1.
I am a passionate, creative and engaged Executive. I define a successful career in relation to my organization’s
success.
● Communications professional with 13 years of progressive experience leading internal and external strategic
campaigns for an organization of 800 full-time employees and a residential population of 90,000.
● Media and public relations professional with management responsibility for a team of communicators. Actively
serves as the lead Public Information O捕겿魵cer for community-wide team of public information o捕겿魵cers and
marketing professionals.
● Creative professional with the ability to develop and design collateral media in a variety of platforms including
digital, print, web and social media.
● Skilled team leader with the ability to develop relationships to engage stakeholders (internal and external),
government relations, the business community and outside agencies.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
City of Lawrence, Kansas Communications Manager 2009 – Present
➢ Serve as part of the organizational Executive Team. Responsible for the general communication e捕forts for the City
of Lawrence. Create strategic communications programs and plans which utilize various forms of media
including traditional print, web content, digital media, social media, press releases and any other appropriate
communication tool needed to develop a successful campaign. Assist city departments with communications and
other activities.
➢ Serve as liaison between the media and municipal government. Develop new media policy, pitch stories and track
media placement of stories.
➢ Research, analyze and present data to management and elected o捕겿魵cials regarding policy decisions, program
design and evaluation, and contract negotiation.
➢ Coordinate special events and programs for the municipality and overall community.
➢ Serve as sta捕f liaison for Convention and Visitors Bureau and actively involved in partnerships with the Chamber
of Commerce, University of Kansas, Kansas Athletics, Downtown Lawrence and other community organizations.
➢ Responsible for supervising two full-time and one part-time communications sta捕f.
Significant Accomplishments:
➢ Managed the city’s social media strategy including the growth of the city’s social media presence. Developed a
professional program for the creation of edited video for the organization.
➢ Twice managed process to complete a total redesign of the city’s web site (www.lawrenceks.org). Initiated new web
tools for citizen outreach and utilization of the website including redesign of the e-newsletter system.
➢ Created and developed a Transient Guest Tax Grant program that provided $150,000 each year to events which
demonstrate a measurable economic bene겿魵t to the community, enhance the cultural economy and/or travel and
tourism economy, and create additional Transient Guest Tax and sales tax to further enhance Lawrence’s character
and reputation for tourist activities and demonstrate pull of regional visitors.
➢ Wrote and implemented a revised Communications Plan to guide organizational communication e捕forts.
➢ Published articles in local magazines, industry journals and represented city in trainings and seminars for elected
o捕겿魵cials and city sta捕f.
➢ Twice elected as President of Kansas Association of Public Information O捕겿魵cers (2014, 2016)

2. eXplore Lawrence
(Destination Management) Interim Director Feb.2009-March 2016
➢ Appointed as the Interim Director of the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau to manage the organization
and provide stability through the reorganization process.
➢ Managed a sta捕f of six employees and their respective activities for sales, sports, marketing/communications,
community relations and the Visitor Center.
➢ Worked with internal and external stakeholders to develop a proposal for reorganization which was later adopted
as the new framework for a standalone 501(c)6 organization.
➢ Oversaw the launch of the award-winning “Unmistakably Lawrence” branding and marketing campaign.
➢ Managed the completion of the initial “Cradle of Basketball” program to ensure grant funding guidelines were
met. Managed vendor and client relations to complete the project and produce a successful launch of the program.
City of Leavenworth, Kansas Assistant to the City Manager/ 2003 –2009
Public Information Officer
➢ Responsible for the general communication e捕forts of the City of Leavenworth. Prepare City Manager and City
Commission budgets. Serve as contact for citizens and media regarding City programs, projects and events.
➢ Serve as sta捕f liaison for Sister City Committee, Cable Television Advisory Board and Youth Advisory Commission.
Actively involved with community organizations such as Leavenworth Convention and Visitors Bureau,
Leavenworth Main Street and the Chamber of Commerce.
➢ Responsible for supervisory functions for two contract vendors for the City of Leavenworth, including training of
vendors and managing projects for timely completion.
➢ Completed total redesign of the city’s web site from a static site to a content-management website. Trained and
assisted sta捕f to utilize the new web-management tool. Initiated new web tools for citizen outreach and utilization
of the website including an e-newsletter system, e-payment options and e-registration tools.
➢ Redesigned the city’s newsletter/parks and recreation brochure from a spot color/black-and-white publication to a
glossy, four-color brochure.
Sprint Telecommunications Technology Analyst I 2001 – 2003
➢ Performed duties associated with internal technology help desk. Assisted customers with varying operating
systems, Microso䊶핫t programs, and internal mainframe and internet-based applications. Trained new employees
and created a training manual complete with application instructions, processes and procedures.
EDUCATION
University of Missouri at Kansas City Kansas City, MO
Masters of Public Administration (2006) Emphasis: Non-Profit Administration
Course Highlights: Financial and budgetary management, public management, leadership, research and statistical
evaluation, program/policy analysis and development, grant and proposal writing, collaboration and team building,
economic development administration, public management theory and implementation.
Kansas State University Manhattan, KS
Bachelor of Science in Journalism & Mass Communications (2000) Sequence: Public Relations
SKILLS Strong public speaking, oral and written communication skills, sta捕f management, time
management, research and statistical evaluation, budgeting, organizational communications, leadership skills and
crisis response management. Exceptionally motivated professional with high attention to detail and organization.
National Incident Management System courses completed: ICS 100, ICS 200, ICS 300 and ICS 700.
So䊶핫tware pro겿魵ciencies: Microso䊶핫t O捕겿魵ce Suite, Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Acrobat DC, Illustrator,
Photoshop), content management systems for web design and content, cloud-based graphics and editing
programs for layout and design.
Writing samples, portfolio materials and references available upon request.