Mayor Sheffield names Jamie Kaye Walters Senior Director of Mayor’s Office Communications

Mayor Mary Sheffield has tapped Jamie K. Walters, the widely respected former Local 4 program director and co-founder of the highly successful VVK PR + Creative, a Detroit-based integrated communications agency, as Senior Director of Mayor's Office Communications. In her new role Walters will lead Mayor Sheffield's communications strategy, developing resident-centered messaging that advances the administration's key programs and strategies and attracts partnerships and growth to the city.

Walters brings more than two decades of strategic communications, crisis management, and executive leadership to the role. She spent 20 years at WDIV Local 4 (Detroit's NBC affiliate), where she served as Creative Services & Programming Director, managing a 34-person team and executive producing major Detroit cultural events including America's Thanksgiving Parade and Ford Fireworks, as well as political programming including the Sunday morning political show Flashpoint. A 25-year Detroit resident with deep civic engagement experience, Walters has extensive relationships across media, nonprofit, and municipal sectors throughout the region.

"My administration is going to be about providing all Detroiters with pathways to a better quality of life. We will drastically improve services and make resources available in neighborhoods so that Detroiters stay and raise families here. For our efforts to be broadcasted and utilized, we need to develop creative and innovative ways to communicate to our residents," said Mayor Sheffield.

"We also want to bring the Detroiters that moved out of our city with incentives and opportunities, while attracting visitors and major partnerships that support our workforce and small business ecosystem," Mayor Sheffield added. "Elevating our strategies and also our institutions, amenities and unique attractions are top priorities. Jamie's presence will allow us to think strategically about marketing the Detroit we all know and love to the world. She has spent her lifetime rooted in Detroit and has established herself as one of the most effective and respected communications professionals anywhere. I am proud to have her on our team."

Mayor's communications is distinct from the city's departmental communications function, which is led by Vickie Thomas as Senior Director. Walters' role will focus on executive positioning, broad policy messaging, stakeholder relations, and strategic communications that reflect the mayor's priorities, vision and ultimately progress on behalf of the city, while Thomas' team gains capacity to provide more targeted operational and service delivery messaging on behalf of specific city departments. This structure is standard practice in major cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, marking a reorganization that aligns with Mayor Sheffield's goal of deeper community engagement and the elevation and growth of Detroit as a destination for families, small business growth, large-scale economic development and tourism.

"When Mayor Sheffield offered me the role, my decision instantly became clear. The chance to work for the people of Detroit and alongside a leader committed to equity, transparency, and real progress was an opportunity I couldn't turn down," Walters said.

Walters will begin her new position on Monday, January 26.