Meg Waters

Meg Waters“The most important thing for beginning speakers is to slow down, because people don’t hear you when you’re talking. They hear you when you’re silent. And by that I mean you need some time to process the information. Public speaking is not the same as reading the written word. And I think a lot of people misunderstand that in the beginning. In order to understand what somebody is saying, your brain needs time to hear the words and assimilate them in their mind before they can go on to the next thought. Particularly if you’re dealing with something that’s very complex or if it’s new information to the group.”
– Meg Waters
   from Public Speaking Super Powers

For nearly 30 years, Meg Waters has provided public relations counseling to many of Orange County’s most prominent and entrepreneurial corporations, public agencies, and non-profit organizations. Combining her experience as a writer, marketing communications specialist and media spokesperson, she is able to take difficult issues and develop clear messages that the public can understand and embrace.

Meg handles strategic issues and media relations for a wide range of clients. She is best known for her expertise in issues management, having worked on many of the county’s most important and controversial public policy debates. She managed the media relations and community outreach program for the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, comprised of ten cities and 20 affiliate/associate agencies supporting non-aviation uses for MCAS/El Toro. She was instrumental in the development of the public outreach campaign for the Transportation Corridor Agencies environmental report on Foothill South.

She has worked directly for a number of public agencies and cities including the County of Orange, Stanislaus County, City of Santa Ana, City of Lake Forest, City of Dana Point, City of Brea, and the City of Rancho Santa Margarita and the City of Laguna Hills.

A significant part of her experience is in public relations and outreach in support of land use and development projects. She worked with Koll Real Estate Group and later Hearthside homes on Bolsa Chica, she has also worked for Santa Fe Energy Resources on the entitlement of Olinda Heights and has handled marketing communications for a number of home builders.

As a communications strategist, she has conceived and implemented public relations programs that run the gamut from new production to special events, issues management, grass roots organizations and corporate communications.

She holds a Bachelors of Arts degree from UC Riverside in Comparative Literature with an emphasis in 19th Century Russian Literature and Renaissance Italian Literature.

Listen to Meg Waters’ Podcast Episode