I love engaging internal audiences, helping fans connect with brands, and differentiating organizations in the hearts and minds of prospective customers and employees.

In my current role leading the Communications function at LAIKA, my team and I craft and deliver internal and external messaging to inform, engage, and inspire audiences in support of the studio’s overarching business objectives and in alignment with the organization’s mission and values.

Our scope comprises end-to-end communications planning, creation, deployment, and measurement, along with serving as strategic thought partners to leaders across the studio. Key responsibilities include giving fans and prospective employees alike a glimpse into studio life via the #LifeAtLAIKA social media content stream; keeping LAIKAns connected to the latest employee news and events via the intranet and studio emails; and copywriting for owned channels. 

Core to the mission of the Communications function is ensuring that employees have access to the information they want and need to know to feel informed, engaged, and inspired.

Transparent communications build trust, help employees become brand evangelists, and ensure that everyone has the knowledge they need to be successful in their roles.

In my current role at LAIKA, I oversee the award-winning #LifeAtLAIKA content stream, highlighting the people, places, and processes behind the studio’s beloved films. Our content mix includes both UGC 9:16 videos filmed by employees to showcase a day in their lives, as well as more produced videos made by our in-house Creative Marketing team and outside agency partners.

The recent video project I’m most proud of involved conceiving and end-to-end project managing a collaboration with artist-baker-influencer Christine McConnell. I successfully pitched our Chief Marketing and Operations Officer on commissioning from Ms. McConnell a custom cake replica of the Pittock Mansion set from LAIKA’s upcoming film Wildwood to celebrate the studio’s 20th anniversary. In addition to a cake reception for employees at the studio, content deliverables included a long-form video, a 30-second cut, and a photo carousel shared on LAIKA’s and Ms. McConnell’s various social media channels.

Across LAIKA channels, total organic views reached 1.2M. Combined, the LAIKA posts delivered 103K engagements, with an average engagement rate of 9.5%. The long-form YouTube featurette achieved 3x higher views than our channel average.

Among my video highlights from past roles, I oversaw theThriving Heights series for Kaiser Permanente Dental.

We rolled out the first video in our new Thriving Heights series in February 2018 for National Children’s Dental Health Month. The short cartoon featured a lovable cast of furry characters with tips for kids (and kids at heart) on how to set themselves on the path toward a lifetime of healthy smiles.

We also created an animated brushing soundtrack set to a catchy tune. The song is two minutes long — the ideal length of time to brush twice each day.

The integration of medical and dental health is a key component of Kaiser Permanente’s singular value proposition. Thriving Heights is an opportunity to differentiate the brand and showcase leadership in dental and total health excellence.

While on the Kaiser Permanente National Communications team, I authored case studies on the benefits of video dispatches and communities of practice. In my current role at LAIKA Studios, our intranet site was featured in a global SharePoint Online benchmarking report. Additionally, our award-winning #LifeAtLAIKA employer branding campaign is included on Ragan Communications and PR Daily’s training platform as suggested professional development content for LMS subscribers.

I have significant experience overseeing the end-to-end physical and digital magazine and newsletter creation process, from concepting to writing, editing, and vendor management. Many of those publications are for internal audiences only, but I’m happy to share external-facing magazines and annual reports from two of my previous positions. If you’d like to see more examples, please contact me.

I’ve received numerous public relations awards for work such as a National Children’s Dental Health Month promotional campaign that garnered local and national media coverage (including an ABC News TweetChat that reached more than 3.8 million people) and contributed to a 37% increase in pediatric dental appointment bookings.

I also led the media outreach for a major public health event that provided more than $80,000 in donated medical and dental care to 190 uninsured and underserved children (more than 25 pre- and post-event media hits, including segments from three of the four local TV stations in their first block of news).

I take a cross-channel approach to communications, and social media is an essential tool in the toolbox.

In my current role as Senior Communications Manager at LAIKA, I oversee the studio’s award-winning #LifeAtLAIKA content stream, employer branding strategy and execution for LinkedIn, and copywriting for all owned channels.

I got my start in newspapers interning for Willamette Week, where I left my mark by exposing misleading Tillamook Cheese advertising that ultimately led to the company changing its packaging to be more transparent about the source of its ingredients. From there I moved to the Corvallis Gazette-Times, where I covered Oregon State University and authored an arts and entertainment column. Next, I took a position as a features writer for The Columbian, earning awards for my consumer and lifestyle reporting. When I left journalism for corporate storytelling, I continued to freelance for The Oregonian and The Columbian for several years.

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Competition
• 3rd Place for Lifestyles Reporting – 2011
• 3rd Place for Consumer Reporting – 2007
• 2nd Place for Minorities Reporting – 2005

It’s been a privilege to write promotional materials for PRSA Oregon and Portland Center Stage at The Armory.

I’ve planned and overseen multiple photo and video shoots (from developing creative briefs, shot lists, and scripts through post-production and deployment of final assets) and ad campaigns (OOH, digital display, social, print, radio, and TV). Kaiser Permanente’s Dental Program saw a 30% membership increase during my tenure.