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Experience

layercake
JAN 2022present

Communications Director

  • Provides strategic communications, social media, and branding consulting to BIPOC entrepreneurs  
  • Guides clients in refining annual business plans to drive growth and operational efficiency  
  • Volunteers time and communications/PR expertise to Greenbridge Association 
AMAZON
Oct 2021Mar 2023

Communications Manager

  • Led the entire cross-functional communications ecosystem designed to increase awareness and inspire growth for Amazon's discounted Prime memberships (Prime Access and Prime Student):
    • Secured 620+ earned media placements with an average of at least one key message pulling through in 100% of target media list coverage
    • Executed ongoing paid media series that outperformed benchmarks, including a custom article in USA Today featuring a Prime Access member
  • Instituted and managed the first year-long Prime Access influencer program:  
    • Drove over 245k engagements and achieved an engagement rate of 13.1% on in-feed content, surpassing industry average performance expectations of 2.0%
    • Generated 8.9k total link clicks to Prime Access benefit and sign-up pages, resulting in a click-through rate (CTR) of 0.9%
  • Negotiated an exclusive CNN story to kickoff the "Prime Access" rebrand campaign featuring the first interview with the Head of US Prime, membership data, and third-party analyst validation to reinforce Prime's value
  • Partnered with senior PR manager to develop and execute communications plans for the Prime price increase and new member benefit launches (ex: free Grubhub+ trial and access to Thursday Night Football with Prime Video)
  • Created the first Prime Communications Team Wiki page to guide internal stakeholders in engaging with our team and requesting PR support 
APPLE
Aug 2020Sep 2021

Public Relations Manager

  • Co-led external Smart Home communications in partnership with Product Marketing and International PR teams; supported broader Product Communications team during hardware events
  • Managed HomePod mini product launch in the U.S. and 15 international countries; identified new and existing media targets for on-background briefings and product seeding; wrote messaging, facilitated spokesperson prep, and staffed virtual media briefings; distributed launch recaps to Apple's CEO and executive leadership  
  • Drove evergreen momentum storytelling and seasonal gift guide pitching for iOS, Apple Maps Guides, HomePod mini, and HomeKit
  • Provided strategic PR guidance to third-party Apple Maps Guides publishers (ex: Red Bull) and HomeKit brands (ex: Logitech)
  • Managed day-to-day crisis communications by news monitoring, escalating issues to appropriate teams, and responding to media inquiries 
  • Managed PR Specialists and Interns while also serving as a mentor
expedia group
Apr 2017Aug 2020

Public Relations Manager

  • Co-lead US external communications and produced multifaceted campaigns designed to raise awareness, increase brand affinity, position Expedia as the world's most trusted travel company, and showcase the value of being a loyalty member
  • Regularly combined creative, out-of-the-box ideas with cultural moments and traveler data to tell impactful consumer stories: 
    • Introduced "Mobilemoons" as a new travel trend based on findings from Expedia's first Solo Travel Report and championed the Expedia app as the ultimate travel companion to drive downloads 
    • Managed the first 2020 Travel Trends Report media event in NYC that brought 30+ business and consumer reporters together for a Q&A with late-night TV host Andy Cohen
  • Consistently secured a high volume of earned media placements: 
    • Landed a five-minute organic segment on Good Morning America for Expedia's 2018 Airplane + Hotel Etiquette global study
  • Managed day-to-day crisis communications in collaboration with Legal, Corporate Communications, and Customer Service to develop responses for media and non-media inquiries 
  • Collaborated with Corporate Communications to launch the first Expedia Group Research Summit, driving engagement across the company's research discipline 
  • Official spokeswoman and guest on Expedia's "Out Travel the System" podcast 
  • Developed the "How to Diversify Your Media List" presentation to inform PR teams across Expedia Group about the impact of engaging with Black and Hispanic outlets
  • Expedia Viewfinder blog author with multiple SEO-ranking pages: 
    • Gained #1 position for branded terms and page one results for generic terms on Expedia's Black Friday & Cyber Monday blog post; averaged 20K unique organic page visits
WE Communications
Feb 2015Apr 2017

Account Executive

  • Executed product communication plans for Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows 10 software updates, and the Windows Insider Program
  • Hosted intimate Windows 10 demo workshops for tech, consumer, gaming, and business media to garner favorable product reviews 
  • Defended Window's reputation through rapid response incident management while providing counsel to in-house stakeholders 
  • Established the formal daily analysis of media coverage about Windows and Devices, Microsoft competitors, and the technology industry 
  • Wrote various materials, including media pitches, briefing documents, Q&As, coverage reports, and reactive statements
20122015

Communications Intern

  • Recognized as the first intern to contribute valuable content ideas and copy edits for the quarterly newsletter (Atlanta Community Food Bank) 
  • Authored "Best Airport Eats" article for InsideCox corporate magazine distributed to 50,000+ employees (COX Enterprises) 
  • Interviewed professional athletes and broadcast news personalities (Atlanta Hawks & Atlanta Community Food Bank) 
  • Managed internal newsrooms and Intranet sites (Atlanta Hawks & COX Enterprises) 
  • Solely garnered on-site local news coverage for a HoneyBaked community donation (Edelman) 
  • Produced media advisories, press releases, and social media content; monitored media placements; disseminated coverage flags; and compiled coverage reports

Skills & Attributes

Leadership: An eloquent communicator who's comfortable serving as an official spokeswoman and advisor to all levels within an organization; develops and executes internal and external communication strategies; active listener
and empath 

Media Relations & Communications: Proven ability to establish and maintain relationships with reporters; sets proactive and reactive media strategies; media trains spokespeople; crisis management; utilizes monitoring tools (ex: Cision)

Storytelling: Expertise in crafting compelling narratives that resonate with both internal and external audiences; leverages analytics to inform strategy and identify emerging trends 

Innovation: Introduces new methods and improves efficiencies; creative, strategic, and analytical thinker with relentless curiosity

Content Creation: Writes press releases, blog posts, social media copy; manages internal communication channels; SEO optimization; CMS and HTML coding

Project & Team Management: Detail-oriented with a passion for organization; leads cross-functional teams; budget, PR agency and vendor management

Education

20092012

Georgia State University

  • Bachelors of Arts in Journalism (Broadcasting & Public Relations)
  • President of Journalism History Society 

Fun Facts

Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) member 

Girl Scouts of America alumnae 

Mom to three rescue pups

#IAMAPUZZLER (24 hours is my record for a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle)