You know what gets me excited in the morning when I might want to hit snooze or go back to dreaming about chocolate-covered everything? The realization that I get to tell and amplify the stories about people who are doing remarkable things to make our world a better place. Amid the rabble of celebrity divorce and weight-loss secrets, there are the stories of activists, scholars and organizations who are making our world more healthful, equitable and just plain interesting. I help those stories get told, heard and written about through strategic storytelling and marketing initiatives.
For more than 15 years, I’ve created marketing and communications strategies for U.S. News and World Report top public universities, an Entrepreneur-ranked #1 Franchise, a New York Times best-selling author, and an American Lawyer-ranked “Top 10” law firm with veritable results.
Results I've generated on behalf of my clients and employers include:
My personal creative pursuits have included singing and blogging--both storytelling avenues in a less traditional sense. From 2007-2012, I was the lead singer of the indie-electronica band The Antique Toys (best known for our cover of Concrete Blonde's "Joey," and our original track "Falling") and a guest vocalist with Pristina ("Can You Hear Us," "The Killing Jar," and "One Past, Two Stories").
In 2009, I founded and led the award-winning blog Feed Me, I'm Cranky, which received 20k page views a month and currently has 41,000 fans on Facebook. Though the blog is no longer active, it was one of the highlights of my life and taught me how to build an audience from scratch and connect with others over stories.
Award-winning case statement for UCI's School of Humanities
In 2020, the School of Humanities' case for support brought home gold from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Content & social media campaigns that made an impact
A landing page and explainer video to showcase School of Humanities' expertise in environmental humanities. Social media & digital campaign yielded 20k organic impressions. Video ranks #1 in YouTube for "what are the environmental humanities?"
Crafted a social media campaign around a climate event that generated 18 million impressions of the event hashtag #UCIClimate on Twitter. Our concerted PR strategy resulted in coverage from five media outlets, including C-Span who recorded the event’s keynote and first panel.
Crafted a social media campaign around a hip-hop event hosted by our Center for Critical Korean Studies and, in just one day, the hashtag #KoreanHipHopUCI reached over 455,000 individual accounts and generated over one million impressions. Media coverage of the event included top publications like the Los Angeles Times, both online and in print, and generated millions of impressions.
Crafted and led content strategy for three web properties. One website (Smart Snacks in School) was a lead-generation site that gained a #1 search-result spot, even outranking the government for six months. While I managed it, the site had a bounce rate of 10%; the average visitor spent 13 minutes there; and the site generated an average of 40 quality leads per month.
Despite national downward trends, the UCI School of Humanities kept its undergraduate majors steady, eventually increasing significantly in the last couple years of my tenure due to concerted marketing campaigns. Major-specific campaigns in Literary Journalism and African American Studies increased students: 310% for LitJ and 400% for AfAm studies.
Stunning outdoor marketing - bridge and pole banners - created unique humanities-led experiences.
New online course is first of its kind to bring the world of Will to life for all UC students
Objects of the past, present and future
UCI art historian traces South Asia's present in objects from its past
Writing mothers back into history
UCI Ph.D. candidate broadens historical record to include mothers and motherhood in the Mexican Revolution
UCI professor examines artifacts of the past and explores their impact today
UCI alumna LaVonne Smith '94 has led a colorful life, supports various School of Humanities endeavors
Training camp becomes training ground
Film & media students get real-life experience aiding TV show crew covering Rams on campus
O.C. as seen by authors
Anthology by UCI alumni couple offers literary excerpts on county's culture, geography
Cross-pollinating the future
New dean believes interdisciplinary humanities are key to addressing complex contemporary problems
Illuminating the power of the arts
Chancellor’s initiative celebrates third anniversary, brings authors to campus
5 ways the pandemic is changing the world for the better
An interview with UCI philosopher Aaron James
Tracking the slave trade
Grant allows UCI historian to add intra-American voyages to trans-Atlantic database
New book offers insight into world of enslaved women in early America
UCI professor fleshes out the life of Charity Folks, once just a name on a document
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