Capitol Spotlight: Megan Yee, Perry Communications Group

When it comes to Megan Yee’s work at Perry Communications Group over the past seven years, her colleagues and clients all say the same thing: She just gets it.

Having worked her way up to Vice President after starting at the company in 2019, Yee is one of the invaluable team members that keeps PCG, a public affairs and strategic communications firm with a specialty in healthcare policy, thriving.

But unlike many within the Capitol Community, Yee was not born into the world of California politics; instead, she learned it.

“I found it very intimidating at first, coming with no experience,” Yee said. “I was willing to work really hard and learn the ins and outs in order to get myself where I am today.”

Raised in Folsom, Yee grew up just a few cities over from where she would eventually land at PCG. Although she did not formally study communications or politics, her early years were marked by a diverse set of experiences that would ultimately shape her success today.

Yee attended Santa Barbara City College for two years before transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles through the Transfer Admission Guarantee program. When it came time to choose a major, she realized that she had particularly leaned into her sociology classes, in large part due to her fascination with people.

But for Yee, a sociology major meant no guarantee of where her life was heading next.

“The drawback of that type of degree is that it doesn’t just lead you into a career. It’s not a medical degree. It’s not a lawyer. It’s not something where you know what you’re doing next. So that was a lot of uncertainty for me,” she said.

As Vice President, Yee balances a multitude of executive responsibilities, from managing the PCG team to communicating with clients. But at the heart of her work are the people she connects with and the stories she is able to tell.

After graduating, Yee took a sales job at Yelp to sell advertising spots to businesses. That meant making a minimum of 80 calls a day, many of which were to businesses that were not fans of the company.

“I always say that will be the hardest job that I ever have: cold calling, advertising for a company that business owners are not a fan of,” she said, noting that the role provided a crucial lesson in how to handle rejection.

After about a year of working in sales, Yee decided it was time for a change. Feeling as though she had missed out on the opportunity to study abroad in college, Yee took it upon herself to make this experience happen.

After applying and being accepted into an intensive two-month program to earn an English teaching credential, Yee packed up her bags and moved halfway around the world to Prague, Czech Republic.

“[The program] was hard. It was intense. It was over a summer, and we were there all day, all night,” Yee said.

After getting her teaching credential, Yee made yet another big leap. She found a job on Facebook Marketplace as an au pair for two young boys in Barcelona, Spain. Soon, she had a plane ticket and plans to meet her new host family at the train station.

“I remember calling my parents and saying from Prague that I had found this family that needed an au pair … and they just thought that I was crazy,” she said. “But it ended up being one of the best things. They were an incredible family.”

In Spain, Yee spent her days teaching English at a dual language school and her evenings taking care of the boys. Although she didn’t know it at the time, learning how to communicate despite a language barrier ultimately laid the groundwork for her future expertise in communication.

“Sometimes [the boys’ father] Fernando and I would be in the kitchen and just laughing, trying to figure out what the other one was trying to say,” Yee said. “It was a good lesson in communication, because there are other ways [to communicate] besides just verbal communication, and we were learning how to figure that out.”

After about a year, Yee decided it was time to come back home. She returned to her parents’ house with no plan, most of her belongings sold and no idea of what the future held. All she knew was that after bouncing around jobs for a few years, she wanted her next role to stick.

Yee briefly worked as an office manager for EcoGuard, a pest management company owned by a family friend, while figuring out her next steps. That was when she saw an advertisement in the Capitol Morning Report for an opening at PCG.

“I owe a lot of thanks to the folks that interviewed me at the time,” Yee said. “Being in sales and then moving out of the country and then working at a pest control company — there’s not a lot of direction there. [But] you just have to get your foot in the door, and then once you do, it’s up to you to show up, learn about the company and give them reasons why they should hire you.”

Yee started out at PCG as an assistant account executive, working her way up each year until she became Vice President in 2022. According to both Yee and her colleagues, a key reason behind her success was her drive to learn as much as possible and gain new skills.

