Politics & Government

Oxy's Number Two Communications Pro Leaving for Wine Country

After three years as Occidental College's associate communications director, Rhea Borja is taking her social-media talents to Somona.

Since Eagle Rock Patch launched in November 2010, the site has relied on one individual to keep abreast of events at —Rhea Borja, Oxy’s associate communications director.

Today, Tuesday, June 19, is Rhea’s last day at Oxy. After three years of handling all aspects of public relations activities, with a special emphasis on media relations, Rhea is leaving the college to relocate to Sonoma County, where she will help expand her husband's online business, JournalismNext.com, as well as start her own social-media and communications consulting business for wineries, breweries and arts groups.

A former business and technology journalist, social-media strategist, amateur concert pianist (see the accompanying Youtube video) and distance runner, Rhea worked at Oxy for three years. She was not only responsible for planning, writing and promoting the college's day-to-day news and social media networks but also for its crisis communication efforts, including during last December’s devastating windstorms that lashed parts of Oxy with particular ferocity

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Rhea came to Occidental from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she served as a media spokesperson for NASA-JPL and reported and produced a variety of multimedia and other content on NASA-JPL space technology and robotic space missions.

Working at Oxy, says Rhea, has been “a great ride.” And although she’ll undoubtedly miss the brilliant company she had at L.A.’s oldest liberal-arts college, she’s quite “ready for the next chapter in my life."

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Patch wishes Rhea the very best in her new adventures.


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