A doctor of law and policy, James Toscano handles client reputation management including crisis communications, and news and social media strategy.
Dr. Toscano has been the head of communications and public affairs in three organizations, one national and two large Virginia organizations. He was a vice president at Hampton Roads Transit and Tidewater Community College before being named president of Partners for College Affordability & Public Trust.
As a spokesperson, Toscano's commentary has been featured in USA Today, Washington Post, CNBC, People.com and throughout local and statewide Virginia media outlets.
He has been a trusted strategist and advisor in crisis situations.
When Norfolk light rail was over budget and under federal investigation, Toscano was promoted to the agency's senior executive team "to right the agency and complete light rail construction after problems surfaced. 'He helped it emerge from difficult times, especially in communications, public information and transparency,'" said the agency's CEO.
He led the development of Mission 31/90, a public relations campaign targeted at restoring public trust in the agency by addressing 31 audit recommendations in 90 days, reporting progress through a public dashboard and news media briefings.
Dr. Toscano has also been an agent of bipartisan public policy change as an advocate and a registered lobbyist who started his career as a legislative staffer in the Virginia General Assembly. He went on to serve in multiple policy board appointments under multiple Virginia governors.
As a social media strategist, Toscano has been a leader in guiding organizations into this "brave new world." As a consultant, he trained public school officials in a major U.S. city on how to adopt social media effectively and made policy recommendations. His combination of scholarship and practical advice has been published in scholarly works as well as Government Technology, Governing, and Public Management magazine.
Bipartisan Policy Portfolio:
• Head of national policy advocacy organization
• Legislative Director for three sessions to Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) when McDonnell was the Assistant Majority Leader in the Virginia House
• Governor’s Fellow under The Honorable Mark R. Warner (D) in the Office of the Secretary of Technology
• Two policy board appointments under Governor McDonnell (R), including Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads where Toscano served as board chair
• Appointed by Gov. McAuliffe’s (D) Secretary of Transportation to the seven-member statewide Transit Capital Project Revenue Advisory Board
• Served on Governor-Elect Northam’s (D) Higher Education Policy Commission
