My experience creating and implementing strategic communications initiatives in the nonprofit world, as well as the public and private sectors, has provided me with a solid knowledge of operating effectively in complex environments with a broad diversity of constituents.

In 2018, I founded my consulting firm, On Message Communications, to give high-level strategic guidance and support to nonprofits and foundations. I have worked with a diverse client base on projects that I believe can help accelerate positive social change.

Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change.

When I joined the team, I was tasked with developing marketing and communications plans to enhance the reputation and impact of our small start-up. This meant aligning the brand, messaging, and goals to make them consistent across channels and campaigns. I have provided strategic guidance to our executive leadership, our clients and our partners. During my tenure, Lever for Change has influenced nearly $2.5 billion in funding and provided support to more than 500 organizations.

Strategic Communications Planning

As communications lead, I have served as the point person for planning across departments, working with dozens of teams on different portfolios, each with specific issues and goals. These kinds of collaborations require a level of diplomacy and an understanding of audience perspectives, as well as a skill for proposing solutions that meet multiple needs at the same time.

As a member of executive leadership teams, reporting to presidents and CEOs, I have helped shape organizational goals, while ensuring the alignment of communications and marketing strategies to achieve high-level objectives.

All strategic communications plans begin with the same building blocks: highlighting goals, identifying stakeholders, crafting messages, choosing channels, defining actions and selecting measurement tools. This approach has shaped my philosophy that communication is both a science and an art—informed by research and executed with passion.

Digital Design

Website designs and re-designs are among the most challenging projects for an organization, involving numerous stakeholders, each with their own aesthetic sensibilities. Yet, these are also some of the most rewarding experiences. Over the course my career, I have been the point person on complete website overhauls and numerous re-designs.

Developing integrated digital plans informed by data and analytics, I have helped improve the reach of websites and social networks. I put the most critical information front-and-center and create cross-platform solutions to provide the most up-to-date and compelling content. As a result, visitors now spend more than 40% more time on sites that I have helped develop and I have multiplied the reach of social platforms by more than 10-100x.

By promoting a continual cycle of improvement and innovation, I have also helped increase engagement on social media platforms and via email campaigns. Through a process of audience segmentation, I have honed in on specific audiences and potential influencers with tailored content. I have nurtured and grown social media platforms through organic interaction and online promotions. In addition, I have redesigned email campaigns, resulting in 50% increases in sign-ups and actions.

• In 2015, our team at the Hilton Foundation awarded iconic Southern California public radio station, KCRW, a grant of $1 million over three years to produce coverage of issues affecting historically marginalized and under-represented populations in the Greater Los Angeles region. This funding resulted in series like “Below the 10” and “There goes the neighborhood.”

• In 2015, we awarded $100,000 to support disaster and emergency preparedness technology at NPR West in Culver City, California, as part of NPR's four-year 'Upgrade and Rebuild' project designed to expand and upgrade NPR West's production capabilities.

• In 2016, we gave PBS SoCal a three-year, $1.7 million grant to launch a multi-faceted initiative (“Life After Fostercare”) to help change the expectations and realities for foster youth in Southern California.

• In 2017, we funded The Guardian with a one-year grant of $250,000 to produce editorially independent journalism (“First Fight”) covering early childhood development in countries most affected by global poverty.

Public Speaking

During my career, I have been honored to contribute to the body of knowledge in the social sector, speaking on panels and at conferences:

• Communications Network 2024: AMERI'KANA - Shifting and redefining narratives

  In this workshop, we helped the audience gain a deeper understanding of the value of storytelling in moving people to action. We explored how to reframe and shift narratives to adapt to new times and evolving cultures. The goal was to learn how to think about storytelling in non-traditional ways, meeting audiences where they are in ways that resonate with their lives.

• Southern California Grantmakers Family Philanthropy 2017: Navigating External Disruptions to Philanthropic Practice

This session explored case studies to better understand how foundations and nonprofits alike have navigated some of the most disruptive events of recent times—the digital communications revolution, the financial crisis of 2008, the Affordable Care Act, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

• Council on Foundations Conference 2017: Serving Communities by Sharing What We Know

This session took a close look at the kinds of knowledge assets that foundations can share and how senior staff can support knowledge-sharing practices at every level of the organization.

• Communications Network Conference 2016: Brand as a Social Impact Driver

  Three leading communications experts offered their unique insights into the making of a brand at distinct moments in the brand awareness process. The panel also explored what it takes to drive social change through organizational branding and influence.

Photos

Here are some snapshots from the past few years working behind the scenes: