Heather Leslie
Director, Public Involvement
Heather M. Leslie joined the Cunningham Group as the firm's director of public involvement. She is a public relations professional with a background in print journalism. Ms. Leslie has vast experience crafting public information campaigns that are tailored to the client’s specific needs in the public and private sectors. Ms. Leslie has developed and implemented successful public information strategies for the Florida Department of Transportation, Miami-Dade County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Broward County Planning Organization and was the first Public Information Specialist for the Town of Cutler Bay.
Ms. Leslie has worked with the elected officials and staff of many municipalities throughout Miami-Dade, Monroe and Broward counties. Ms. Leslie has extensive experience as the lead liaison on Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Studies. She is well versed in all aspects of Chapter 11 of the PD&E Public Involvement Manual and has led the way in developing materials that meet the goals detailed in the Governor’s Plain Language Initiative. Ms. Leslie has drafted bilingual materials including letters, fact sheets, newsletters, newspaper advertisements, public meeting collaterals, surveys and websites. She has coordinated and executed more than 25 public meetings and more than 50 elected official briefings. Ms. Leslie has also been in charge of maintaining accurate and thorough records of all public involvement activities to document efforts and make information available to stakeholders and the client.
In addition to her planning and PD&E experience, Ms. Leslie has led public information campaigns for FDOT’s Traffic Operations department and has worked on many Design, Construction and Intelligent Transportation System projects as a member of the team, as well as overseeing the production of materials in a Quality Assurance/Quality Control role. She has also assisted in the Work Program Public Hearing process.
With each of these projects, daily interaction with stakeholders is critical. By keeping an open dialogue, Ms. Leslie has worked with many to inform them of a project’s progress, listen to their feedback and to help develop responses that address their needs. These efforts are important to building consensus among diverse stakeholder groups. Ms. Leslie is a trained print journalist having previously worked for the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers as a copy editor and page designer.