Hope Reilly is the Chief Growth Officer at Bodewell Group (formerly Southwest Strategies Group). In this role, she leads strategic expansion and business development efforts across all industry verticals and regional markets. Hope identifies and cultivates high-impact partnerships and drives business development across transportation, water, energy and public works sectors. By aligning advisory, digital engagement and stakeholder-relations teams around measurable objectives, she ensures Bodewell wins and delivers complex, multi-stakeholder campaigns that advance permitting, funding and community engagement for major infrastructure projects.
Additionally, Hope stewards thought leadership and brand positioning, translating technical policy and engineering issues into clear, persuasive narratives for elected officials, regulators, media and communities. She builds cross-disciplinary teams, mentors senior staff, and implements data-driven performance metrics to optimize campaign outcomes and client satisfaction. Hope’s focus is on sustainable growth—scaling capabilities and market presence while maintaining the trusted, outcomes-oriented approach that drives successful infrastructure solutions. Hope also serves as transportation practice lead for the agency, spearheading all transportation projects and initiatives throughout the Western United States. She oversees communications efforts for major initiatives with more than a dozen transportation agencies and supports public outreach and communications for numerous long-range planning engagement efforts. Her work has been recognized with more than two dozen local, state and national awards for public relations, public affairs and marketing communications.
Prior to joining the firm, Hope worked as a senior associate at Amplify Public Affairs in Washington, D.C. She began her career working for ABC News in Washington, D.C., where she co-authored ABC News’ The Note, the original morning news tipsheet, and reported on the 2008 presidential election. Hope received her BA in political communication from George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, with a minor in international politics and economics.
Hope is active in the San Diego/Imperial counties chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, having served on their board of directors for six years. She is also a member of both the American Public Works Association and Women’s Transportation Seminar.