About

Strategy is like a symphony. Disparate channels, limited on their own, come together to create a sound so compelling you can’t help but stop and listen. I am a composer and conductor.

LinkedIn Profile

Expertise

Experience

Booz Allen Hamilton   |   Lead Associate, User Experience Strategy

Draw on expertise across digital strategy and experience to engage audiences, deliver results, and build relationships. Use human-centered design and behavior change methods to craft strategies from communications and marketing to user experience and product design. Especially adept at mapping and communicating convergent spaces to amplify results.

Website and Application Modernization – User Experience Lead

Drive engagement and customer satisfaction through impactful user experiences across USPS.com and dozens of applications in the USPS digital footprint. Manage stakeholders and support agency executives in executing strategic objectives. Resolve system integration conflicts

Capital Investment Transformation – Strategy and Design Lead
Led strategy and design for re-imagining the capital investment approval and management process to streamline the end-to-end experience.

Engaged multiple departments to understand the agency ecosystem and align their practices to industry best practices. Designed a new tool on the ServiceNow (SN) platform that will help manage a $40Billion investment pipeline over 10 years and fulfill reporting requirements on those investments. Process and system are designed to provide comprehensive, secure management and monitoring of investments, as well as a simplified, intuitive interface for project managers and budget analysts.

Appian Custom Application – Team Lead, UX Support, and Product Owner
Served as team lead, UX support, and product owner for a new tool being developed to manage production processes for missions supporting geospatial foundations. Deployed the first Appian application on the agency network through experience-driven product design and software development.

Medical Transportation Support – UX and Design Lead
Led UX and design for refresh of the interface used to manage and monitor all global patient movements. Started with in-depth user research and process analysis to rethink the service design of the interface to better serve users and their mission of patient safety.

Integrated multiple forms and work streams into a single streamlined interface for easier input, processing, and management of patient movement requests. Removed duplicate fields, streamlined navigation and process flows, automated data integrations, and implemented UX, design, and behavioral economics best practices to reduce cognitive load and improve usability in service of reducing errors and improving user satisfaction. Worked with junior designers on a reusable component library based on Material Design to facilitate development. Provided detailed artboards as reference for developers. Validated findings and solutions incrementally with broad user sets to ensure satisfaction and user adoption.

VA Solid Start – Project and Strategic Communications task Lead
Served as project lead and strategic communications task lead for a new suicide prevention and mental health outreach program from VA to newly separated service members.

Provided audience profiles and communications strategy to establish the brand and messaging for the new program. Crafted tactical communications plans to direct multi-channel program launch and sustainment communications. Worked across VA administrations and offices to validate and socialize coordinated campaign assets to amplify messaging and increase awareness of the program. Initial engagement with transitioning service members exceeded expectations with email open rates ranging from 20-40% (well above industry and government standards) and successful phone connections over 20% (above the 15% target). Success of the program led to the US Congress passing the VA Solid Start bill in 2022, permanently sustaining the program.

Geopolitical Forecasting Challenge 2– Marketing and Communications Specialist
Launched one of IARPA’s prize challenges with more engaging messaging and hyper-targeted approaches to organic participant and media outreach.

Shifted academic outreach to focus on institutions and contacts more relevant to the Challenge and participation requests, and used specialized platforms for academics, research labs, and data scientists to increase awareness. Targeted media outreach to outlets, and reporters focused on forecasting, and used pegged connections to the handful of reporters most likely to bite, garnering several placements. One of the foremost experts in forecasting did an interview for Axios with the program director that was published the day before launch, a major influence on the spike in Challenge followers and registrants at that time. During the initial weeks, solvers “actively participating” (answering 95% or more of the Challenge questions) was 50% higher over the previous year, and Solvers “marginally participating” near doubled.

Recognition

• Booz Allen Hamilton Values in Practice (VIP) Award- 2023
• Team Award: Elysium UX Redesign- 2023
• Passionate Service Award: Values in Practice- 2022
• Passionate Service Award: PMT Approval to Operate- 2021
• Passionate Service Award: FGWS PMT Leadership- 2021
• Champion’s Heart Award: USTRANSCOM TRAC2ES Interface- 2019

American University   |   Director, Digital Communications Strategy

Served as the university’s principle expert on digital communications and strategy. Created and executed strategic vision for the university’s public-facing web properties, focusing on better user experience and integrated content for improved engagement. Managed cross-functional teams across the organization to optimize synergies and maintain governance. Led the university’s Web Steering Committee and Content Publishing Committee, setting priorities, providing project management, and guiding best practices. Directed social media strategy and digital crisis response. Advised leadership on development of voice and content to build individual audiences that coordinate with university accounts to amplify the reach and engagement of both.

Presentations

• To Tweet or Not to Tweet, Conference for High-Impact Research, May 2018
• Engaging Gen Z, Go Alliance Annual Meeting, April 2017

Sapient   |   Strategist

Develop dynamic, integrated strategies, supported by behavior-based assessments of target audiences that holistically address digital, marketing and communications, and engagement challenges. Deliver results that exceed expectations and build solid relationships with executive clients.

