Experience

Throughout my career, I have served on high-impact teams that have driven nearly $3 billion to solutions to some of the world's biggest problems. I believe that communication is both an art and a science, and have devoted my life to understanding people, engaging with them, and getting them to take action.

Consulting

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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.

Branding

During my tenure at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, our team grew from a dozen staff members into an 80-person philanthropic institution. Over seven years, I helped elevate the organization’s brand from obscurity into one of the leading foundations in the country. We modernized the Hilton family brand to position the foundation as an enduring, forward-looking force for good, incorporating Conrad Hilton’s signature into modern logos and other brand assets—linking his vision and legacy to the Foundation’s future.

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 communications strategies 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’ve also provided strategic guidance to our executive leadership, our clients and our partners. During my tenure, Lever for Change has driven over $2.2 billion in funding and supported more than 175 outstanding 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 between 35%-64% more time on sites that I have helped develop than on competitors’ sites.

By promoting a continual cycle of improvement and innovation, I have 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 35-55% increases in sign-ups.

Media Relations

As head of communications, one of my main responsibilities is to serve as spokesman and point person with the media. During my career, I have enjoyed good relationships with members of the press. Working with colleagues, I have been able to share and shape stories that are both factual and on-message, using accessible and memorable language. One of my key priorities is to highlight complex issues and high-profile organizations. To that end, I have initiated and participated in stories to shine a spotlight on incredible teams in the social sector.

While I seek attention for my clients and principals, I attract the right kind of attention—the kind that advances goals, not publicity for publicity’s sake. Here are some samples of the stories I have helped place and generate in recent years:

“MacKenzie Scott donates $640 million, more than doubling her gifts to nonprofit applicants” (Associated Press, 2024)
“Billionaire MacKenzie Scott expands donation promise to give away $640 million” (Good Morning America, 2024)
"Move fast and mend things: The super-rich are trying new approaches to philanthropy" (The Economist, 2024)
“Interview: Cecilia Conrad on working with MacKenzie Scott and the Lever For Change model” (Alliance Magazine UK, 2023)
“MacKenzie Scott sets new ‘open call’ to donate $250 million” (Associated Press, 2023)
“Four Years After Launch, Here’s How MacArthur’s Lever for Change Is Galvanizing Big Giving” (Inside Philanthropy, 2023)
“LEGO Foundation announces recipients of $117 million Global Challenge” (Philanthropy News Digest, 2022)
“Refugee organisations get $24.3m funding boost” (Philanthropy Age, 2021)
“Can Philanthropic Competitions Be Equitable?” (Inside Philanthropy, 2021)
“How a New Philanthropic Award Seeks to Support Refugees—and Rally More Donors” (Inside Philanthropy, 2020)
“Kellogg Foundation commits $90 million over next decade to close racial equity gap” (Crain’s Business, 2020)
“In an era of mass dislocation, we need new approaches to aid” (San Francisco Chronicle, 2017)
“The Hilton Family’s Spiritual Entrepreneurship” (Barron’s, 2017)
“Combating Homelessness” (Washington Monthly, 2016)
“Things Are Going to Get More Interesting at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation” (Inside Philanthropy, 2016)
“Which Funders are Helping Foster Youth Age Out Successfully?” (Chronicle of Social Change, 2016)
“Syrian refugee crisis outstrips international aid” (The Seattle Times, 2015)
“Ending The Stigma: Major Humanitarian Prize Shines Light On Mental Illness” (Forbes, 2014)
“Indian eye care group wins top world aid prize” (Reuters, 2010)

Media Grants

As a communicator, I am grateful to have been able to contribute to the funding of outstanding media organizations, with partnership grants totaling more than $3 million:

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.

Inside the KCRW studio with DJ Anne Litt (L) and KCRW President, Jennifer Ferro (R)

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 Conference 2013: Hitting Your Stride on Social Media
This session explored social media campaign approaches and lessons learned by different types of foundations. Participants discussed ROI of storytelling, cultivating and activating strong networks, as well as building staff engagement.
Grants Managers Network 2014: Managing Data for a Field of Good: How Grants Data Can Make It Great
The panel looked at why good data matters in solving the problems we care about and the importance of adopting communication strategies that allow us to build upon each other's knowledge and scale what works.
Communications Network Conference 2014: The Promise and Perils of Communicating in Times of Change
This discussion examined change within organizations—whether leadership or program transitions—and gave an overview of real examples in philanthropy, as well as the private sector. The panelists provided some guiding principles for communicating in times of change.
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.

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.

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.

The Communications Network

I am a proud member of the Communications Network, a professional affinity group of foundation and nonprofit leaders devoted to strategic influence for the greater good. I am currently one of the leaders of the Chicago chapter. As well as attending and speaking at events since 2010, I was a founder of the LA chapter, which aimed to connect the leading social impact communicators in LA to share ideas, explore new partnerships and build a strong community of like-minded peers.

In 2017, we organized an evening at the Los Angeles Times with philanthropy and nonprofit communications professionals from across the Los Angeles region. We held a panel discussion with reporters, editors and columnists from the Los Angeles Times to learn firsthand how to more effectively communicate, share story ideas and ultimately build more meaningful relationships with members of the media.