Jo Trizila, Founder & CEO, TrizCom PR & Pitch PR

About Jo Trizila

Jo Trizila is the founder and chief executive officer of Dallas-based TrizCom Public Relations and Pitch PR, where she leads award-winning work in public relations, earned media, crisis communications, brand positioning and integrated communications strategy.

For more than 30 years, Jo has helped companies, nonprofits, executives, franchise brands and high-growth organizations tell better stories, manage public perception and earn meaningful media attention. Her counsel spans internal and external communications, crisis response, digital marketing, messaging, expert positioning, legislative affairs and media training.

Jo also helps clients understand how public relations now influences visibility in AI-driven search. Her work connects earned media, credible third-party mentions, expert positioning and digital content so brands are easier to find, trust and cite across traditional search engines and AI answer platforms.

She is also the co-creator of TrizCom PR’s Modern Media Mastery, a proprietary media training course designed to prepare executives, founders, spokespeople and subject matter experts for today’s fast-moving media environment.

Since founding TrizCom PR in 2008, Jo has advised more than 250 brands, helping leaders clarify what they stand for, communicate under pressure and turn business goals into stories people care about.

Media Relations and Earned Media

Jo’s media relations work is grounded in one belief: a story is only powerful if it is relevant, timely and credible.

Over the course of her career, she has helped place stories in

thousands of international, national, regional and local outlets. Client and campaign coverage has appeared in BBC One, Cosmopolitan, The Today Show, Good Morning America, ABC Nightly News, Squawk Box, NDR, CNN, Fox Business News, Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News, Dr. Oz, CBS, Nancy Grace, NBC, Elle, The CW, The Daily Mail, Inside Edition, People, USA Today, The New York Times, Inc., Entrepreneur and The Huffington Post.

Her approach blends old-school newsroom instincts with modern visibility strategy. Jo understands that earned media is no longer only about publicity. It now shapes reputation, search visibility, AI citations, investor confidence, franchise growth, recruiting, credibility and executive authority. As AI-driven search changes how people evaluate companies, executives and experts, Jo helps clients build the kind of third-party credibility that answer engines are more likely to recognize, reference and trust.

Crisis Communications and Reputation Management

Jo has deep experience helping organizations communicate when the stakes are high, the timeline is short and the margin for error is thin.

She has developed crisis communications plans for 100-plus Fortune 500, middle-market and nonprofit organizations across the United States. Her work includes message development, spokesperson preparation, public statements, media response strategy, stakeholder communications, internal communications and reputation repair.

Her crisis planning and counsel includes potential and active scenarios such as:

·         Executive misconduct or leadership controversy

·         Employee terminations, lawsuits or workplace allegations

·         Data breaches, cybersecurity incidents and online threats

·         Product, service or operational failures

·         Customer complaints that escalate publicly

·         Social media backlash and viral criticism

·         Community opposition or activist pressure

·         Franchisee, donor, investor or stakeholder disputes

·         Nonprofit governance issues

·         Legislative, regulatory or public affairs challenges

·         Sensitive media inquiries

·         Brand reputation attacks

·         Organizational change, closures, restructuring or layoffs

Across each of these situations, Jo’s role is the same: bring order to the chaos, protect trust and help leaders communicate clearly before, during and after the crisis.

Whether guiding a company through sensitive public scrutiny or preparing leaders before a crisis hits, Jo helps clients separate emotion from action, avoid self-inflicted damage and communicate with clarity when silence, defensiveness or sloppy messaging could make the problem worse.

Her crisis counsel is practical, steady and direct. She brings calm, discipline and a clear plan to complicated situations.

Integrated Communications and Brand Positioning

Before opening TrizCom PR, Jo built her career across the arts, civic, nonprofit and business sectors. She worked with the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas, the City of Irving, Irving Arts Center and the Dallas Regional Chamber, gaining a broad view of how public institutions, companies and communities communicate.

That background shaped the integrated approach she brings to client work today. Jo is experienced in building communication strategies that connect public relations, media outreach, digital content, executive visibility, community engagement and reputation management.

