Professional Experience
Dr. Turner's professional experience spans more than a decade of senior communications leadership across some of the most complex, high-visibility institutional environments, from municipal police departments and federal housing agencies to national advocacy organizations and higher education. She has built and led communications functions, managed high-stakes media moments, and developed campaigns that produced measurable results for the organizations and communities she served. Every role she has held reflects the same commitment: showing up prepared, leading with strategy, and communicating in ways that build lasting trust.
Senior Communication Consultant
Organization: CBG Strategies Dates: December 2023 – Present
Advises organizations on strategic communications, media relations, brand storytelling, and audience engagement. In this consulting capacity, she develops communication campaigns, messaging strategies, and content plans aligned with each organization's goals and brand positioning priorities. She supports executive leadership through media strategy, public-facing communication planning, and stakeholder engagement initiatives, and drafts press releases, media pitches, and executive messaging supporting organizational PR efforts.
Director of Strategic Communications
Organization: Housing Authority of Birmingham District (HABD) Dates: October 2024 – August 2025
As Director of Strategic Communications for one of Alabama's largest public housing agencies, Dr. Turner led all strategic PR and communications initiatives supporting organizational visibility, media engagement, and community storytelling. She developed and executed integrated communication campaigns across digital platforms, media outreach, executive messaging, and public-facing communications, increasing audience engagement by 40% through targeted storytelling and digital content initiatives. She also oversaw brand storytelling, editorial content planning, website messaging, and audience engagement strategies across multiple communication channels.
Key Achievement: Increased audience engagement by 40% through targeted storytelling and digital content strategy.
Director of Public Affairs
Organization: City of Chattanooga Police Department Dates: January 2024 – October 2024
Directed media relations, strategic storytelling, and public-facing communication campaigns for a high-profile municipal law enforcement agency. She managed media inquiries, public messaging, social media communications, and executive communication support across multiple platforms and coordinated communication efforts during high-visibility incidents requiring timely, credible, audience-centered messaging. She also developed communication strategies and content campaigns designed to strengthen community trust and organizational visibility.
Key Achievement: Developed and launched a four-month digital public safety campaign that garnered 10,000+ views.
Public Relations Manager
Organization: City of Birmingham Police Department Dates: October 2021 – January 2024
Managed public relations initiatives for the City of Birmingham Police Department, including media outreach, storytelling campaigns, social media strategy, and audience engagement efforts. She increased media visibility by 25% through proactive media relations and strategic communication campaigns and developed press releases, executive messaging, newsletters, website content, and digital materials to support organizational priorities. She also assisted with crisis communication response and strategic messaging during high-profile incidents and organizational announcements.
Key Achievement: Increased media visibility by 25% through proactive media relations and strategic storytelling campaigns.
Senior Digital Strategist
Organization: 1000 Women Strong Dates: May 2021 – December 2021
Built and executed the full public relations and digital marketing engagement strategy for a national student loan debt-cancellation campaign, centering the voices and experiences of Black and other women of color across the country. She launched a video storytelling campaign, developed and distributed the petition strategy, and executed a media relations campaign that secured national coverage, including a feature interview on ABC News.
Key Achievement: Secured 50,000+ petition signatures and national earned media coverage, including ABC News.
Adjunct Professor
Organization: Lancaster Bible College & University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Dates: August 2023 – Present
Teaches undergraduate and graduate communication courses at both institutions, equipping emerging professionals with the strategic communication skills, critical-thinking frameworks, and professional foundations they need to succeed in the field.
Additional Professional Experience
Public Relations Manager | PommePeche | January 2022 – April 2022
PR/Marketing Assistant | Birmingham Airport Authority | December 2019 – October 2021
Freelance Publicist | KGT Communication | May 2018 – August 2021
Public Relations Intern | University of Alabama at Birmingham | August 2016 – December 2016
Education
Awards
Doctor of Philosophy in Strategic Media, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA | May 2026 Dissertation: The Power of Connection: How Communication Between Leaders and Employees Impacts Job Satisfaction
Master of Arts in Media & Communication, Webster University, St. Louis, MO | May 2019
Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL | December 2016
2024 PR Professional of the Year, Public Relations Society of America — Alabama Chapter
2023 PR Professional of the Year, Alabama Chapter of the American Advertising Federation