GaelLuna

Strategic communications, public participation and design

I believe people deserve a real voice in the decisions that shape their communities, and that clear, honest communication is how they get it. For 16 years I've put that into practice: public involvement for 57+ infrastructure projects, communications for 33 political campaigns, and 46+ websites and 39+ brand identities. Now based in Spain's Valencia region.

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Selected work

Three threads run through my career: design and branding, public involvement on infrastructure, and political communications.

46+
websites and 39+ brand identities

Brand identities, collateral and websites for agencies, campaigns and businesses in fitness, AI, tourism, education, manufacturing and the skilled trades, including booking, digital-menu and payment-integrated builds.

Lunar Mosaic, Torres Multicultural, Your Project MO, Method Social Kinetics, Spectrum Experience
57+
infrastructure projects

Public involvement for freeways, arterial reconstructions, paving programs and water and sewer work across Arizona, including a $4.4B+ portfolio of 15 projects at the state Department of Transportation.

ADOT, Your Project MO, Torres Multicultural
33
political campaigns in 3 states

Strategy, branding and operations for congressional, legislative and local races in Arizona, Texas and Tennessee, including 900,000+ voter contacts in a single cycle and a six-term incumbent unseated against the polls.

Method Social Kinetics, Spectrum Experience

Experience

Public agencies, communications firms, political campaigns and classrooms, in the United States and Spain.

Comic panel: Gael on a bus, saying in Spanish, just one more stop and my great day begins.
  1. Sept. 2026 – now

    Teacher of English as a Second Language

    Karl Cain Academy · Alzira, Valencia, Spain

    • Plans courses, lessons and materials for A1–C2 learners and teaches group and private classes.
    • Introduced a self-hosted learning platform for course materials and assignments on web and mobile.
    • Designs the academy's marketing materials and proposed automations for enrollment, payments and GDPR data management.
  2. May 2025 – now

    Strategic Communications and Public Participation Lead

    Lunar Mosaic · Valencia, Spain

    • Built brand identities and collateral for 9 clients in fitness, AI, tourism, education, manufacturing and the skilled trades.
    • Designed and launched 12 client websites, including booking, digital-menu and payment-integrated builds.
    • Generated 2,000+ leads for agency email marketing campaigns.
    • Created proposal, estimate and brand-development templates now used agency-wide.
  3. Nov. 2023 – May 2025

    Community Relations Project Manager

    Arizona Department of Transportation · Phoenix, Arizona, United States

    • Directed public involvement for 15 projects worth $4.4B+, including the $3.5B SR 30 and the $613M Loop 303 corridor.
    • Managed local agencies and consultants to ensure contract, federal and state compliance.
    • Led demographic, Environmental Justice, limited-English-proficiency and constraints analyses on every project.
    • Designed graphics and web content and translated outreach materials into Spanish.
    Project list
    • State Route 30 (Tres Rios Freeway) corridor, SR 85 to I-17New 29-mile freeway; combined estimate for all three segments$5.1B+
    • Center segment, Loop 303 to Loop 202$3.5B
    • West segment, SR 85 to Loop 303$878M
    • East segment, Loop 202 to I-17
    • Loop 303, MC 85 to Van Buren StreetNew freeway extension in Goodyear$613M
    • Loop 303, Lake Pleasant Parkway to I-17Widening and new I-17 system interchange ramps$129M
    • Loop 101 (Pima Freeway), Shea Boulevard to Princess Drive/Pima RoadFreeway widening and interchange improvements$108M
    • US 60X (Main Street/Apache Trail), Sossaman Road to Meridian RoadCorridor improvements, sidewalks, bike lanes and drainage$38.5M
    • Loop 101/State Route 51 ramp wideningEastbound-to-southbound ramp$3.6M
    • Loop 303, US 60 to Happy Valley RoadTraffic interchange alternatives study
    • Interstate 10/Baseline RoadTraffic interchange study
    • Mews Road, Higley Road to 172nd StreetPaving project
  4. Sept. 2021 – June 2023

    Public Involvement Account Supervisor

    Torres Multicultural Communications · Phoenix, Arizona, United States

    • Community relations for the I-10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project: construction notices, outreach events and Spanish-language outreach.
    • Led a four-person team to zero turnover across rail, freeway and workforce development contracts, and served on the firm's leadership team.
    • Designed an employee development program adopted as company standard, and built an in-house learning system that replaced manual onboarding.
    Projects and programs
    • Interstate 10 Broadway Curve Improvement ProjectConstruction-phase community relations$776M
    • Valley Metro Northwest Extension Phase II1.6-mile light rail extension$401M
    • City of Phoenix Floodplain Management Program
    • Engineers of the Future, PGH WongIntroduction to STEM for middle school students in underserved communities
    • Latino Loud, Chicanos por la CausaGet-out-the-vote campaign
  5. June 2018 – Aug. 2021

