Résumé

Director of Marketing & Communications — Dismas House | Nashville, TN | 2025–PRESENT

• Lead the development and execution of integrated marketing, branding, and public relations strategies, elevating organizational visibility and strengthening stakeholder trust.
• Create and implement comprehensive marketing campaigns across print, digital, and social media platforms, maintaining consistent brand messaging and alignment with organizational goals.
• Produce high-impact storytelling content for residents, program outcomes, and donor engagement, including talking points, scripts, event collateral, and marketing materials.
• Manage website content, email marketing, social media channels, and multi-channel campaigns, optimizing engagement through data-driven adjustments.
• Develop and execute social media strategy, growing Instagram following by 100% and achieving 45,000 views in a single month, while leading paid advertising campaigns that support fundraising and programmatic goals.
• Serve as primary media liaison, drafting press releases, conducting media outreach, preparing leadership for interviews, and managing crisis communications.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with journalists, media outlets, and marketing vendors, ensuring high-quality production of digital and print materials.
• Oversee marketing project timelines, deliverables, and cross-functional collaboration with executive leadership, event teams, and external partners.
• Utilize digital tools (WordPress, Squarespace, Constant Contact, MailChimp, Buffer, Loomly, Adobe Creative Suite, Canva) to streamline workflows, track campaign performance, and maximize ROI.
• Consistently surpass fundraising goals through strategic marketing initiatives, compelling storytelling, and targeted stakeholder engagement.
• Mentor and coordinate team members and vendors, driving process improvements and achieving high-impact results in a fast-paced nonprofit environment.

Achievements

• Increased Dismas House social media views by as much as 270% in 2026, with Facebook views up 252%, Instagram reach up 270% and LinkedIn views up 48%.
• More than doubled Dismas House website views by 102% through collaborations and unique storytelling opportunities.
• Provided Dismas House with a new Board Member, representing thousands of dollars in financial commitment, as well as future potential partnerships with major donors and community leaders from one single connection.
• Surpassed all fundraising goals through online promotions, e-newsletters, ad campaigns both print & digital, social media and key partnerships.
• Through my contacts at the American Bar Association, I got our CEO as a guest on the ABA Criminal Justice Section’s podcast, which is a major media platform for Dismas House to share its mission to a global audience and therefore get one step closer to becoming the national standard for reentry.
• Secured the Honorable Mayor Freddie O’Connell to provide opening remarks at our largest fundraising event of the year, he had not attended a Dismas House event since 2024.

 

Senior Director of Creative Services — Martha O’Bryan Center | Nashville, TN | 2021–2025

• Provide comprehensive strategy, hands-on support and direction for visual and written storytelling efforts for one of Nashville’s largest nonprofits.
• Create, build and manage social media advertising campaigns on platforms Meta, LinkedIn, and Google Ads, tracking ROAS, CAC and other KPIs.
• Create engaging content featuring partners and clients to increase followers, traffic, likes and shares online and on social media, with a recent record of 327 likes on a single Facebook post.
• Create and maintain new Brand Guidelines and oversee all content to ensure that the center’s message is clear, consistent and on-brand across all media platforms.
• Create and manage written content, photography, video, artwork and related visual elements for the center’s brand.
• Research and source content and oversee content creation for the center’s website.
• Redesigned the Martha O’Bryan Center logo to popular acclaim.
• Manage and create the agency’s entire digital footprint, including partnering with web design vendors in designing and maintaining an evergreen website with accurate content promoting the center’s message.
• Create interactive imagery and motion graphics in Adobe and Canva and schedule those and other posts in Asana for social media.
• Use Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT to gauge performance metrics and compose and design email newsletter blasts.
• Manage a team of freelancers and produce online content via WordPress CMS.

 

              Achievements

• Updated website and designed new annual report to help qualify for and secure $25 million in grant money from the Tenn. Dept. of Human Services.
• Entered MOBC into and won a national contest for free, pro bono website maintenance, 24 hours of free website development and monthly SEO strategy sessions for a year from Hammersmith Support, which we parlayed into a website redesign saving the organization $30,000.
• Increased social media engagement and the number of followers exponentially across multiple platforms.

 

Design Director — American Bar Association Journal | Chicago, IL | 2010–2021                                                                                

• Spearheaded daily operations of Web and magazine production for largest U.S. law publication and website to engage ABA members.
• Supervised, recruited and trained graphic designers. Managed interns from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.
• Managed and recruited over 200 freelance designers, illustrators, videographers and photographers in the U.S. and abroad.
• Negotiated excellent rates for use of stock photography for both Getty Images and the Associated Press, saving $21,000 for 2021.
• Redesigned trade show booth to increase attendance and participation and managed trade show coverage including hiring event photographers and videographers.
• Served as front end designer for Webby-winning website with over 2M monthly pageviews.
• Orchestrated hiring; assigned and art directed covers, features and videos. Managed $260,000 budget; saved $60,000 in 2019.
• Conceptualized and implemented design strategies for seamless alignment of ABA goals, editorial directives, diversity and inclusion.
• Re-introduced entering awards competitions with wins ensuring team survival during staff reorganization.
• Conducted market research and analysis of other publications and websites; presented findings to ABA Journal Board of Editors.
• Managed more than 36 projects a year. Provided IT server solutions and support for entire production team.
• Hosted Modern Law Library Podcast receiving 5,000 listens in first month and winning Folio: Eddie Award honorable mention.
• Wrote book and movie reviews about law in popular culture.

