The Latina behind Governor Gavin Newsom’s social media posts

Governor Gavin Newsom’s social media posts have been trending lately, and it’s all thanks to a Latina leading his digital strategy. 

Camille Zapata is the head of Newsom’s press office. Zapata and her small team have met President Trump’s all caps posts with similar tone and cadence. But even before those tweets, Newsom’s Instagram reels and TikToks had already begun to out-troll the master troll-in-chief. 

Zapata helps manage the “CAGovernor” account for the governor. She does not manage “GovPressOffice” or “GavinNewsom" accounts. Many of his posts are also done by other members of his team and by Newsom himself, according to his director of communications Izzy Gardon. 

In a recent interview with Comstock’s Magazine, Zapata talked about her success as Newsom’s digital director. 

“Rapid responses on Twitter, Threads, BlueSky, are really essential,” she said of her digital strategy, which has proven successful. 

The governor’s TikTok audience grew from 500,000 followers to 1.5 million after clashing with Trump over the L.A. protests.

Zapata is 29 years old, so she knows most of her generation gets their news from TikTok and social media. Her small but mighty team of three is “chronically online and follow pop culture,” she told Marie Claire.  

But of course, it’s not just pop culture knowledge; the digital director also makes sure every TikTok goes through legal review. Marie Claire reported the team tracks breaking news in daily syncs, and they’ve built a crisis workflow for same-day approvals. They’re also mindful about tone and timing. “There are ICE raids—families are being torn apart,” Zapata said. Sometimes, they hold back in moments of real-life crisis.

She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in cultural anthropology and according to her Instagram profile, she is a graduate student at USC Annenberg. Her political strategy career includes working with Michael Tubbs when he was the Mayor of Stockton, her hometown. 

She has just celebrated a year in the position and is also the president of the California Women’s List, an organization that endorses, fundraises for, and elects women in the Golden State. 

Users on social media are starting to recognize her work. 

“You are truly a delight and an enormous voice of the Left. I hope Gav is rewarding you handsomely,” one Instagram poster wrote.