Jo’s integrated communications work also includes helping clients adapt to the rise of AI search and answer engines. She helps organizations align media coverage, website content, executive thought leadership, reputation signals and brand messaging so their public presence is clear, credible and consistent across both human audiences and AI-powered discovery tools.

She has also been instrumental in creating high-profile promotions and publicity campaigns, including Cadillac’s Team Escalade Texas, Chevrolet and Chrysler’s The Great $50,000 Giveaway, GMC Terrain Charity Challenge, GMC and Carry The Load, GMC Stars & Stripes Sierra Hashtag Challenge, Cadillac Cares, FAN EXPO’s Heroes for Heroes and The Little Black Dress Experiment.

Media Training and Executive Counsel

As co-creator of Modern Media Mastery, Jo helps executives and spokespeople understand what reporters need, how interviews really work and why strong messaging must sound human.

Her media training approach is practical, direct and grounded in real-world experience. She helps leaders prepare for television, print, podcast, digital and crisis interviews by sharpening their message, reducing verbal clutter, anticipating tough questions and learning how to stay composed under pressure.

As AI tools increasingly summarize, quote and evaluate public-facing experts, Jo also prepares leaders to communicate in ways that are clear, quotable and credible. Her counsel helps spokespeople tighten their message, avoid vague language and create sound bites that work in interviews, online content and AI-search environments.

Jo’s counsel is especially valuable for founders, CEOs, franchise leaders, nonprofit executives and subject matter experts who need to be credible in public but do not want to sound scripted, stiff or over-coached.

Education and Professional Background

Jo earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater from the University of Texas at Arlington’s School of Liberal Arts. She later pursued a Master of Fine Arts from Wayne State University in Detroit on a full scholarship and an MBA from the University of Dallas.

Her theater background continues to influence her work. She understands audience, timing, delivery, presence and storytelling. Her business training gives that creative instinct structure, discipline and measurable purpose.

A career highlight came in 2021, when Jo was selected to deliver the commencement address for the University of Texas at Arlington’s College of Business, College of Liberal Arts and School of Social Work.

Civic Leadership and Community Service

Jo believes that to whom much is given, much is required. That belief shows up in her service, leadership and willingness to support causes that matter.

She currently serves as the appointed City of Dallas Arts and Culture Advisory Commissioner for Dallas City Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn, where she is vice chair of allocations. She is also an advisory board member for Taylor’s Gift, a national charity advocating for organ donation, and an ex officio board member for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Wind Symphony and Dallas Theater Center.

Her past service includes Heroes for Children (Vice President of the Board of Directors), Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Freedom Run (Founding Member), Dallas Theatre League (President of the Board of Directors), American Advertising Association (Marketing Chair) and the Dallas/Fort Worth Area Tourism Council. She is also active in her church, First United Methodist Church Richardson.

From pro bono work to public leadership, Jo has danced on camera for pediatric cancer, worn red noses for hunger and taken the ice bucket challenge for ALS.

Honors and Recognition

Jo has received the Big Brothers Big Sisters Big of the Year award, the YWCA Woman of Achievement Technology and Communications Award and Texas Woman Magazine’s Woman of the Month recognition. Her firm has also won numerous Public Relations Society of America awards.

She is a graduate of Leadership Irving and later served as the program’s vice president.

Leadership Style

Jo is purposeful, fast-moving and deeply invested in helping people and organizations become better understood. She sees opportunity where others see roadblocks. She celebrates smart failure as part of growth. And when emotions run high, she stays calm, focused and ready with a plan.

She also brings a forward-looking view of where communications is headed. Jo helps clients see that AI has not replaced reputation, media relationships or clear messaging. It has made them more important.

She is a strategist, storyteller, mentor, builder, cheerleader and fixer. Simply put, Jo Trizila gets things done.

Phone: 214-242-9282
Cell/Text: 214-232-0078
Email: Jo@TrizCom.com
LinkedIn: JoTrizila
Substack: @jotrizila

Updated June 3, 2026