Experience

Special Olympics Florida

• United States
• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Director Of Communications

  • Aug 2020 - Present



AAA National Office

• United States
• Consumer Services
• 100 - 200 Employee

• National Public Relations Manager

  • May 2019 - Jul 2020

  • Oversee national PR efforts for two lines of business -- Automotive and Strategic Partner Development - for nation's leading travel and auto club. • Conceive, create and pitch national campaigns earning coverage from The Wall St. Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, network news and network morning talk shows. • Develop toolkits for local AAA PR contacts generating tens of thousands of local media impressions. • Initiate and manage relationships with national print, online and broadcast media. • Respond to national news requests, arranging interviews and prepping AAA executives for media appearances. • Manage (and ghostwrite for) the Twitter feed of AAA's CEO.



Give Kids The World Village

• United States
• Philanthropic Fundraising Services
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Director of Communications & Executive Communications Manager

  • Aug 2014 - May 2019

  • Director and editor for this nonprofit resort that provides cost-free vacations to children with critical illnesses. • Supervised a three-person staff responsible for telling stories and building campaigns supporting GKTW's marketing and development efforts. • Oversaw editorial content for fundraising effort raising more than $1.5 million. • Spearheaded redesign of GKTW annual report, quarterly magazine and monthly e-newsletter. • Overhauled donor stewardship program, increasing response speed, personalization and data collection. • Conceived, drafted and refined all high-profile campaigns and fundraising materials. Ghostwriter for GKTW president and CEO and senior member of communications/marketing team. • Edited, served as rewrite and drafted outline for CEO's book: On Purpose: How Engagement Drives Success. • Led team responsible for special 30th anniversary webpage and magazine package. • Supervised production of all GKTW publications, reports, and storytelling vehicles -- online and print. • Volunteered regularly for at weekly “Village Idol” talent show for visiting families.



Orlando Sentinel

• United States
• Newspaper Publishing
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Senior Reporter and Columnist

  • Oct 1995 - Aug 2014

  • Columnist and senior reporter for Florida’s third-largest newspaper and news website. • Reporting led to crackdown on predatory loan collectors, an overhaul of the state's federally funded workforce agency and major changes to state's unemployment program. • Winner of more than a dozen local, state and national journalism awards. • Covered business and the economy, writing primarily page 1 stories and a weekly column. • Launched a business blog and appeared on local television news affiliates. • Covered presidential and U.S. Senate elections in Florida and served as the paper’s state correspondent, covering everything from Hurricane Katrina to illegal immigration issues. • For seven years, wrote a popular commuter column called the “Road Dog.”



The Daily Press and The Lynchburg News & Daily Advance

• Newport News, VA

• Staff Writer and Editor

  • Feb 1988 - Sep 1995

  • Staff writer and assistant night city editor at these newspapers serving Hampton Roads, Virginia and Central Virginia. • Staff writer and assistant night city editor at these newspapers serving Hampton Roads, Virginia and Central Virginia.



Lynchburg College

• Lynchburg, Virginia

• Adjunct Journalism Instructor

  • 1989 - 1990

  • Taught Beginning News Reporting and Article and Feature Writing • Taught Beginning News Reporting and Article and Feature Writing