In February 2022, Carly Olexik was named chief communications officer of the N.C. Department of Transportation, overseeing the department’s statewide outreach, communications, media relations, social media, creative and marketing initiatives.
Olexik is known for developing creative strategies to reach communities across North Carolina. Through her leadership, NCDOT has broken every social media engagement measure in the agency’s history, and increased account engagements by more than 400 percent in one year.
She established the first state transportation agency Nextdoor account, helping NCDOT reach more than two million North Carolinians with critical safety messaging in the wake of Hurricane Florence. She also led NCDOT’s efforts to use geofencing for the first time to communicate with millions of residents in project corridors.
Olexik has spent most of her career working in transportation. She started her career in broadcast journalism as a television news reporter and fill-in-anchor for News 14 Carolina in Raleigh. Her background also includes tolling, public relations, and journalism.
Before returning to NCDOT in 2021, she managed business development efforts on SAS Institute’s National Transportation team. She also served as the director of Public Affairs for the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, overseeing public outreach, marketing and communications. As NCDOT’s multimodal public relations officer, Olexik served as spokeswoman for the Aviation, Rail, and Integrated Mobility divisions.
Olexik holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees from N.C. State University. She lives in Raleigh with her husband, Mark, and Great Pyrenees, Elsa.