Portland has expanded its recently-established Washington office; appointing digital diplomacy and strategic communications expert, Scott Nolan Smith, as an Associate Director. Scott will advise clients on media and digital engagement strategy, international affairs, diplomatic communications and digital transformation.
Scott joins Portland from his post as Head of Digital Diplomacy at the British Embassy in Washington, DC, where he lead digital strategy for the UK’s diplomatic network in the United States. Scott oversaw social media strategy and engagement by the embassy and UK consulates across the country as well as digital training, supporting posts both in the US and across the Americas.
He is also a co-founder of the Digital Diplomacy Coalition (DDC), bringing together the diplomatic, international affairs and tech communities to share ideas & best practices to leverage digital technologies for diplomacy. Portland and the DDC recently co-hosted an event on “Progressive Nation Building in the Age of Digital Diplomacy” at Georgetown University featuring Portland digital advisor Jimmy Leach and officials from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Government of Kosovo.
Scott previously managed social media strategy for a broadcast bureau in Washington and was a leading voice in the launch of the former political social-news site, Politics.com. He graduated from Hawaiʻi Pacific University in Political Science and received an MA in Diplomacy from Norwich University. He is currently an instructor in the Executive and Professional Education Program at the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs.