Justin Angel Knighten is an award-winning communications executive, strategist, and storyteller whose career has focused on helping institutions navigate moments of disruption, from natural disasters and climate change to technological transformation and national security challenges. Over two decades, he has advised senior leaders across government, business, and civil society on reputation, public trust, stakeholder engagement, and large-scale behavior change.

 

Knighten is particularly focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence, climate resilience, and crisis management—exploring how emerging technologies can strengthen preparedness, improve decision-making, expand access to critical information, and help communities adapt to increasingly complex risks. His work bridges the gap between innovation and implementation, helping institutions understand what new technologies can achieve and how they can be deployed responsibly to build trust and deliver public value.

 

From 2021 to 2025, Knighten served as Associate Administrator for External Affairs at FEMA, one of the agency's senior executives reporting directly to the FEMA Administrator and the White House. He led communications, congressional affairs, public engagement, intergovernmental and Tribal affairs, and strategic partnerships during some of the nation's most significant emergencies, including historic hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, and the COVID-19 vaccination mission. He also directed FEMA's role in coordinating public information across the federal government during major disasters and helped advance national climate resilience and preparedness initiatives.

 

Prior to FEMA, Knighten served in Governor Gavin Newsom's administration, helping build the governor's communications operation and co-leading Listos California, an innovative statewide disaster preparedness effort focused on historically underserved communities. In the private sector, he has advised corporate, nonprofit, philanthropic, and government leaders across clean energy, sustainability, biotechnology, healthcare, education, entertainment, and technology.

 

In 2024, the Public Relations Society of America named Knighten its National Public Relations Professional of the Year. He is a Sustainable Future Fellow at George Washington University, a former Pritzker Fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, and serves on the advisory board of the Climate Risk Lab at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. He is Co-Founder and Partner of Pinnacle Collective Public Affairs and is based in Washington, D.C.