    Public Involvement Project Manager

    Your Project Marketing and Outreach · Phoenix, Arizona, United States

    • Managed public involvement for 42 projects (26 transportation, 16 water and wastewater) for Maricopa County, Phoenix, Glendale, Mesa, Peoria, Tempe, Casa Grande, Prescott, Guadalupe and Gilbert.
    • Drove a 10× reach increase on a four-month arterial reconstruction: 300,000+ impressions and website visits from dozens to 13,500+.
    • Launched the firm's digital services (advertising, social media, web design and in-house hosting) and led its move to remote work during COVID-19.
    • Directed community relations planning for a $776M freeway project, including a $500K mobile app prototype presented to ADOT.
    Project list

    City of Phoenix · transportation

    • 35th Ave. Safety Corridor (BUILD grant), I-10 to Camelback Rd. $60.3MTotal funding obligated; first estimated at about $25M
    • 35th Ave. BUILD Grant, Camelback to Bethany Home
    • Park South Neighborhood Improvements
    • FAST Mill and Overlay Program
    • Residential Street Overlay Program
    • HURF Arterial Street Overlay Program
    • HURF Accelerated Mill/Overlay, Local Streets

    City of Phoenix · Transportation 2050 (T2050) $2.4B

    Streets share of Phoenix's 35-year T2050 plan
    • Arterial Street Overlay Program
    • Accelerated Mill/Overlay, Arterial StreetsPart of the $200M Accelerated Pavement Maintenance Program
    • Additional Prep, Major Streets
    • Arterial TRMSS

    City of Phoenix · water and wastewater

    • 38th St. Gravity Relief Sewer
    • Van Buren Street Relief Sewer <$10M
    • 99th Ave. Interceptor Assessment
    • SROG SRO Manhole Rehabilitation Program
    • Small Diameter Sewer Rehabilitation Program $33MAnnual program budget, 2020
    • PVC Sewer Rehabilitation Program
    • Cave Creek Reclamation Facility Rehabilitation
    • Lift Stations Redundant Forcemain Rehabilitation

    City of Glendale

    • Camelback Rd. Reconstruction, 43rd–51st Ave.
    • Camelback Rd. Reconstruction, 83rd–91st Ave. $2.8M
    • Camelback Rd. Reconstruction, 91st Ave.–SR 101
    • Bell Rd. Reconstruction, 51st–69th Ave.
    • Northern and 63rd Ave. Intersection Improvements
    • Ocotillo District Landscape Improvements
    • Camelback Rd. Waterline Installation
    • ARWRF WAS Line Rehabilitation
    • Citywide PRV Rehabilitation, JOC 1 and 2

    City of Peoria

    • Residential Mill and Overlay Program
    • Landscape Enhancement Program
    • Skunk Creek Spillway Maintenance
    • Salter Well Site Rehabilitation
    • Arrowhead Shores Site Rehabilitation
    • Reclaimed Water Master Plan Implementation
    • Zones 1 and 2 PRV Upgrade

    City of Mesa

    • Residential Mill and Overlay Program
    • Residential Crack Seal Program

    City of Prescott

    • Smoketree Ln. Reconstruction
    • Water Smart Program

    Other clients

    • Maricopa County: Sun City West Residential Mill and Overlay
    • City of Surprise: Residential Seal Coat Program
    • City of Casa Grande: Downtown Mill and Overlay Program
  6. Nov. 2016 – 2019

    Political and Communications Strategist

    Method Social Kinetics · Tempe, Arizona, United States

    • Directed branding and communications for 21 campaigns in Arizona, Texas and Tennessee, from Congress and state legislatures to city councils.
    • In the 2018 cycle, led 14 staff, 6 contractors and interns, managed a $250K+ ad budget, and made 900,000+ voter contacts by phone, door, text and social media.
    • Ran digital campaigns totaling 1M+ impressions and designed literature distributed in nearly every precinct in Arizona.
    • Unseated a six-term incumbent against polling projections, with coverage from CNN, the BBC, the Washington Post, AP and Al Jazeera.
    Campaigns and clients

    Federal

    • U.S. House, Arizona's 5th District
    • U.S. House, Arizona's 9th District

    Arizona statewide

    • Superintendent of Public Instruction
    • State Mine Inspector
    • Corporation Commission
    • Gubernatorial exploratory committee

    State legislatures

    • Arizona Senate, Districts 12, 16 and 25
    • Arizona House, Districts 12 and 25 (both seats in each)
    • Texas Senate, Districts 12 and 31

