Former Director to Guide Special Projects
 
Mayor John Hickenlooper has announced that Lindy Eichenbaum Lent is transitioning from her service as the administration’s communications director to a senior advisor and special projects role, and Marlena Fernández Berkowitz is joining the administration today as its new communications director.  

“This is the best of both worlds,” said Hickenlooper.  “We are retaining Lindy’s knowledge and expertise as an integral part of our team while welcoming a new communications director with the experience that Marlena brings.”

As communications director, Berkowitz will assume responsibility for the administration’s media relations and external and internal communications.  Sarah Moss, who joined the communications team in September 2005, will remain in her role providing communications, event logistics and operational support.

In her new position, Lent will serve as a senior advisor to the mayor on communications and strategic issues, while focusing her energy on special projects involving the Democratic National Convention, Denver Public Schools, Greenprint Denver, Civic Center and other opportunities as they arise.


Communications Director: Marlena Fernández Berkowitz

Berkowitz brings more than 13 years of corporate, financial and product communications experience to her new role as the mayor's communications director.

She most recently served as vice president of enterprise public relations for the Symantec Corporation in Northern California, following its acquisition of VERITAS Software where she had spent the preceding three years as vice president of corporate communications overseeing worldwide communications activities for the software storage provider.  

She previously served as senior director of public relations for technology startup Loudcloud/Opsware Inc. during its initial public offering and acquisition; as vice president of Access Public Relations, LLC, managing key enterprise technology accounts; as a senior public relations manager for the Oracle Corporation during its Oracle 8 and Oracle9i launches, and as an account supervisor at TSI, Inc. managing the IBM RS/6000 account.

Berkowitz began her career as an editorial assistant at the Boston Herald before a two-year stint as a junior press secretary in Boston City Hall, representing City Councilor At-Large Bruce Bolling.  A member of the Hispanic Public Relations Association and Council of Communications Management, Berkowitz received her bachelor’s degree in English from Tufts University.

Senior Advisor to the Mayor: Lindy Eichenbaum Lent
 
Lent will bring her political communications experience and history with the Hickenlooper administration to bear in her new role as a senior advisor focusing on special projects.

Lent served as the communications director on the 2002-3 Hickenlooper mayoral campaign and was subsequently appointed as communications director in July 2003, serving as the mayor’s spokesperson, speechwriter and media strategist while overseeing the communications-related functions of the administration’s first term.

She previously worked as Mike Feeley’s deputy communications director in his 2002 bid for Colorado’s 7th Congressional District seat and served nearly three years as the communications director for U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin, Texas.  Beginning her career in political journalism, Lent covered Chicago City Hall for the Illinois Times, Daily Southtown and Arlington Heights Daily Herald newspapers; covered Capitol Hill as a Washington correspondent for WISC-TV (Madison, WI) and KVIA-TV (El Paso, TX); and held internships at CNN’s Washington bureau and Chicago’s CBS affiliate.

Lent received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford University and her master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.