Brian Hernandez
Chief Storytelling Officer
Brian Hernandez served as the first Communications Director for Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area (WSRCA), until his promotion in 2020, to Chief Storytelling Officer (Chief Storyteller) for the organization. He is responsible for creating value for customers by leading brand awareness presence of WSRCA services, and cultivating effective media relationships, as well as building an outreach and influencer network by developing partnerships with community, industry and workforce leaders throughout the nine-county Rural Capital Area of central Texas.
Previously, Brian served as the first Digital Media Coordinator for the Texas Workforce Commission, developing creative marketing and communications solutions for the agency statewide, and leveraging these across all platforms, with a strong emphasis on digital innovation and value.
Prior to delivering workforce solutions for Texans, Brian served as an award-winning multimedia journalist and digital content leader for more than 14 years, with media organizations including Spectrum News, Scripps and Hearst, in more than a dozen top 50 markets, including Denver, San Diego, Austin and San Antonio. His expertise was in launching multi-platform strategic content plans, growing audiences through editorial quality and relevance, as well as leading diverse news teams through corporate, industry and consumer change. Brian helped spearhead the use of social media by newsrooms to cultivate referral traffic by building two-way relationships with audiences, and trained teams to utilize live metrics to target trends and audience behavior patterns, maximizing cross-platform content engagement.
Brian and his news teams earned multiple regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for Best Website, Associated Press Awards for Website of the Year, and he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a special feature he produced on teachers training to take down active shooters.
Brian holds both a Master of Organizational and Professional Communication Degree in New Media and Internet Marketing, and a Master of Liberal Studies Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Denver, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Communication from Rollins College.