    County and local

    • Maricopa County Superintendent
    • Justice of the Peace, West Mesa
    • Constable, Kyrene
    • Mesa City Council, District 4
    • Tempe City Council
    • Knoxville City Council, Tennessee

    Organizations and firms

    • Unite Congress, Inc.
    • SUN Strategies
    • SUN Digital LLC
    • First Downs Consulting
    • Kids' Climate Action Network
  7. Mar. – Dec. 2016

    Political Operations Manager

    Spectrum Experience · Tempe, Arizona, United States

    • Ran operations for 12 campaigns: congressional, state legislative, county, local and special-district races.
    • Recruited and managed volunteers and interns, and ran voter lists, events, research and engagement planning.
    • Produced web and graphic design and video and audio editing, and drafted legislation for the firm.
    • Earned international coverage, including CNN, the Washington Post, HuffPost and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
    Campaigns

    Federal

    • U.S. House, Arizona's 4th District
    • U.S. House, Arizona's 5th District

    Arizona Legislature

    • Senate, Districts 16 and 26
    • House, Districts 16 and 26 (both seats in each)
    • House, Districts 5 and 13

    County and local

    • Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
    • Mesa City Council, District 3

Award-winning projects

Projects and campaigns I worked on have been recognized by advertising, public relations and engineering organizations.

13

Addy Awards

American Advertising Federation, 7 statewide and 6 regional

3

Copper Anvil Awards

Public Relations Society of America

2

Build Arizona Awards

Associated General Contractors of America

2

Grand Canyon Project and Engineering Excellence Judge's Choice

American Council of Engineering Companies, Arizona

2+

TransComm Awards for Public Relations and Marketing

AASHTO

1

Public Relations Award

Transportation Research Board

1

Project of the Year

WTS Phoenix

24+

Project awards in total

Across advertising, public relations and engineering

Skills and languages

The strategy, the design and the tools to build it.

Comic panel: Gael drinking coffee by a rainy window, thinking: coffee and contemplation.

Expertise

  • Communications and public involvementPublic participation strategy, community outreach, Environmental Justice, LEP and demographic analysis, political and crisis communications, media relations
  • Marketing and designBrand strategy, graphic and web design, copywriting, traditional and digital advertising, social media
  • LeadershipStaff management and coaching, project management, budgets and estimates

Tools

  • DesignAdobe Creative Cloud, Affinity
  • WebWordPress, cPanel, Plesk
  • AdvertisingMeta Business Manager, Google Ads, Google Analytics, YouTube Studio
  • Audio and videoLogic Pro, Audition, Pro Tools, Audacity
  • WorkOffice 365, Google Workspace, Asana, ClickUp, Basecamp, Trello; Windows, macOS, Linux

Languages

  • EnglishC2, native
  • SpanishB2
  • GermanB1
  • FrenchA2
  • CatalanA1
  • Mandarin ChineseHSK 2

Education

Political science, design, teaching and languages.

Degrees

  • Arizona State UniversityBS, Political Science; minor in Religious Studies; certificate in the Study of Religion and Conflict
  • Mesa Community CollegeAA, Arts; AGS, General Studies; AS, Political Science

Affiliations

  • International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), Society for Experiential Graphic Design, Modern Language Association, American Communication Association, The Association of Strategic Marketing

Academic certificates

  • Arizona State UniversityTeaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), 2026
  • University of MichiganImpacts of the Environment on Public Health, 2025
  • California Institute of the ArtsGraphic Design Specialization, 2021
  • Universitat Politècnica de ValènciaSpanish, B1
  • Peking UniversityMandarin Chinese, HSK 2

Professional certificates

  • International Association for Public ParticipationFoundations in Public Participation, 2021
  • CatalystRace, Gender and Workplace Equity, 2021
  • ISMAISO 27001 Information Security
  • GoogleGoogle Analytics, Google Ads Fundamentals and Digital Sales, 2019

Community

Volunteer work in civic planning, human rights and community building.

Help Me Leave · 2025 – now

Volunteer case manager, translator, researcher and country lead for Spain

Supports people preparing to emigrate or seek asylum, translates policy briefs and reports into Spanish, and researches human rights reporting on the United States.

City of Tempe · 2023 – 2024

Chair, 2050 General Plan Community Working Group

Led the group's guidance on the city's long-range plan, trained members on parliamentary procedure and open-meeting law, and gathered public input at community events.

Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix · 2014 – 2016

Communications and programming director

Produced the newsletter, planned events, ran social media and designed graphics for print and web.

Let's work together

Brand and web projects, communications strategy, public participation or English classes. Write in English or Spanish.

Comic panel: Gael handing a stack of papers to a duck in glasses, who says: quack?
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