乱伦社区

Join Camille Zapata, Digital Director for Governor Gavin Newsom, for a conversation with 乱伦社区 professor Jevin West exploring how digital storytelling has become one of the most powerful forces shaping politics, public opinion, and culture.听

Drawing on her experience shaping one of the nation’s most influential public-sector digital operations, Zapata will discuss how governments compete for attention, build trust in an era of misinformation, and translate complex policy into stories that reach hundreds of millions of people. Together, Zapata and West will examine the opportunities and consequences of communication in the attention economy鈥攁nd what it means for democracy.听

Registration opens December 9, 2026.

Biography:

Camille Zapata is a digital strategist and communications executive working at the forefront of how power, politics, and storytelling听operate听in the modern media landscape. She serves as Digital Director for California Governor Gavin Newsom, where she leads one of the most influential public-sector digital operations in the United States, shaping narrative, driving cultural relevance, and positioning California at the center of national and global attention.听

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At the Governor鈥檚 Office, Zapata has developed a model for government communication rooted in the dynamics of the global attention economy. Her work translates complex policy into culturally fluent, mass-consumed storytelling that reaches hundreds of millions of people and influences how political ideas move across platforms, communities, and borders. Her approach to digital political communication has been recognized by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Vanity Fair for shaping how public leaders engage audiences in an era defined by speed, skepticism, and saturation.听

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Zapata鈥檚 career spans campaigns, government, and movement-building, where she听operates听at the intersection of strategy and storytelling. From managing a winning State Senate race to advancing public health and equity initiatives at the local level, her work focuses on building narratives that move people and deepen public understanding. She serves as President of California Women鈥檚 List and is a graduate student in Public Relations Innovation, Strategy, and Management at the University of Southern California. Across her work and research, Zapata is driven by a central question: who gets to shape the story, and what are the consequences when they听do.听

Moderator:听
Jevin West is the co-founder of the Center for an Informed Public at UW aimed at resisting strategic misinformation, promoting an informed society and strengthening democratic discourse. His research and teaching focus on the impact of data and technology on science and society, with a focus on slowing the spread of misinformation. He is the co-author of the new book, Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World, which helps non-experts question numbers, data, and statistics without an advanced degree in data science.

Department Sponsor:听The Graduate School听