Elsa Rainey is a strategic communications and public affairs leader working at the intersection of storytelling, trust, and community engagement. She helps mission-driven organizations navigate complex issues, build meaningful relationships with stakeholders, and translate ambitious goals into narratives that mobilize people and strengthen communities.

Over more than a decade in strategic communications, Elsa has advised executive leadership teams, civil rights organizations, advocacy coalitions, foundations, healthcare systems, and national associations on some of the most consequential issues facing the country. Her work spans civil rights, democracy, education, health, economic opportunity, and community resilience.

Currently serving as Vice President of Public Affairs & Communications at GPS Influence, Elsa leads teams and campaigns that advance community outcomes, elevate underrepresented voices, and strengthen civic and social infrastructure through disciplined, ethical, and effective communications. She is known for bringing clarity to complexity—helping organizations align stakeholders, build trust, and communicate with purpose during moments of opportunity, challenge, and change.

Throughout her career, Elsa has served as a trusted senior advisor to executives, attorneys, policy leaders, and coalition partners. She has developed executive communications strategies, led media and message training for organizational leaders, and helped institutions build long-term communications capacity that extends beyond any single campaign or news cycle.

Her leadership philosophy is rooted in the belief that communications should do more than generate attention. Effective communications should inform communities, strengthen trust, support participation, and create the conditions for meaningful change.

Elsa's work has helped secure national coverage in outlets including The New York Times, Time Magazine, NPR, Univision, Telemundo, Axios, NBC News, CBS News, Politico, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and many others. Equally important, she prioritizes trusted local and community-based outlets that help ensure stories reach the people most affected by policy and systems decisions.

Beyond media relations, Elsa has designed and led large-scale engagement initiatives including national convenings, town hall campaigns, mobile tours, coalition communications programs, and public affairs strategies that connect institutions with communities in authentic and lasting ways.

A nationally recognized speaker and trainer, Elsa regularly speaks on new media strategy, coalition communications, public affairs, trust-building, and the evolving role of AI in communications. She is particularly focused on helping organizations adapt to a rapidly changing media environment where independent journalists, creators, and digital-first platforms increasingly shape public understanding.

At the center of Elsa's work is a simple belief: trust is built through relationships, credibility, and participation. Communications succeeds when it helps people feel seen, informed, and empowered to engage in the issues that affect their lives.