State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Appoints New Communications Director

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced that he has appointed Kindra Britt as Director of Communications for the California Department of Education (CDE).

Britt heads a division that handles internal and external communications, including media activities to support State Superintendent Thurmond, and CDE as a whole. She replaces outgoing Director Bill Ainsworth.

Britt most recently served as Community Affairs Director for the Placer County Office of Education, where she started nearly 12 years ago as a Career Technical Education Instructor. Britt brings a unique perspective to her new role at CDE, having previously served in the classroom. In addition to her work in Placer County, over the last few months, she was on loan to Butte County as a Public Information Officer to assist Paradise Unified School District (PUSD) during the aftermath of the catastrophic Camp Fire. She managed media relations from all over the world in response to the devastation caused by the fire.PUSD had 3,500 students displaced after the fire, and Britt helped support the district in communications to first locate families and then provide them with vital information for recovery efforts and the return to school.

“I am pleased to have such an experienced, passionate, and energetic new member on the CDE team,” Thurmond said. “Kindra brings tremendous knowledge and dedication to public education, and I know this will align with my priorities as we hit the ground running in 2019.”

In addition to her great work at Placer County Office of Education, Britt has also served on the board for the California School Public Relations Association and is currently president-elect. Her network of school communicators throughout the state will serve as a benefit to CDE and her new role.

Born and raised in California, Britt is a proud public school graduate from Nevada County as well as a graduate of Sierra Community College. She later earned a B.S. in Kinesiology at California State University, Chico and a M.A. in Sport Management at California State University, Long Beach.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100