Benjamin Palmer, MPA

Experience

• 

  Arizona Department of Health Services

  Apr 2007 - Dec 2017

  Serve as an agency liaison to local, state and national media including coordination of media interviews. Coordinate agency-wide communication efforts including social media content, blogs, news releases and PR events. Managed ad-agency contracts for eight programs with varying budgets, programmatic topics, staff skill levels, and timelines. Provided assistance, support and recommendations on agency budgets, proposals, executions, and evaluations. Coordinated agency-wide communication efforts including social media content, blogs, news releases and PR events. Provide planning and support for county health department tobacco program contracts. Assisted in preparing contracts and action plans for tobacco control efforts.

  • Public Information Officer

    Mar 2015 - Dec 2017

  • Tobacco Communications Program Manager

    Aug 2009 - Feb 2015

  • Program Manager

    Apr 2007 - Jul 2009
• 

  State Farm ®

  Feb 2018 - Feb 2025

  In my role as a Public Affairs Specialist at State Farm, I served as the primary spokesperson for 11 US states, developing and pitching catastrophe messaging for Tier 3 & 4 deployments. Additionally, I provided public affairs consulting for internal staff, agents, and agent staff members, ensuring effective communication strategies and messaging to national and local media on core State Farm products and services. During my six-month Temporary Work Assignment (TWA) with Human Resources & Development (HR&D), I was an essential part of the hiring team that successfully surpassed the goal of recruiting 3,000 external candidates. My responsibilities included reviewing resumes, conducting phone interviews, and extending employment offers to claims associate candidates. I actively participated in the screening process by rating On-Demand Interviews (ODI) for potential candidates. In my role as a Public Affairs Specialist at State Farm, I served as the primary spokesperson for 14 US states, providing expert guidance to various departments within the company. I conducted extensive research on complex issues affecting insurance agencies and compiled detailed reports for media and internal stakeholders. Additionally, I managed information sites and served as the Incident Command PIO for the Tempe Regional Hub.

  • Public Affairs Specialist

    Jun 2022 - Feb 2025

  • Talent Acquisition Specialist

    Jan 2022 - Jun 2022

  • Public Affairs Specialist

    Feb 2018 - Jan 2022