Christine Townsend

Founder, PIO Toolkit

Austin

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Christine has over fifteen years experience in crisis and emergency communication as well as shaping the digital policing narrative in the UK. As one of the first teams to bring social media to the public sector, Christine has trained emergency services and government agencies across the world in how to engage with the public and hard to reach communities through digital channels. Originally from the UK and now living in Austin, TX, she has experience as a national news journalist. As a decorated operational police officer, Christine has worked to bridge the gap between public and police through better communication. Her experiences have included large scale events such as the London 2012 Olympics, the funeral of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and financial scandals, riots and the handling of historic sex abuse cases. In addition to being a founding member of the first Gay Police Association in the world, she was also the first uniformed officer in her agency to lead the Gay Pride march in uniform and is the Founder of PRESERVED - an evidence gathering tool for those experience abuse and discrimination. She is also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of