“During my interview process, we talked a lot about op-eds. And I didn’t know what an op-ed was, so after I left the interview, I immediately looked it up,” Yee said. “[That ended up being] one of the first things that, when I started at the company, I wanted to do.”

Now, Yee has written op-eds for a variety of major publications advocating on behalf of clients for numerous policy issues.

As Vice President, Yee balances a multitude of executive responsibilities, from managing the PCG team to communicating with clients. But at the heart of her work are the people she connects with and the stories she is able to tell.

One of the most meaningful examples to Yee is her ongoing work with the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation, her client since 2019. That year, PCG’s advocacy efforts led SCDF to secure $15 million in state funding to create Networking California for Sickle Cell Care, the state’s first and only network of adult sickle cell clinics.

“She is able to build trust so quickly and maintain that trust, and she never, ever falters on it.”

In 2021, PCG then launched the “Neglected No More” campaign, which brought together sickle cell patients, family members and healthcare workers to raise awareness about the clinics’ openings via social media, print news and audio platforms. For Yee, this storytelling aspect of her job is crucial when it comes to advancing change.

“Humanizing the issues is a big part of what we do. [We have to be] creative and come up with ideas to help increase public awareness,” Yee said. “We’re not talking about products [or] something specific like that. It’s a policy war.”

Kaitlin Perry, Managing Partner at PCG, praised Yee’s effortless ability to gain patients’ trust and convince them to share their stories, a critical element of the campaign’s success.

“She is able to build trust so quickly and maintain that trust, and she never, ever falters on it,” Perry said. “And because of that, we have folks who are willing to share their stories … and understand the importance of what we’re doing and how critical it is for them to be involved.”

With Yee at the helm, the campaign reached over five million Californians in the first half of 2022, gaining additional support from a number of coalitions and advocacy groups. In the years since, SCDF has continued to receive legislative support for their programs, securing $5 million in 2024 and an additional $6 million in 2026.

Mary Brown, President and CEO of the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation, noted the ease of achieving these goals with Yee’s leadership.

“It’s always a challenge to get your story out there to our elected officials,” Brown said. “But [with Yee], it always came out the way it should have.”

Yee has also worked on a number of other policy issues, including multi-cancer early detection screening. After five years of advocacy efforts, Yee celebrated the passage of federal legislation in 2025 that created a pathway for Medicare to cover multi-cancer early screening tests. Now, Yee is an executive committee member of the American Cancer Society’s Cultivate campaign in Sacramento, which brings together local chefs for a community dinner to raise money for cancer research.

But no matter what policy issue Yee dives into, she brings forth a deep sense of care, empathy and understanding that allows her to enact real change.

“Her gift is in working with the clients. She becomes a part of their team,” said Kassy Perry, President and CEO of PCG. “That’s a real gift, that care and willingness to become an extension of someone.”

For Kaitlin Perry, these qualities are why Yee has become so invaluable to the company.

We can teach anyone to do the work that we do,” she said. “You just really have to care, and you have to be genuine and authentic and have integrity. And Megan has all of that in spades.”

Before joining PCG, when Yee was still searching for her next career move, she had a goal in mind: She wanted to become the person on the other side of the interviewing desk, an experienced mentor who could help up-and-comers get their start. Seven years later, she sits on this side comfortably, bringing positivity, care and mentorship to PCG and the greater Capitol Community.

“I do really think that the job is teachable, and the industry is teachable, and anybody can learn if you’re interested,” she said. “I would keep my eye out if a resume came across our desk of somebody who didn’t have a ton of experience, and would still be willing to interview them and find out their work ethic. If there’s somebody that was similar to me, I would love to be able to take that on and help them learn and grow.”

Olivia Bye is a junior at Tufts University. She was previously an intern in the Capitol Weekly internship program.

The next round of Capitol Weekly internships will begin in January 2027. To apply, please submit two writing samples, a letter of recommendation from a supervisor or professor, your resume and a cover letter to [email protected] by October 16, 2026.