Social Media Specialist, The National Academies

Implemented strategies to adapt National Academies research products, programming, and outreach efforts to better reach online audiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. Created social media strategies that clearly and concisely communicated the organization’s ability to provide the nation with scientific recommendations in a crisis by collaborating with senior leadership, policy experts, and leading academics.

Key Accomplishments:

Managed strategy, content production, media buys, and budgeting of paid social media campaigns totaling over $240,000 in ad spend for projects sponsored by NSF, NIH, HHS, the Nobel Foundation, and others. To date the campaigns have garnered 26.6 million post impressions, 1.3 million video views, and 481 thousand clicks. Selected campaign objectives included building awareness for factors that improve mental health in adolescents among parents and primary care medical professionals, increasing web traffic to a set of consensus report recommendations on respiratory protection for workers without existing OSHA guidelines, and increasing engagement with key messages about the future of nursing education.

Trained subject-area specialist communications staff to develop content for topical accounts and campaigns through sessions on audience research, content writing, and social media best practices. Consulted with staff to increase the efficiency of workflow and reach initiative-based goals across nine business units and over 80 social media accounts.

Supervised a junior staff member’s work on organic social media content for the intuitional accounts and marketing content for over 700 events. Taught basic design skills, stakeholder management, project management, and marketing strategy to increase levels of independence. Adjusted content strategies to create space for the staff member to explore and further develop strengths.

Developed weekly editorial strategies for social media and collaborated with the publications and public relations units to promote new scientific research products. Wrote social media content in response to current events and released institutional statements about policy and public health recommendations. Collaborated with executive and internal communications staff to regularly develop content to build the reputations of the presidents of institution.

Collaborated with senior leadership to develop a #AdvisingTheNation social media campaign highlighting perspectives of the presidents and National Academies recommendations on President Biden's transition priorities — Covid-19 pandemic response, economic recovery, racial equity, and climate change. Managed the creation of social media content to develop public health, engineering, social science, and policy audiences over several months. Created outreach toolkits to facilitate academies communications staff, stakeholders, and partners posting branding campaign content over 300 times.Outreach and institutional content had a combined reach of 3.8 million. Campaign videos were featured during the National Academy of Science 158^th Annual Meeting which was attended by thousands of policy experts and leaders in academia.

Developed a live coverage framework that communicates both National Academies recommendations and expert perspectives in response to the move virtual events. Distinguishing the level of certainty of statements carried the institution's core value of scientific rigor through to digital communications. Led a team to live-tweet the workshop“Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2” during August 2020 resulting in 3.6k mentions of the hashtag, 10.9k engagements with the coverage, and an internal record for live stream event attendance. The framework has since been used to build awareness and facilitate conversation during the Academies annual meetings, workshops, and webinars.

Freelance Designer & Marketer

Led a marketing discovery process with clients in the medical and laboratory services fields to help define a target audience and customer personas for effective creative collateral. Designed visual identities that included logos, typographic treatments, brand colors, and layout standards. Developed the visual identity into branded deliverables such as business cards, websites, brochures, and social media posts. Maintained open communication with clients to develop design solutions targeted to their audience.

Social Media Coordinator, SGIA

Produced and curated social media content for SGIA, a nonprofit trade association for printers and printer suppliers representing many diverse specialties. Marketed the association’s annual trade show, community driven conferences, educational workshops, and membership program. Developed content that helped printers stay up to date with industry developments, build technical skills, and develop their businesses.

Key Accomplishments:

Audience Development Research:  Designed a survey of our audience segments to assess strategies for increasing post engagement and expanding our following.Managed an intern’s contribution to the project and supported learning about target audiences.

Earned Media Influencer Program:  Implemented the SGIA Industry Influencer program, which distributed shareable social media content to board members and C-suite stakeholders in the printing industry. Influencers received an onboarding webinar explaining how the program builds SGIA’s brand and how to use the content curation and distribution tool Clearview Social. After onboarding, influencers received emails containing 6-12 pieces of shareable content each month.

Paid Social Media Campaigns:  Created organic and paid social media marketing campaigns for SGIA’s trade shows, conferences and events, including the FP3 conference, WB/Camp, and PRINTING United. Designed action-grabbing social media graphics that were consistent with the style guide for each event using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Created promotional videos for events to highlight networking and educational opportunities.

Photography:  Managed photography contractors to ensure that newsworthy events were covered, editorial content was created, and audience segments were well represented in photographs for marketing collateral. Personally photographed events that required a quick turn around on photos. Ensured files were quickly available to journalists and program managers.

Biological/Pre-Medical Illustration, Iowa State University

An interdisciplinary degree focused on giving students the skills to communicate complex scientific concepts through illustration and design. Coursework consisted of pre-medical lab science, illustration and design courses.

Selected science courses included:  human anatomy & physiology, general chemistry, statistics, and genetics. Upper-level studio courses focused on individual and group client projects.