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EOP Alum, Yuridia Peña, Class of 2005

Founder of Alta Consulting

Yuridia Peña is communications professional working in the areas of public relations and affairs, crisis management, marketing, brand development, organizing and social media. She is the founder of Alta Consulting, a boutique public relations firm, helping organizations achieve their public affairs and media relations goals.

Yuridia holds a Master of Arts degree in Corporate Communication from CUNY Baruch and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from SUNY Purchase. She was named City & State 40 under 40 Rising Stars of 2014, Congressmember Yvette Clark’s 2016 Rising Star Awards, and received the Healthcare Diversity Advocate Award of the Year in 2019 by the Tri-State Diversity Council.

Yuridia was vice president of communications for SOMOS, a non-profit organization serving nearly 1 million Medicaid beneficiaries in New York City’s underserved communities. Yuridia managed the execution of internal and external strategic communications strategies including a series of multi-million dollar multilingual brand marketing campaigns.

She began her career in the labor movement. She served as an assistant editor for the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators and later as a Communications Specialists at 32BJ SEIU. She drove public relations during contract negotiations for residential members in the Hudson Valley and New York City. In addition, she led contract campaigns for New York City public school cleaning workers fighting for higher wages and a fair contract. Yuridia also helped organize civil unrest demonstrations during the Fight for $15 for fast food workers in towns across Connecticut.

During her tenure in the New York City government, Yuridia served as the communications director for Council Member Mark Weprin, who represented the North East Queens community. She led the district’s progressive agenda including Participatory Budgeting efforts and the end of stop-and-frisk policy. As deputy press secretary for the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE), she was a spokesperson for various divisions within the agency including Court-Involved Youth, Pre-K for All, English Language Learners, Family and Community Engagement, and the Young Men’s Initiative.