Examples of My Work
Below, you will find more detail about projects that I worked on at the National Geographic Society and Madak that helped me cultivate my skills in client relations, project planning and management, media relations, writing, and social media. Writing samples are linked where possible, and others are available upon request.
Strategic Communications at the National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society is a global nonprofit on a mission to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world through its extraordinary community of changemakers known as National Geographic Explorers. I became interested in the Society because of its mission-driven work, especially its work protecting wildlife and places. I first joined the Society as an intern in 2017 and then was hired as a coordinator for the Strategic Communications team in 2020.
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In this role, I prepared communications plans, wrote messaging and content, created toolkits for press and stakeholders, and built media lists and pitches to amplify the Society and its Explorers.
STORYTELLERS SUMMIT 2022
To support the Society's annual Storytellers Summit, I collaborated with my manager to develop the integrated communications plan and crisis messaging. Then, I took ownership of two central announcements: the 2022 Eliza Scidmore Award for Storytelling going to Lynsey Addario, and the appointment of Maya Lin and Shahidul Alam as National Geographic Explorers at Large.
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I prepared the communications plan; wrote and published press releases for each announcement (here and here); coordinated with our creative team to develop assets and with our social team to amplify; conducted media outreach to secure nine earned placements; coordinated with our colleagues at National Geographic Partners to promote in their themed newsletters and with the Explorers' affiliated organizations to share.
TUPUNGATO VOLCANO EXPEDITION
During my first year as a coordinator for the PR & Media team, I had the opportunity to work with the Society's Impact Communications team that supports Explorer-led programs like Perpetual Planet, which is a partnership between the Society and Rolex to fund groundbreaking scientific expeditions and research.
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I supported the team with the 2021 National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Tupungato Volcano Expedition – which placed the highest weather station in the Southern and Western hemispheres – by developing a media list and pitching; drafting copy for the Society's various internal newsletters; preparing social posts and toolkits for the Explorers that participated; drafting messaging for the sizzle reel.
SOUTHERN OCEAN ANNOUNCEMENT
In 2021, the Society updated its map policy to recognize the Southern Ocean around Antarctica as the planet's fifth ocean. This is important for bringing awareness to the protections needed for this environment.
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I created a communications plan, messaging, media list, and media pitch to push the announcement for World Oceans Day in June. It was a collaborative effort across departments and with our colleagues at National Geographic Partners, who wrote an editorial story. With our pitching, the announcement appeared in more than 100 media outlets, including late night shows such as The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Our goal was to highlight the Society's leadership in geography and conservation by securing placements that included the Society's geographer Alex Tait and relevant ocean-focused National Geographic Explorers.
BRAND AMBASSADOR TRAINING
I designed training programs and materials in the past for The White Magnolia Bridal Collection and for my clients at Madak, which prepared me to take on the Society's brand training programs for staff and Explorers.
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I started by auditing the existing courses for both, then updated the scripts and presentations. For staff, I host a monthly live training session with all new hires – including executives. For Explorers, I worked with the Explorer Program team to update the online courses and then created supplementary materials, like social toolkits and a logo usage guide.
Marketing at Madak
Madak is a boutique marketing agency based in a small town north of Seattle. I worked on both B2B companies like PHNX Sports Partners and SafeTraces, and B2C clients like Windermere Stanwood & Camano Island Real Estate. I also worked closely with Madak's in-house marketing manager and CEO set a vision for and drive the continued growth of the agency.
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In my role, I was responsible for driving each client's experience from the initial proposal to the execution of the plan. I developed strategies and wrote any necessary content for each deliverable, and then provided directions to a small team of web developers and creative producers. After a year, I was promoted to senior marketing strategist to acknowledge the leadership role I had taken on internally: reviewing and interviewing applicants, training new strategists, developing new processes, and coaching team members on their performance.
Windermere Real Estate
Windermere was a legacy client I took over from a previous strategist. I expanded on the Welcome to Camano Island campaign that Madak started to reach Seattle and Bellevue residents. This included leading additional neighborhood photoshoots, updating digital ads and the downloadable map, and directing refreshed video content. I also supported individual agents with by reviewing their digital practices, designing individual sales collateral, and leading digital campaigns for qualified listings.
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I also revamped the We Are Stanwood Camano campaign to prioritize agent recruitment to protect market share, and elevate the team's profile within the community by participating in local events and educating people about the current market.
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SafeTraces
SafeTraces came to Madak to drive sales of their miniDART™ and saniDART™ that were designed to support food safety operations and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Then at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, SafeTraces adapted their invisible DNA tracers to support air quality testing with the veriDART™.
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In addition to developing their new website as we had planned during the proposal period, I also helped with the launch of the veriDART™. This involved developing and designing sales decks, one-pagers, and case studies; scripting photoshoots and videos; designing and monitoring search ads. I also wrote and designed automated email campaigns for each of their three products, tailored to their target industries.
Phoenix Sports Partners
As the dedicated strategist assigned to Phoenix Sports Partners, I led their team and ours through the rebrand. I prepared a key messaging document and wrote content for an investor pitch deck, one-pager, event handouts, and their new website. I also worked closely with their communications manager to prepare email announcements for investor events.
