Experience

Chernoff Newman

• United States
• Marketing Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Public Sector Director

  • Jul 2022 - Present



South Carolina Department of Education

• United States
• Education Administration Programs
• 400 - 500 Employee

• Chief Communications Officer

  • 2016 - Jul 2022

  The S.C. Department of Education is the state education agency for South Carolina and is overseen by an elected Superintendent of Education.After successfully managing Molly Spearman’s campaign, I joined her communications team. I was promoted to Chief Communications Officer after just over a year due to my ability to quickly translate her message and develop successful communications and public relations strategies.My role includes:--- Communications Leadership --- I direct all day-to-day operations within the agency Office of Communications with a staff of 4 direct reports and an additional 3 dotted line indirect reports. Upon my promotion, I retooled and expanded the office so we could properly execute large scale public relations campaigns by adding 2 new staff members around digital media and event management.--- Digital Strategy --- Our digital footprint has grown to be a Top-10 presence in the US relative to other state education agencies in terms of social media followers.--- COVID-19 --- I am the point person on all COVID matters and liaise with public health agencies, school districts, and media to ensure accurate information is disseminated timely.--- Process Improvement --- I streamlined school district communications by developing weekly memorandum communication and process for over 4,000 schools and district administrators. Show less

• Special Assistant to the State Superintendent

  • 2015 - 2016

  In this role, I served as a de-facto Chief of Staff while overseeing all policy, communications, and special projects relating to the Office of the State Superintendent.My role included:--- Communications --- I developed, speeches, talking points, and presentations for over 200 events and speaking engagements during the first 18 months in office.--- Process Improvement --- There was no uniform process for handling event and peaking requests, so I created an online form embedded into the agency website and routed it to a single email address. I also created a step-by-step process form intake of an event request to execution of the request to ensure a standardized approach.--- Messaging --- There were key stakeholders lacked knowledge of the State Superintendent’s goals and priorities upon her taking office. I developed a messaging toolkit that included talking points differentiated by audience and a compelling presentation with graphics. I then developed a rigorous rollout schedule that including public and private meetings and events. Stakeholders learned and had the opportunity to engage and provide feedback on goals. --- Digital Marketing --- I led the transition as the Superintendent took office and partnered with agency technology leadership to completely overhaul the agency website on a new and easier to use content management system. Show less



Molly Spearman for Education

• South Carolina, United States

• Molly Spearman for Education

  • 2013 - 2015

  Molly Spearman was elected the 18th State Superintendent of Education in 2014 and took office in 2015. I led the daily operations of the campaign with a staff of up to 12. My role included: --- Communications Management --- I guided media efforts, planned events, oversaw scheduling, voter contact efforts, and Election Day operations. --- Campaign Management --- We won an 8-person primary, the subsequent runoff, and general election. --- Data Analysis --- I used voter data to compile canvassing campaigns while tracking contacts and voter sentiment on an app to help shape messaging. --- Strategic Planning --- I mobilized a multi-tiered strategy to raise low name ID among key voters. Show less