Pac/West Lobby Group on Tuesday, Sept. 6, announced it is expanding its communications department with the hire of Amanda Spoo, an Eastern Oregon native and 2009 Hermiston High School graduate.

Spoo comes to Pac/West after seven years with the U.S. Wheat Associates in Arlington, Virginia, most recently as the director of communications. She has experience in digital communications, media relations, consumer outreach and education and more.

“I’m most energized by projects that value long-term strategies and set their sights on meaningful and sustainable change,” Spoo said in the press release. “After spending the first part of my career working on behalf of farmers, I’m ready to translate and develop those skills to help Pac/West Lobby Group meet the needs of their wide variety of clients.

“Amanda’s talents and expertise will add important bandwidth for our clients and help enhance our communications services, association management and convention logistics,” according to Ryan Tribbett, president of Pac/West Lobby Group. “Too often, young professionals leave our rural communities and don’t come back. It is exciting to help bring Amanda’s skills back from Washington, D.C., and her leadership on important issues to the Oregon Capitol.”

Spoo has a bachelor’s of science in agricultural communications and journalism from Kansas State University. She will complete a master’s of professional studies in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University in December 2022.

She grew up in Hermiston, and after spending the last 13 years in the Midwest and D.C., she is looking forward to returning to her roots and making an impact in the Pacific Northwest. She will be primarily based in Pac/West’s Eastern Oregon office in Hermiston but will provide service to clients across Oregon.

Spoo considers professional development and empowering young leaders as important, according to Pac/West, as her continued involvement in Agriculture Future of America since 2009 demonstrates, along with a lifetime membership in its Alliance Alumni Network.

In her free time, Sppo enjoys anything that allows her to be creative, travel, boxing, going to her family’s cabin in the Blue Mountains. She also enjoys live music, cheering on the Portland Trail Blazers and her beloved K-State Wildcats.