 

Achievements

• Promoted 4 times in 8 years from Senior Designer & Visual Web Editor to Design Director.
• Won 29 American Society of Business Publication Editors Awards (18 Gold Awards) for print and Web, including ASBPE Magazine of the Year; 2 Folio: Ozzie Awards Honorable Mentions; and 6 Graphic Design USA Awards.
• Won 19 Apex Awards (5 Apex Grand Awards for Design & Illustration) + 1 Peter Lisagor Award for Best Illustration.
• Received partial scholarship to attend Yale School of Management Leadership Strategies in Digital Media.
• Revitalized marketing to attract more youthful audience and cultivate online engagement. Delivered multiple presentations in person, on-site, off-site and via Zoom.
• Collaborated and took leadership role for 9 years in marketing committee for ABA Journal
• Initiated, designed, managed and executed Legal Rebels Marketing Project, which garnered >$300,000 in ad revenue.

 

 

Contributing Editor and Illustrator — The Smoking Jacket | Chicago, IL | 2010–2011   

• Wrote, edited, illustrated and designed viral posts and infographics for popular humor site.

             

Achievements

• Generated tens of thousands of hits with top posts on Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon, and social media.
• Won “Infographic of the Day” on DailyInfographic.com.

 

Art Director & Social Media Director — Alpha Media Group | Franklin, TN and New York, NY | 2008–2010                  

• Created all branding for primary website with target audience of adults ages 18–34, garnering 6M hits per month.
• Served as Social Media Director and maintained 9 accounts daily.
• Photographed and wrote articles about music festivals for Web and print.
• Art-directed photo and video shoots in L.A., Chicago, New York and Nashville.
• Wrote editorial and marketing content for advertisers, such as Volkswagen and Gillette.
• Wrote engaging, humorous and informative online editorials.
• Managed designers, photographers and videographers both on staff and freelance.
• Created free online content from social media for online, garnering 75,000 views with each post.

 

Achievements

• Promoted to Creative Director for offshoot publication; created and designed all layout for 160-page national publication.
• Generated extra 1M hits a month for primary website as part of a 5-person team, creating humorous original content.
• Created concept for, designed and art directed 2^nd magazine for a specific audience.
• Directed 275K viewers from Facebook in a single day to contribute to record month of 7M pageviews (2.5M unique).
• Added tens of thousands of fans and produced 500% increase in traffic from social media outlets to primary website.

 

Senior Art Director — Publishing Group of America | Franklin, TN | 2000–2008

• Designed cover and cover stories, hired videographers and photographed events for 5 national publications.
• Created and designed ads for major advertisers such as Ford Motor Company, Hormel, Coty, CMT Network and Sony Records.
• Created and designed best-selling cookbooks. Wrote numerous headlines for Relish
• Recruited 250 freelance photographers across the country who are still used regularly today.
• Wrote numerous headlines for Relish
• Served as Acting Photo Director and Production Manager until those positions were filled.

Achievements

• Won 13 national Design Awards, including 1 Grand Award during 8.5-year tenure.
• Supervised design of 5 national publications – one weekly, 4 monthlies: American Profile (10M weekly circ), Relish (12M circ), Spry (9M circ), NBC’s The Peacock (10M circ), CMT Life Set to Music (1.5M circ).
• Streamlined photo selection and color correction at American Profile to cut cost per page from $300 to $170.
• As only designer, took 2 magazines from startup to 2 of the largest magazines in the U.S., achieving runaway success.
• Won Mr. Magazine’s (Dr. Samir Husni’s) Magazine Launch of the Year 3 times.

 

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

• Yale School of Management Executive Education – co-founded alumni Facebook group; organized reunions; conducted surveys
• American Society of Business Publication Editors – judge for annual ASBPE Awards
• Society of Professional Journalists
• American Bar Association
• American Society of Magazine Editors – received partial scholarship to attend Yale
• Chicago Headline Club – winner of Peter Lisagor Award for illustration
• Nashville Area Junior Chamber of Commerce (NAJCC) – former recruitment co-chair
• Active Board Member of Magnolia-Wedgewood Condo Association
• Folio Ozzie Awards judge

 

EDUCATION

Yale School of Management Executive Education – Leadership Strategies in Digital Media Publishing                     

University of Tennessee, Knoxville – Bachelor of Arts

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Design: Canva; Adobe CS: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, InCopy, Acrobat; Quark       

Web: WordPress/Expression Engine Content Management Systems, HTML, CSS

E-Newsletters: Constant Contact, Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge, Mailchimp  

Social Media Management: Meta, Loomly, HubSpot

Video: Adobe Premiere Pro & Rush, Adobe Podcast Beta Tester, Final Cut Pro, Canva, Riverside

Word Processing: MS Word, Excel, InCopy, Acrobat, Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge  

Project Mgmt: Asana, Slack, Wrike, Basecamp, Trello, Loomly

Presentation: Keynote, PowerPoint