NAPA COUNTY, Calif. — Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced on Thursday the hiring of former Napa Valley Register reporter Carlos Villatoro as the Napa County DA’s Office’s new public relations and media officer.

Villatoro comes to the DA’s Office from the Medical Board of California, where he led the board’s communication efforts as its public information manager.

As the DA’s new public information officer, or PIO, Villatoro will lead media relations and digital and in-person outreach efforts for the agency.

The newly created position is a critical part of the DA’s management team.

“Bringing Carlos onto our team signals our intentional efforts to keep the public informed, engaged and apprised about what we do to keep our community safe,” Haley said. “This includes case updates, public safety tips and crime trends. His technical skills will also help modernize and streamline the presentation of evidence in the courtroom, allowing the Napa DA’s Office to advocate for the public and crime survivors with increased sophistication.”

Villatoro is no stranger to Napa. He graduated from Napa High School in 1994 and worked as a general assignment reporter for the Napa Valley Register for nearly seven years before becoming the editor of the Patch website in Dixon.

During his time with the Register, Villatoro also served as the editor of Napa Valley Hispanos Unidos, the Register’s Spanish-bilingual newspaper.

Prior to his career in government communications, Villatoro served as a social media assignment editor for CBS 13 (KOVR-TV, West Sacramento).

Villatoro graduated from California State University at Sacramento with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and communications and is bilingual and bicultural.

In 2010, Villatoro was named Napa Valley’s Hispanic Citizen of the Year.