Manufacturing USA

Worked with an inter-agency team to create a public brand for a presidential legacy initiative, including audience profiles and a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy. Developed workshops to engage the client in the brand development process and communicate research findings in an interactive setting. Supported the brand launch at an international conference where the Secretary of Commerce unveiled the new brand to acclaim.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Re-envisioned the Institute’s approach to defining digital audiences based on how they consume health information, and developed a new digital strategy to engage those audiences across channels. At the request of NHLBI’s Director of Science Policy, Engagement, Education, and Communications served on the Institute team tasked with recruiting participation in and communicating the results of the Institute’s strategic visioning initiative with internal and external stakeholders.

Recognition

• Global Impact Awards 2016 Finalist – Manufacturing USA Team
• Global Impact Awards 2016 Nominee – Client Impact
• Core Value Awards 2016 Nominee – Creativity

Publications and Presentations

• Audience Engagement Untangled, Poster Exhibition, UXDC Conference 2017
• Engaging Change, Poster Exhibition, UXDC Conference 2017
• Developing Content that Supports Behavior Change, Population Health, July 2016
• Human-centered Design Delivers Effective Care Solutions, Health Innovations News, April 2016
• Meeting Your Mission: A User-centered Approach to Content Strategy, UXPA Magazine, February 2016
• A Better Way to Define Your Audience, World IA Day 2016
• Optimized Persuasion: Targeting Behavior Change, UX Camp DC, December 2015 (with Dr. David Nickelson)

Atlantic Council | Deputy Director, Digital Communications

Led the digital transformation of the fastest growing think tank in Washington, DC. Expanded the digital footprint and online audience with a new digital strategy encompassing websites, social media, webcasting and email. Maintained the digital brand of the Council, instituting design and communication standards across 10 programs. Developed a coherent content plan for digital distribution channels and content packages that highlight the Council’s work and experts. Created a comprehensive social media strategy. Transformed the way the Council collects and applies data to membership and development by building and expanding the Council’s Salesforce.com environment.

• Launched a new, content-driven Council website on schedule and budget, migrating to a new domain and content management system. Pulled together the editorial contributors across the Council to create a new editorial team. Instituted new workflows for online and print publishing.
• Increased unique visitors to the site by more than 30% and pageviews on the site by more than 35% in 18 months at the Council, over the previous period. Expanded the social media presence of the Council and its programs. Doubled the number of Twitter followers for the Council in the first year. Train staff and fellows on social media best practices.

Gannett/USA WEEKEND Magazine

Recognition

• T.E.A.M. Award- 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008
• Visionary Award- 2003, 2005
• President’s Circle- 2004, 2006
• Gannett Chairman’s Award- 2007
• Recognition Award- March 2005, Nov 2006, Aug 2008, June 2010

Director of Affiliate Programs

Worked across USA WEEKEND, USA Today, Gannett and its subsidiaries to develop programs, especially in the digital space, to retain and grow circulation for America’s second largest circulation magazine. Developed custom program packages for sales proposals and did profit-loss analysis for deals. Created digital extensions for the magazine, including a content syndication program and electronic edition. Aggregated print and digital content into packages for syndication. Integrated editorial content into newspaper and advertiser promotions. Leveraged other digital products developed by Gannett to expand their reach and increase the value of USA WEEKEND to carrier newspapers. Chose software and applications for digital initiatives. Analyzed site metrics and established benchmarks for site planning.

• Rebuilt the newspaper database and integrated technologies that improved our capabilities for managing large quantities of data and communications with clients.
• Redesigned usaweekend.com and makeadifferenceday.com. Increased time spent per visit, ad impressions, unique visitors, page and video views, social media followers for both sites.

Market Development Manager

Developed sales messages and marketing strategies to effectively brand USA WEEKEND to newspapers and their readers. Managed Newspaper In Education program. Planned communication strategies for partner programs and operational priorities. Directed creation and maintenance of databases and user interfaces. Managed daily marketing and client relations operations, policies, objectives and processes, as well as three support staff. Supervised proper construction and execution of contracts, financial transactions and circulation documentation.

• Opened markets to highschoolsports.net through partnerships with non-Gannett newspapers.
• Developed USA WEEKEND’s digital and social media strategies. Served as company expert on trends in usability, online promotion and social media. Selected as project manager for digital strategy team.
• Completed selective USA TODAY management program.
• Worked with the CEO to write the USA WEEKEND’s 2007 Operating Plan.

Assistant Marketing Specialist

Created strong sales and marketing materials to retain and grow circulation and raise the awareness and promotion of the magazine.  Maintained partner website and created email campaigns to engage clients. Customized sales proposals and presentations and conducted market research to support sales efforts.

Chappell, Smith and Associates Group | Assistant Director of Marketing

Designed, produced and managed the production of collateral and trade show materials for eight companies owned by the group. Companies included insurance, pet spa, document management and general contractor.