Gov. Laura Kelly early Monday evening announced a political communications veteran as the new public affairs director to replace Dena Sattler who is moving back to the Commerce Department.
Kelly has named Sam Coleman to the position. He previously worked as the communications director for Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign in South Carolina and as the press secretary for Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama.
He also served as assistant communications director for former Democratic Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
He also was the communications director for former Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham in her campaign for mayor in 2015. She finished third in a six-person race for the Democratic nomination.
He also was regional field director for the Michigan Conservation Voters political action committee.
Coleman has a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Meanwhile, Sattler has been named as the senior director of public affairs at the Commerce Department, which is where she started with the Kelly administration in February 2019.
The governor’s office said that Sattler’s primary focus will be “growth and recovery communications” as the state grapples with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Sattler will spearhead strategic media interaction and messaging centering on Commerce ventures, especially the statewide Framework for Growth,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
She will work closely with the governor’s economic recovery task force and coordinate communications of the executive-branch agencies related to the state’s economic recovery from the pandemic.
Sattler brought a depth of newspapering experience to the Kelly administration, serving as editor and publisher of The Garden City Telegram from 2004 to 2018.
In 2018, she was named southwest Kansas group publisher for GateHouse Media, serving as publisher of The Telegram, the Dodge City Daily Globe, The Pratt Tribune, Kiowa County Signal and St. John News.
This will the third person to take the helm of the Kelly administration’s communication efforts since the governor took office in 2019.
Ashley All held the position at first but left after the governor’s first legislative session.
All had planned to work through the first legislative session for the governor after leading her communications efforts during the campaign.
