Strategic Communications

You need to reach out/communicate/engage. But with audiences fragmenting and strategies, technologies, and media proliferating, getting it right can require a dizzying array of skills.

ERG’s award-winning communication specialists have the diverse skills to help.

We’re digital strategists, social marketers, media mavens, wordsmiths, visual artists, web designers, videographers, instructional designers, facilitators, meeting planners, and so much more.  

We love what we do: crafting compelling messages and brands; transforming content into vital, engaging products; creating campaigns to catalyze change; building partnerships to improve health, safety, and the environment; and designing meetings that work and solutions that last. 

We thrive on synergy, working collaboratively to find just the right approach for each project. We can’t wait to help with yours.

Outreach and Social Marketing
  • Audience research
  • Digital media strategies
  • Message development/testing
  • Product development/testing
  • Campaign design/implementation
  • Viral marketing
  • Media outreach
  • Evaluation
Graphic and Web Design
  • Identity/branding
  • Data visualization
  • Website design, development, and content management
  • App development
  • Video production
  • Print design and production
Meetings and Facilitation
  • Meeting/event management
  • Stakeholder process design
  • Facilitation
  • Peer review services
Education and Training
  • E-learning
  • Classroom instruction
  • K–12 educational programs
  • Training videos
  • Instructional materials
Partnership Programs
  • Design and recruitment
  • Partner relations and incentives
  • Management and monitoring
  • Program evaluation
Technical and Scientific Communications
  • Content research
  • Technical writing and editing
  • Adapting complex content for diverse audiences
  • Synthesis of multi-authored documents

Projects

Photo of scrap cars awaiting recycling
Helping Border Communities Manage Scrap Vehicles

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Digital ad photo for Recycle Smart showing a woman thinking about whether a pizza box is recyclable. Use the Recyclopedia to check what you can and can't recycle.
Recycle Smart MA

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection

Screenshot of EPA's Green Infrastructure Wizard home page showing its "Quick Links" and "Explore" icons
Creating EPA's Green Infrastructure Wizard (GIWiz)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Stop the Stigma; Opioid Addiction is Treatable photo
Reducing Stigma Around Opioid Substance Abuse

Fairfax County, Virginia

Screenshots from a fovonovela titled "COVID-19 Precauciones: Cuando Comparta Su Hogar con Otros," along with graphics for websites linking to the fotonovela.
Digital Marketing Campaign to Slow the Spread of COVID-19

Fairfax County, Virginia

screen shot of animated video ERG developed promoting the benefits of electric vehicles
Support for “Carbon-Free Fairfax” Outreach Initiative

Fairfax County, Virginia

Community Health Initiative infographic
Pro Bono Support for an Environmental Justice Community Health Initiative

Endowment for Health

photo of handshake
Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution Services

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Photo of a street curb showing water runoff
Stormwater Program Support

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Screenshot of "How's My Waterway?" application page, highlighting Daily Cyanobacteria Estimates
Development of EPA’s “How’s My Waterway?” Application

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Three EPA employees waiting to get their blood pressure checked on the “Wellness on Wheels” Health Clinic Van, provided by Doctors Community Hospital
Improving Employee Health and Wellness

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Photo of a person sitting at a table with paperwork, holding her glasses in one hand while the other is pinching the bridge of nose as if they have a headache
Developing a Workplace Stress Toolkit

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

satellite map view of Greene Valley RDF
Helping EPA Reduce Landfill Methane Emissions

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Photo of Port in Wilmington Delaware with a cargo ship at unloading crane
Developing an Environmental Justice-Focused Community Action Roadmap to Engage the Port of Wilmington, Delaware

Delaware Community Benefits Agreement Coalition

RECs: Making Green Power Possible

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Photo of a line of school buses
Full-Spectrum Grant Administration Support for the MassCleanDiesel Program

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection

EPA webpage showing the DERA Helpline
Grant Helpline Support for EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act Program

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Photo of 2 construction Inspectors. One is pointing into the distance
Development of EPA Construction Inspection Training Course

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

photo of a NYC Street with tall buildings and trees in the forefront
Integrating Environmental Justice into New York’s Groundbreaking Clean Transportation Prizes Program

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

Large red freight truck driving down a highway
Helping Green Freight Programs Succeed at Home and Abroad

International Council on Clean Transportation, Natural Resources Canada, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2019
Improving the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Photo of houses in Barrow, Alaska and a signpost pointing to far-away places
Saving Lives and Infrastructure in Western Alaska Native Villages

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service

Photo of a water treatment plant under a blue sky
Developing Guidance to Help Communities Advocate for Drinking Water Equity

River Network

Scenic fall landscape with grassy field in front sloping down to trees and then a series of mountains going deep into the background with a beautiful sky above
EPA's Report on the Environment

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1.5 trillion gallons of water saved since 2006!
Saving Water Through WaterSense

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Covers and/or pages from several EPA "Climate Change Indicators in the United States" publications
Climate Indicators Report

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Example map showing potential storm surge flooding
Visualizing the Dangers of Storm Surge

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Aerial view of flood waters surging through local area with residential streets and homes.
Flash Flood Summit and Stakeholder Engagement

