time for complaints about service. “I really didn’t want to go there but when I look back, that’s what made my career,” she said.

During her time there, the pandemic hit, which caused her to switch gears again. She was pulled from her job and asked to help develop Spanish communications about COVID-19. She wrote scripts and public service announcements in Spanish.

That set off one of the busiest times of her life, with work taking up weekends and every free moment. “I ended up working around the clock,” she said.  By 2021, she was burnt out and ready for a break. She took six months off and traveled around Latin America before she was ready to jump back in the workforce.

Moreno is happy with her life now, enjoying traveling, trying out different restaurants, running and Pilates in her free time.

She also loves mentoring young staffers, especially young Latinos. She helps them plot their careers and strive for high salaries. “They don’t see their value,” she said. “They don’t ask for a fair wage.”

Moreno also advises people to think about more than just money. “If I can give advice, really follow your passion – what makes you super happy when you’re walking around and feel content and happy,” she said. “Be in spaces and careers that you feel that happiness.”