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The days of the evening news being a person’s primary way to see what’s going on in the world are long over. News is everywhere — on the internet, cell phones, and social media. This can be great when a company wants to spread a message quickly and also very negative when misinformation spreads like wildfire, especially in a crisis situation.

“Crisis management is an ever-changing situation. A single message on Snapchat can blow up and be on every news and social media channel in minutes. I found what I love to do. Thinking fast to understand a situation and helping clients really work through how to manage and control a message.”

This is exactly where experts like Diego Barragan MBA '12, director of operations at Voler Strategic Advisors, help businesses and organizations craft the right strategy to control the narrative. Whether it’s a budget issue or an onsite death, crisis management is constantly changing. Barragan brings his unique skill set to the table every day to help clients work through crises and lessen the impact of how the public perceives a situation.

Barragan advises his clients to assess the situation and “to not fall into the rabbit hole of chasing the rumor.” He helps clients take control of the double-edged sword of social media by finding the right balance between communicating too fast and ensuring you have a full grasp of the situation. In a crisis situation, assuring the public that the right individuals are involved and working on the situation can be all you need to say until you have the right facts and the right message.

Technology can be both a friend and a foe when bots are spreading unfounded rumors that may create public panic. With artificial intelligence now capable of creating realistic, fake ads, Voler helps clients “bring out the correct message to address crises and make the public aware of the truth.” A comprehensive communications strategy can assess how far and wide a message has gone so a client can cut it off and correct it with the facts.

Inspired by A Passion for Politics

Barragan originally planned to be an engineer, but quickly realized in college that there was “only so much math I could take.” He found himself gravitating to the San Jose political scene, working on local campaigns and interning for the city of San Jose. He switched to political science and followed his passion to DC where he interned and worked for multiple house representatives.

What really drew Barragan to politics was seeing how people with diverse backgrounds shape our country’s legislation. He saw how Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren brought her experience in immigration law to the table to make meaningful changes for her constituents in California. She also raved about Santa Clara, which piqued Barragan’s interest in pursuing an MBA there.

Barragan worked in the city office while attending Leavey and was able to directly connect business school to government work. “I applied what I learned in Accounting to how the budget works in the city office and learned in Marketing how to communicate with the public. Overall, the curriculum really mirrors the real world,” he explained.

Ultimately, Barragan’s passion for government, public and private experience, and business education led him to Voler Strategic Advisors. As a small communications firm, Voler helps government, businesses, and non-profits with everything from PR, messaging, crisis management, and public education. As the Director of Operations, Barragan is proud of Voler's impact on their clients and community.

While every client’s needs differ, one of Barragan’s great success stories at Voler was helping a scholarship foundation started by a gardener who did not go to college. Inspired by his son’s accomplishment of getting a law degree, he wanted to make it possible for more first-generation college students to achieve their dreams. Voler helped the fund define its messaging strategy, promote the scholarship, and tell a clear story that makes supporters want to continue to donate.

A Strong Leadership Foundation

While there is always a new challenge in crisis communications, sometimes with a tremendous amount of pressure, Barragan credits his time at the Leavey School of Business with teaching him how to be a leader. He still uses specific lessons from a leadership course every day as he assesses how his actions will define him as a leader. Santa Clara also taught him that “it’s okay to not know everything. Everyone has a different skill set and when you work as a team with varying areas of expertise, you can make a tremendous impact.”

This is true of his team at Voler as well as the alumni network at Leavey. Diego said, “If there’s something I need, I can reach out and connect with classmates. It was a very supportive environment while I was in school and continues to be supportive.”