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Over a dozen diverse smiling hospital staff and a patient standing together, all looking at the camera.
Promoting Hospital Worker Safety

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Screenshot of NOAA's FishWatch website homepage
NOAA FishWatch Website Redesign

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Group of EPA employees participating in outdoors synchonized aerobic dance exercises in an urban environment on a sunny day
Keeping EPA Employees Safe and Healthy at Work

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Three professionals stand and talk in front of a poster display about the Global Methane Initiative
Support for EPA's Global Methane Initiative

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Screenshot of EPA's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Tool webpage showing four dropdown menus and images illustrating relative percentages of GHG emissions by emission type and economic sector
Digital Transformation of EPA's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Homepage of the Northeast Regional Ocean Council's "Ocean Planning in the Northeast" website, as shown on a tablet, mobile phone, desktop, and laptop computer
Ocean Planning in the Northeast

Northeast Regional Ocean Council

Screenshot of DOE Better Buildings publication with four icons in the foreground for Strategy Development, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation
Sharing Proven Strategies for Energy Efficiency Programs

U.S. Department of Energy

The top corner of a modern building, as seen from below, with blue sky in the background
Supporting Sustainable Best Practices at EPA Facilities

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Aerial view of a Gulf Coast barrier island surrounded by blue-green ocean water
Support for the Gulf of Mexico Regional Ecosystem Restoration Strategy

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency


Service Area Leads

Photo of Erica Barth-Naftilan

I find it motivating to be working at a time of both genuine need for better understanding human impacts on the environment and the emergence of tools and technologies that allow us to process data and understand the world like never before. I’m always excited to learn new skills and better ways to address complex problems.

Erica Barth-Naftilan

Kathleen Brady

Laboratories are some of the most energy- and carbon-intensive facilities in the built environment. Working together, lab owners, managers, users, designers, engineers, and builders are coming up with creative solutions to decarbonize the world’s labs. It’s my job to give a voice to their ideas and help reduce the impact of the research enterprise on the environment and our climate.

Kathleen Brady

Photo of Kurt Cabral

As an instructional design expert, I create trainings that help learners problem-solve, plan, and most importantly, get things done. A well-conceived and well-constructed training provides a foundation for individual growth and serves as a key contributor to organizational change.

Kurt Cabral

Photo of Jan Connery

I feel profoundly fortunate to have been with ERG throughout our journey from a handful of employees in 1984 to several hundred today. I couldn’t be more proud of the work we’ve done these past 30+ years or more inspired to work every day with such great colleagues and clients. My work is just as fulfilling and vibrant to me now as the day I started.

Jan Connery

Jenny Helmick

George Bernard Shaw once said, ‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.’ Given the environmental and public health issues we face today, we ignore this illusion at our peril. My work is to help scientists and policy makers understand, engage, and inform their audiences. ERG’s clients know that if they hand me some dingy prose, I can make it sparkle. If they tell me whom they hope to reach and why, I can craft a strategy to cut through the noise. For me, making science engaging and accessible is a skill, an art, and a calling.

Jenny Helmick

Photo of Sara Hilbrich

While teaching children early in my career, I learned that people are much more likely to support something they have helped create. Ever since, when supporting organizational decision-making processes, I’ve been passionate about involving those who will be affected by the resulting decisions and actions because it yields more robust and sustainable results. I love working collaboratively with colleagues, clients, stakeholders, and the public to continue progress toward ensuring a healthy world for generations to come.

Sara Hilbrich

Photo of Ted Hogan

At ERG, I thrive on learning something new, meeting someone interesting, and contributing solutions that address transportation’s impact on climate change and vice versa. Whether working in the local, state, federal, or international arena, I enjoy collaborating across and beyond ERG to find creative ways to communicate information, engage audiences, and engineer solutions in service of our clients and their goals.

Ted Hogan

Chris Lamie

My work is all about continual improvement. Whether it’s tackling emerging challenges in our environment, setting and working toward incremental sustainability goals, or designing information products that reach new audiences in innovative ways, I enjoy opportunities to raise awareness, raise the discourse, and help our clients improve human well-being and the health of our planet.

Chris Lamie

Lauren Lariviere

Planning a meeting is a bit like flying a plane: When the weather is good, all the instruments are up and running, and everything is going as planned, just about anyone can do it. But when something goes wrong, you really want a trained pilot—someone who thinks outside the box, and problem solves on the fly. Me? I pilot meetings.

Lauren Lariviere

Photo of Brandin McDonough

We learn near our highest potential when we immerse ourselves outside our comfort zone, get lost, fall down, and persevere until our experience outweighs self-doubt.

Brandin McDonough

Alexandra Phillips

I appreciate coming to work each day knowing my contributions are making a tangible difference in my community and across the United States. From helping community groups amplify their voices to developing digital tools and products, I love diving into the details to tell a meaningful story.

Alexandra Phillips

Photo of Cena Swisher

I feel so fortunate! Every day at ERG I get to collaborate with colleagues and clients from a wide range of disciplines in doing truly meaningful work that helps foster positive change.

Cena Swisher