Highlighted Work

Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition

Director, Communications

• Development of full-year integrated marketing and communications strategy across paid, earned, social, and earned channels.
• Led RFP for new agency partner from research to brief development, to selection, and onboarding.
• Created dedicated Consumer Insights function within Communications to create a more data-driven function and Customer Engagement function to deliver dedicated support to customers.
• Built team for newly created function, aligning team to business priorities and connection to our customers through strategic industry engagement.
• Elevated internal communications through creation of standardized Town Hall and employee events.

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Ferrara Candy Company

Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs

• Developed and executed Ferrara’s corporate brand media strategy and opportunities, positioning Ferrara as an industry leader.
  • Sweet and Mult-Sensorial: A visit to Ferrara candy company headquarters in the Old Post Office (Chicago Sun-Times, 2022)
• Oversaw philanthropic giving program to facilitate 75 tons+ of in-kind donations to communities.
• Developed Crisis & Issues Response Plan, including responding to media.
  • The largest candy corn manufacturer in the US was hacked by a ransomware gang before Halloween (Business Insider, 2021)
  • Ferrara Wins Suit Against THC-Infused Nerds Knockoff (Food Processing, 2022)
• Partnered with leaders of Ferrara’s iconic brands to mitigate risk, support dynamic campaigns, and ensure messaging alignment.
  • Inside Ferrara’s Transformation of Keebler Cookies (Food Business News, 2020)
• Organized and executed press conference and site tour with media and local elected officials to open new distribution complex.
  • State of Illinois Joins Ferrara to Mark Opening of $100 Million DeKalb Distribution Complex (Official Press Release from DCEO, 2021)

Ketchum

Account Supervisor and Associate Creative & Strategic Planner

• Managed integrated brand campaigns, corporate announcements, consumer events, proactive reputation building, and influencer campaigns.
  • ‘Real Housewives’ All Stars Celebrate Having ‘Work Done’ in Epic New Music Video for Fiber One (People, 2019)
  • Nature Valley “Summer of 1 Million Miles Challenge” Influencer Program (2018): The Summer of a Million Miles Challenge garnered 3.6M placements in top consumer online and social media channels resulting in 125.8MM impressions!
• Developed communication strategies and creative programming aligned to client business objectives.
  • Pillsbury Bake-Off PR (2019): Media efforts around the Bake Off garnered 981MM earned impressions from 20 national print and online outlets including Woman’s World, Yahoo!, The Daily Meal and NBC Nightly News.
    • The Votes Are In: 49^th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest Awards ‘A Taste of Dublin’ As Its Grand-Prize Winner (Multivu Press Release, 2019)
    • First-Ever Pillsbury Bake-Off Winner Gets the Sweetest 100th Birthday Surprise (The Daily Meal via Yahoo!, 2018)
  • Pillsbury Ugly Christmas Sweater Activation (2018): Pillsbury’s Ugly Christmas Sweater outreach generated 155+ placements, earning 279.9MM total program impressions in key national publications like Business Insider, People, Elite Daily, E! Online and more.
    • Pillsbury Just Dropped A Line Of Ugly Sweaters That You Need For Your Next Holiday Party (Elite Daily, 2018)

Private Work Samples

General Public Relations and Public Affairs Highlighted Work

Due to the confidentiality of the work I’ve done throughout my career, I am unable to share it on a public portfolio. However, I am happy to share additional work samples directly with some sensitive information redacted. Please contact me directly for those samples, including:

• Crisis communication talking points and briefing materials including statements
• General public relations campaigns talking points and FAQ
• Town Hall decks and logistics
• Strategic plans for corporate affairs and media relations
• Press releases
• Intranet story samples