February 1, 2000
Mayor Williams Announces New Director of Communications
(Washington, D.C.) Mayor Anthony A. Williams today announced the appointment of Lydia Sermons as Director of Communications. She will start on February 9th. Sermons currently serves as Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Treasury. In her new position, Sermons will serve as principal adviser to the Mayor on communications and will coordinate the communications activities of the Office of Communications and rest of the Williams Administration.
"Lydia's years of experience will be an invaluable asset to my administration," said Mayor Williams. "She's a proven manager, she knows the city, and she knows how to communicate an agenda of reform."
As Director of Public Affairs for the Treasury Department, Ms. Sermons has managed a team of press officers, a photographer, news analysts and an administrative staff. She has overseen media relations for the Treasury Department, including: assisting senior Treasury officials with crisis management; arranging interviews and comments for senior Treasury officials; strategic planning for presenting issues to the media; responding to media inquiries; arranging press conferences, background briefings and photo sessions; and analyzing daily press coverage on issues ranging from the international economy, domestic finance, enforcement, economic/tax policy, Holocaust claims settlement, Y2K operations, budget and management issues.
Ms. Sermons previously served as the Press Secretary for the President's Initiative on Race, a one-year project by President Clinton to examine and to discuss the state of race-relations in America. She was responsible for managing the daily operation of the press office and staff, and was the chief spokesperson to national, regional and local media.
