July 2020—present

I partner with cause-driven organizations and B Corp Certified creative agencies on brand strategy and copywriting services, including:

• Supporting a renowned healthcare charity with marketing advice, video storyboarding, and copywriting for its very first, nation-wide advocacy campaign—resulting in more than 7,000 emails to Congress from supporters in every state.

• Writing email, newsletter, and social copy for two healthcare campaigns and an annual report rollout.

• Advising a creative agency on its new brand positioning strategy and updated brand copy.

• Revamping website copy for an international nonprofit, including page goals and SEO considerations.

July 2013—July 2020, Washington, DC

Started as a consultant; hired as FTE in July 2013; promoted to department head in October 2015

At American Councils for International Education, I directed an in-house creative marketing team that positioned an $86M educational nonprofit to new and current funders and partners across a portfolio of 50+ distinct programs and operates in 39 field offices. While heading the department, my efforts led me to:

• Grow our online audience by more than 80 percent, double email open rates, and quadruple requests to partner or learn how to get involved with the organization’s work within two years.

• Launch a public awareness campaign around language learning that attracted 10 new partners and resulted in MOUs signed with three new organizations.

• Author and market a guide to strategic internationalization that generated new revenue with US universities and colleges and has since been cited in a textbook and used in both US State Department and embassy-funded programs.

• Perform a brand audit and competitor’s analysis in the lead-up for a brand refresh that included an entirely new website with updated core marketing assets, a guide to brand standardization, and staff training.

• Design a recruitment and outreach plan aimed at US teens that resulted in a 325% increase in applicants from the previous year—all within a two-week deadline.

• Collaborate with an internal committee to develop a marketing plan that outlined a path to engage and empower nearly 94,000 alumni worldwide.

• Direct and oversee website launches for more than 12 field offices via Squarespace and develop an internal communications Sharepoint website for my department.

• Coach a core team of two; manage our budget; coordinate with external consultants; and collaborate with internal departments from administrative to programmatic, in both our DC headquarters and field offices.

August 2012—March 2013, Washington, DC

At Ascendant Strategy Management, I served as the first marketing hire for this startup, a strategic consultancy with a technology solution for mission-driven organizations, to:

• Organize and promote Ascendant’s conference for 100 nonprofit executives; 86 percent of registrants were new attendees for 2013, and I secured the company’s first sponsor.

• Author and manage all editorial and communications, including blogs, press releases, case studies, brochures, email blasts, newsletters, website copy, and social media to drive thought leadership. Twitter followers doubled in three months.

• Manage a pipeline of consulting/sales leads via CRM and write RFP/RFQ submissions.

September 2007—July 2012, Washington, DC

At Blackburn Architects, a niche architectural design studio, I directed all marketing activities to:

• Lead a complete website overhaul in 2011, including consultant selection and management, copywriting, photo selection and editing, and management of the entire project. As a result, website traffic saw a 32 percent increase and blog traffic increased by 79 percent in one year.

• Ghostwrite magazine articles, blog entries, the narrative outline and first chapter for a book, and most written correspondence for the firm’s senior principal.

• Secure national media coverage, including features in Southern Living Magazine, specialty publications, and trade magazines.

• Collaborate with architects to launch a line of pre-designed, prefabricated, sustainable barns called Greenbarns, targeted to a new audience that could not afford traditional architectural services. Greenbarns continue to sell today.

University of Pittsburgh | Media Communications, cum laude | 2005, Pittsburgh, PA

University of Pittsburgh | Certificate in Communications Rhetoric | 2005, Pittsburgh, PA

Georgetown University, School of Continuing Education | Certificate in Marketing | 2013, Washington, DC

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention | Communications volunteer, 2019-2020

TheatreWashington | Strategic planning committee volunteer, 2016