Resume

WORK EXPERIENCE

05/2023 – present

Storytelling & Content Creation: Spearhead the creation of compelling content by collaborating with donors, scholarship recipients, and grantees. Responsibilities include writing, photographing, and sharing impactful stories across various platforms. Notable projects include donor features in our annual report, profiles on scholarship recipients, and spotlight articles on the nonprofits we support.
Media Relations: Cultivate and maintain robust relationships with media outlets to promote foundation news and initiatives. Pitch story ideas and serve as the foundation’s spokesperson, representing us in radio and print interviews as needed.
Marketing & Design: Oversee the design, photography, writing, and production of all marketing materials, including annual reports. Manage digital media presence across all platforms, ensuring our message is consistent and engaging.
Event Planning & Support: Play a key role in the conceptualization and execution of events aimed at engaging donors, community members, fundholders, and board alumni. Noteworthy events include the Wildfire Resilience Summit and 2-3 Town Hall meetings each year.
Strategic Planning & Management: Lead the communications team, including directly managing communications interns. Develop annual communications plans and marketing budgets. Oversee creative and marketing contractors to ensure projects are aligned with our strategic goals.

10/2017 – 04/2023

Major Projects: Talented storyteller, fundraiser, and explainer of complex projects. Lead communications for the Sonoma County Resilience Fund, the foundation’s long-term disaster recovery fund, raising over $25 million, and sharing powerful stories of impact.
Executive Communications and Speechwriting: Draft speeches, articles, and a book foreword for CEO. Prepare talking points for media interviews. Coach CEO ahead of public speaking engagements. Lead CEO transition communications.
Media Relations: Develop and maintain media relationships, pitch stories on foundation news, serve as media spokesperson in radio and print interviews.

Public Speaking: Serve as spokesperson at public events and speaking engagements, represent the foundation with corporate donors (e.g., Facebook, Genentech, Goldman Sachs), facilitate Zoom events for donors, nonprofits..

Marketing & Design: Design, photograph, write, and produce annual reports and all marketing materials. Manage all digital media. Redesigned website using stakeholder feedback process.
Internal Communications: Lead internal communications for staff, including a weekly update news email. Facilitate learning, reflection, and strategic planning sessions to set department and org-wide goals, reflect on stakeholder survey feedback, plan events.
Management: Directly manage communications interns. Draft annual communications plans and marketing budgets. Manage creative and marketing contractors, including a re-branding project.

08/2009 – 07/2017

Major Projects: Planned and executed communications for $10 million capital campaign for the SAY Dream Center – a project to build 63-units of affordable housing for homeless youth at the site of an unused 69-bed hospital in Santa Rosa.
Crisis Communications: Led crisis communications during construction and pre-construction phase of project, in face of neighbors’ concerns for having a youth housing program in their neighborhood.
Executive Communications and Speechwriting: Drafted speeches, developed policy positions, wrote op-eds for CEO and executive team.
Media Relations & Public Speaking: Developed relationships with key media. Sought and received regular press mentions for organization and programs. Served as spokesperson at public events, speaking engagements, tours.
Marketing & Design: Promoted fundraising events, bringing in over $400,000 annually. Managed photography, design and production of collateral. Managed all digital channels.
Management: Supported team of 10 colleagues, directly managing one graphic designer. Led $125,000 signage design project for the Dream Center Campus, managing multiple contractors. Stewarded agency rebrand.

2008- present

Visual storytelling: portrait, wedding, and documentary photography, with featured work on CNN and KTVU, print newspapers, magazines.
Graphic design: web and print design for nonprofit clients based in Sonoma County, San Francisco.

B.A. in Political Science. Graduated Cum Laude.

Graphic Design: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Lightroom)
Web Design: WordPress, HTML, CSS
Photography: Optimistic photojournalism-style imagery and portraiture
Public speaking: for large and small groups, both formal and informal, with routinely excellent feedback
Writing: outstanding interviewer, writer, and storyteller