This is an assortment of Joe’s work as a communications director, PR professional and news producer. Samples below include earned media coverage, press releases, website designs, writing and more. If you’re interested in specific work examples, please feel free to e-mail Joe with your request.
Public Relations: Earned Media Coverage
How gun policies affect the role of firearms in domestic violence
Joe coordinated expert interviews to analyze the Supreme Court case, U.S. v. Rahimi, which could decide if domestic violence offenders can own a firearm.
NC SAFE (NCDPS)
Joe spearheaded the PR strategy for the inaugural NC SAFE campaign. His strategy secured a potential news reach of 437 million including coverage in the Associated Press.
Military Family Advisory Network (MFAN)
CBS News coverage of MFAN led to $600,000 in donations to help end military food insecurity and contributed to 1 million meals for military families.
Virginia Energy Sense
Joe managed the program’s first satellite media tour. His work resulted in more than a dozen media placements including on FOX5 DC.
Public Relations: Op-ed Placements
Washington Post
Opinion: Legislators can help protect themselves
The Center responds to WaPo coverage, promoting the solutions in our 2023 Defending Democracy Report.
USA Today
Weak US gun laws are a threat to our democracy
Op-ed argues more must be done to protect our democracy from the threat of armed intimidation and insurrection.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Column: On guns, Youngkin plays politics with public health
McHugh worked with Center experts to write and place an op-ed after Virginia governor Youngkin vetoed vital gun violence solution policies.
Baltimore Sun
We can’t permit child gun deaths to be the status quo
Joe worked with clinicians at the Center and Hopkins Medicine to react to a fatal juvenile shooting in Baltimore.
Academic and Advocacy Reports
Gun Violence in the United States 2022: Examining the Burden Among Children and Teens
I oversaw design, copyediting, accessibility review and distribution of the Center’s annual firearm mortality report released in 2024.
Defending Democracy: Addressing the Dangers of Armed Insurrection
A report by researchers at the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examines the increased threat of armed insurrection to both public health and the functioning of democracy.
Extreme Risk Protection Order
Model Policy Guide
The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions crafted a model policy guide to aid policymakers in designing effective Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) legislation.
Public Relations: Media Toolkits and Press Materials
Virginia Energy Sense Media Toolkit
As Reingold redesigned the VES website, I produced a new media toolkit with downloadable resources and background information.
While acting as project manager for Reingold’s work developing a new website for MFAN, I created the media toolkit for background and to field press inquiries.
Public Relations: Blogs
A Bold New Goal: Reduce Gun Violence 30% by 2030
The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions announces its new goal and vision for the future.
Introducing “Sufficiently Analogous”: A New Podcast Analyzing Second Amendment Court Cases
The Center launches new podcast dissecting the latest Second Amendment cases at the Supreme Court and across the country.
U.S. Surgeon General’s Declaration: Embracing The Center’s Public Health Approach
For the first time, the U.S. Surgeon General has issued an advisory
officially recognizing firearm violence as a critical public health crisis.
Closing the “Gun Show Loophole”: A Step In the Right Direction With More Work To Be Done
What closing the gun show loophole does and doesn’t mean for Second Amendment policies around the country.
5 Ways To Cash In On The Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) aims to fight inflation by lowering prescription drug and health care costs and by promoting clean energy. Here are five ways you can use the IRA to make energy-efficient changes that will save you money and have a positive impact on the environment.
Understanding Your Energy Bill
According to a statewide 2022 Virginia Energy Sense survey, 75% of consumers say saving money on their electric bill is a very important reason to conserve energy. But to save energy, you first need to understand how you’re using it.
How To Save On Your Next Home Energy Project
When it comes to home efficiency projects, you might be wondering how long it will take to earn back your initial investment. While many of these projects will save you money over the long term, there are ways to get some of that investment back sooner — through tax incentives, rebates, or credits.
Website Design
Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
As director of communications, Joe led the design, timeline, and content development for the Center’s newly designed website. He coordinated with IT developers, comms teams, subject matter experts and leadership to get buy-in and successfully launch a new website. Joe works with his team to regularly update the website’s content.
Military Family Advisory Network
Joe worked as project manager to redesign MFAN’s website from concept to launch. McHugh balanced pro bono client needs and requests with team bandwidth. The team launched the custom website with interactive map and fundraising optimizations to improve user experience and client tracking capabilities.
News: Web Writing
Senate Committee Approves Bill to Combat Food Waste
The USDA says Americans waste 30-40 percent of their food. This bill would work to limit the problem in Virginia.
Fighting for Equal Treatment: Inequality in Health Care
People of color have higher rates of every preexisting condition that worsen COVID-19 infections. The reasons include a system of inequality, bias and poor access.
Here’s how the sport of baseball has weathered past pandemics
Coronavirus is not the first pandemic to affect the MLB. But how does the response to the 1918 Spanish flu compare to today’s response to COVID-19?
News: Writing and Video Editing
Controversial or common sense? Virginia Gun bills 2020
Facts about food waste
Super Bowl LIV Ads Preview
News: Full Newscasts
WUSA9 11:00PM World Series Game 3: October 24, 2019
As Washington, DC prepared for its first World Series game in nearly 90 years, we had our finger on the pulse of the city for every heart pounding second.
WVEC 13News Now 6:00PM Mass Shooting Aftermath: June 1, 2019
Less than 24 hours after a gunman stormed through the Virginia Beach municipal center shooting and killing 12 people … our team covers the aftermath.
Hurricane Dorian Preps: 3-Hour Prime Time Special
Hampton Roads and the Outer Banks prepared for Hurricane Dorian as it crawled north along the coast. The next day it slammed into Hatteras with major storm surge, powerful winds and freshwater flooding.
Joe McHugh: PR Pro 