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Services

How can we work together?

From spokesperson and presentation coaching to reports, blog posts, and emails — or  from crafting a pitch for the news media to sharing your impact at an event — we’ll work together to make sure your voice carries through each story and every communications method.  Here are some sample projects to provide a sense of my capabilities. 

Note: Credits below reflect work by me with expert colleagues in data visualization, design, digital advertising, media relations, photography, website development and video production. 

Writing
Interim Comms Director
Coaching
Events
Digital
Pitching

Writing

People hire me to help document their impact, issue a call for justice, explain a complex issue, celebrate wins, and more. Recent work includes:

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As part of my work with Center for Neighborhood Technology, I’ve written and produced annual reports for 2023 and 2024, as well as blog posts on equitable transit-oriented development and decarbonization initiatives, among others. 

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I worked with BECOME to help document work in a 2021-22 Annual Report 

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I helped the Corporate Coalition of Chicago share their progress with a 2022 Year in Review and wrote and produced a brief documenting the work of their Corporate Connector program.

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I worked with Woodstock Institute to help them document work in 2020 online and in print (PDF) and in 2021 (online) and in print (PDF)

Coaching

I help groups and individuals become comfortable and confident presenters and communicators both in group settings and with the news media. Recent projects:

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Spokesperson coaching: I’ve worked with nonprofit and corporate CEOs and other leaders from American Medical Association, ASI Home Care Services, BMO bank, Carole Robertson Center for Learning, Democratic Party of Illinois ,Illinois Commerce Commission, Medline corporation, as well as many others on how to work with journalists and speak effectively in public. 

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‘Storytelling for Leaders’ coaching sessions on framing a pitch and connecting your personal story to an advocacy and organizational mission. I blogged about one of my favorite coaching sessions with Dion Dawson of Dion’s Chicago Dream on the Living Proof Advocacy website.  

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Facilitator and panelist: For groups like Association of Consultants to Nonprofits, the Stories + Money = Change conference, Chicago Communities in Schools and others, I have planned and facilitated sessions about communications strategy and fundraising and storytelling. 

Interim Comms Director

Over the past five years, I’ve found organizations hire me when they are between communications directors or to stretch a budget that won’t support a full-time role for someone with experience to do the work they need.

In addition to assisting with strategy and creative work, the other key element I bring is wrangling details—like maintaining or helping build a database, website, or other system. Every job has a level of detail and day-to-day routine, and nonprofit communications has more than its share. For several clients this has included helping the organization search for and hire a full-time communications director and coaching for the person in the new full-time role.

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In 2022-23 I helped Woodstock Institute with a range of communications aspects from the website and social media. For example among many other projects, I helped the team publish and share findings from their Community Lending Fact Book and Data Portal. 

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Tapestry 360 Health, a federally qualified health center, provided an opportunity to work with the community outreach, development, operations and medical teams. Before and during the COVID-19 pandemic we communicated on vaccines and other essential health information, were recognized for health innovations, all while creating original online content, newsletters and more. In my  final year with Tapestry 360 Health I helped them rebrand and rename the organization.

Digital

Organizations hire me to help maintain a consistent voice on social media, update or maintain clear and concise websites, and more–work I do with help from talented social media strategists, designers and other colleagues. Current and recent projects include:

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Content strategy for Center for Neighborhood Technology includes posting weekly (including adding Instagram and BlueSky to social mix) as well as regular additions of new content to cnt.org. This also includes producing email newsletters from 2023 forward.  This work was recognized with a Publicity Club of Chicago Silver Trumpet content strategy award in 2024. 

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Work with staff and volunteers at Changing the Conversation for Progress to  update ctc4pogress.org, using email, website, and social to power a volunteer-driven 501c4 deep canvass in 2024

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For Major Taylor Trail Keepers, I keep the website updated with news about annual events, short blog posts on current activities, and email newsletters to build engagement. List has doubled in two years and email has helped build a stronger donation pipeline for the organization. 

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Creating content to help the Corporate Coalition of Chicago double their following on LinkedIn. (2022-23, here’s a short case study about the project)

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I was part of a leadership team helping rebrand Tapestry 360 Health and led the project to rebuild its new website (2021) 

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Greenlinehomes.com: Greenline Homes’ new website has ranked top on Google search for “Chicago green homes” for two years, after a site redesign and with periodic updates I helped to create, working with Squarespace expert designer Collaborada, 2017-date

Pitching

The news media validate our work.  Here are some recent successful pitches: 

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For Care for Friends

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For Center for Neighborhood Technology

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For Coalition for Spiritual & Public Leadership

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For Cook County Forest Preserves

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For Major Taylor Trail Keepers

Events

Every event can serve as a platform to tell an organization’s story, from the speakers to the schedule to the thousand and one decisions that insure it runs smoothly and successfully.  The most successful events are truly joint efforts; organizations hire me to help with project management and event fundraising. Recent projects:

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At Center for Neighborhood Technology, I worked with the CEO to create a free panel series, Visionary Voices, that brought about 50 community and climate leaders together three times in 2024

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Greater Southwest Development Corporation’s 50th anniversary

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Woodstock Institute Change the Map Economic Justice Awards 2021