Education 

Stanford University // Stanford, California
Advanced Project Management Certificate | 2016 -

Western Carolina University // Cullowhee, NC
Master of Business Administration (4.0 GPA) | December 2012

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) // Anniston, Ala.
Advanced Public Information Officer | March 2012

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill // Chapel Hill, NC
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication | May 2008

Experience 

CHief of Staff, Marketing & Communications, Public Relations and Digital Media

The Recycling Partnership // Washington, D.C.
Marketing & Communications Chief of Staff + Senior Director of Marketing & Communications | 2019-Present

Currently reporting to the CEO, working in collaboration with a fractional CMO and leading a team of 12 full-time staff:

  • Shaping segmented messaging to increase the number and engagement of community partners, funding partners, policy makers and other stakeholders through omni-channel campaigns, resulting in a 40% Share of Voice in 2023 and:

    • a 236% increase in website users, including a 240% increase in new users

    • 25 million impressions (+142%)

    • 339,000 engagements (+265%)

    • 30k+ new followers (+500%)

    • 465% increase in online goal conversions

  • Responsible for creating, administering and improving The Partnership’s media relations workstream by directing public relations and communications strategies in more than 300 communities nationwide, contributing to

    • an annual media exposure of 4,000 (+21%),

    • a potential reach of over 5.1 billion (+90%)

    • an advertising equivalency of more than $47.4 million (+89%)

    • quadrupling top-tier media mentions, earning an average of nearly two each week in publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Politico, HuffPost, Real Simple, Bloomberg, CNBC, Axios, NPR, Business Insider, The Hill and Forbes

  • Mobilized the Marketing & Communications team in addition to other key stakeholders, including leadership, UX designers, copywriters and developers to redesign recyclingpartnership.org in under four months resulting in:

    • a 14% increase in visits

    • a 23% increase in pageviews

    • a 9% increase in users

  • Pioneered a new internal communications platform connecting, informing and engaging a 100 full-time remote employees who are driving nearly 300 weekly visits to the internal hub

  • Led a cross-functional team of developers, designers, copywriters and marketers in collaboration with Facebook and five Fortune 500 companies to propose, design, develop and launch a Messenger chatbot providing personalized, hyperlocal recycling information 

  • Shepherded the integration of The Partnership’s chatbot experience into Recycle Check, the same tool powering dynamic labels and QR codes on packaging

  • Spearheaded the launch of Communities for Recycling, a national public-facing brand designed to inspire recycling participation and guide households to recycle the right way, contributing to a:

    • 123% increase in website users

    • including a 122% increase in new users

    • a 5,900% increase in social audience growth, 8 million impressions (+32K%)

    • a 3,000% increase in engagements

  • Promoted four times in five years from Director of Communications to Director of Marketing and Communications to Senior Director of Marketing and Communications to Marketing & Communications Chief of staff to lead brand/corporate marketing and communications with responsibilities for leading marketing, digital, public relations and communications

Consultant & Senior Advisor // Remote, Hawaii, & Western North Carolina
Communications, Marketing, Public Relations & Digital Strategist | 2012-Present

  • Lead the design, copywriting, development and website maintenance for more than eight nonprofit, social enterprise and religious organizations' websites

  • Advanced business development opportunities and brand positioning efforts, exerting influence on business strategy and client growth

  • Partnered with the largest health system in Hawaii to propose, develop, implement & evaluate both a Prepared to Care and Stay in Care campaign to increase inpatient and outpatient volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • Guided the redesign of queens.org from research and planning to development and curation of content

  • Collaborated with a hospital’s senior leadership to develop philanthropic cases for support for support to complete a 24-bed inpatient infectious disease unit, allowing the medical center to assume a pivotal leadership role in addressing the state’s response to COVID-19

  • Led a health system’s transformation to consumer-driven marketing, proposing, implementing and evaluating strategies and structure to drive volumes and revenues

  • Developed a cardiovascular service line campaign, targeted at increasing physician and self-referrals increasing website users 45% and conversions by more than 26% despite the COVID-19 pandemic

Mission Health // Asheville, NC
Director, Digital & Social Media | 2011-2019

  • Grew organization’s inaugural digital media team from 0 to 6 FTEs in 4 years, hardwired processes for data-driven decision making, social media service recovery, campaign development, execution and measurement

  • Insourced & built health system’s first-ever internal web design and development team, attaining an “Excellent” System Usability Scale score in <6 months, while reducing annual operating costs 58%

  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to design, develop and launch 20+ websites, including ability for consumers to self schedule primary care visits, resulting in 62% increase in online conversions

  • Recognized as #23 on a list of the nation’s top 100 social media hospitals for excelling in social media engagement and fans, increasing social media engagement by nearly 1,000% on 15+ social media accounts

  • Grew social media impressions more than 630%, eclipsing 42.6 million annual impressions while increasing online sentiment 160+%

  • Launched health system’s first consumer blog increasing pageviews 3,900% and eclipsing 198K annual readers, leading the publication to be named #14 among the internet's top health education blogs and #25 on the list of the internet's top 100 health and wellness blogs

  • Streamlined consumer-centric approach to patient portals, which realized a cost savings in excess of $500,000 and enrolled more than 56,000; increased portal users 51%

  • Led the planning, execution & evaluation of all digital, social & web initiatives among 29+ staff including direct reports and interns, 10 hospitals & post-acute care facilities; leading to growth in net revenues >85% and patients served >120% (295,000)

  • Led community relations education, engagement and evangelism initiatives, including corporate sponsorships/events and two award-winning publications with circulations exceeding 80,000

  • Launched and managed a cross-functional team responsible for Social Media Service Recovery (SMSR) and online information assistance via social media & contact us forms; increased submissions by more than 300%

  • Planned, researched and implemented innovative and award-winning digital campaigns designed to educate, empower, engage, entertain and evangelize consumers, including becoming one the nation’s first health systems to integrate verified pages, instant articles and Facebook Live

  • Twice recognized by a regional healthcare marketing & public relations society for industry-leading use of Facebook Live

  • Promoted from Marketing Coordinator to Marketing Specialist to Manager to Senior Consultant to System Director in a five-year stint

Western Carolina University // Cullowhee, NC
Academic Advisor with an emphasis in marketing & communications | 2010-2011

  • Successfully planned, implemented & evaluated inaugural professional advising model within a college

  • Enhanced the college’s image through coordination of communications, marketing and recruitment

  • Recognized with a Dean’s Above & Beyond Award for proposing and implementing the college’s first social media marketing plan and network (the second brand network for the University)

  • Chaired & restructured the College’s scholarship selection to include digital application processes

 

Higher Education Administration & Teaching 

University of North Carolina Asheville // Asheville, NC
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Management | 2016-Present

  • Plans and delivers instruction for Digital and Social Marketing, a 300-level, four-credit hour course in the Department of Management and Accountancy

  • Plans and delivers instruction for Organizational Behavior & Theory, a 200-level, four-credit hour course in the Department of Management and Accountancy

  • Plans and delivers instruction for Introductory Seminar in Organizations, a 100-level, two-credit hour introductory seminar required of all Management and Accountancy Majors at UNC Asheville

  • Provided student-led, faculty-advised consulting for more than 25 small businesses and social enterprises across Western North Carolina

Western Carolina University // Cullowhee, NC
Adjunct Faculty, School of Health Sciences | 2018-2021

  • Received adjunct faculty appointment to the Master of Health Sciences program

  • Planned, delivered and evaluated instruction for a graduate-level healthcare marketing course in the College of Health and Human Sciences

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College // Asheville, NC
Adjunct Instructor, Business Administration | 2013-2016

  • Regularly exceeded departmental standards in students’ evaluations

  • Planned and delivered instruction for Principles of Management, Introduction to Business and Strategic Management (capstone seminar)

  • Piloted the college’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) in summer Introduction to Business Course

Western Carolina University // Cullowhee, NC
Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admission | 2008-2010

  • Proposed, implemented & evaluated initiatives to enhance the number of enrolled students by 17%

  • Recognized for successfully managing rural & urban recruitment areas, increasing territory enrollment by 33%

  • Enhanced the yield of enrolled students through the proposal, creation and administration of an online social media community of more than 550 members

  • Directed office’s social media efforts in addition to exerting influence in the University’s social media launch

  • Rendered decisions of admissibility of transfer, distance, international & non-traditional applicants

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill // Chapel Hill, NC
Visitation Program Coordinator, Office of Undergraduate Admissions | 2006-2008

  • Improved the overall quality of the Carolina Admissions Ambassador through the effective management, selection and training of more than 250 Admissions Ambassadors and tour guides

  • Collaborated with faculty to afford 2,000 prospective students the opportunity to experience academic life

  • Served as receptionist for undergraduate admissions

Leadership
& Service

Honors