Projects
The projects listed below are work from different positions that I've held or work that I have contributed to in my professional career. I chose to showcase these ones specifically because they all involve digital media, strategic planning, creative brainstorming and contribute to my growth in Marketing and Public Relations.
4Corner Business Services
4Corner is a tax, accounting and business consulting firm for small businesses. The position I held was the Communications Specialist and I was responsible for all things outreach. Above is an example of a newsletter I created that was part of our 12 week marketing campaign to get conversion of prospective clients that showed interest in working with us. I created the templates in Canva, but the newsletters were distributed through Constant Contact. I implemented this into our company to measure metrics giving us insight of what we can do to perform better and appeal to this market. One of the best parts of working with this team is getting a better idea of how running a business works. As average consumers, we don't get to see the operations behind a successful business. This company is very successful and being in the office gave me the opportunity to see how departments have to come together to make sure all runs smoothly. This job was the first one I held in the professional world where I was in an office setting and not just working remotely. This will help me for the foreseeable future because working with a team is an essential skill you have to learn in the professional setting as well as life in general.
Figgro
Figgro is a start up that I do contract marketing for. It is a software that will be used inside dispensaries to complete transactions, record inventory, provide education to dispensary owners or individuals looking to get into the Cannabis business. In the near future, I will be creating all of the social platforms, but as of now, I am researching competitors, strategizing how we can make our digital presence known and creating content. I'm enjoying this project so much because I have the creative freedom to do what I see best fit. That being said, I work with a very collaborative and diverse team which is what is going to push Figgro towards success with digital presence. Because this is an entrance into the Cannabis space, we are focusing on showcasing diversity from the start. One of the founders is a man of African decent and he wants to be a progressive space for people of color. It's important to him that people of color do have a voice in the Cannabis space because of the War on Black People, not War on Drugs. It's vital as part of the marketing team that I make this point known because you can't talk about Cannabis without talking about POC. If you don't talk about this in the industry, that simply means you're not paying attention and you're not doing your research about the current issues our country is facing.
Happy Buddha Hemp
Happy Buddha Hemp is a CBD company based in Paonia, Colorado. The position I held was the Social Media & Public Relations Manager. I was responsible for managing all social media accounts, measuring KPI's weekly and engaging daily on social media by commenting on posts, replying to messages or engaging on stories. One of the best experiences I had while employed with HBH was creating their influencer/affiliate program from the ground up. In order to do this, I had to reach out to social influencers who fit our target market, gather legal paperwork for compensation and manage the content that was produced. The biggest influencer we signed was Jessie Graff who is a professional athlete, stunt woman and participated on American Ninja Warrior. Working with Happy Buddha Hemp gave me the opportunity to learn how to work from home. This became a necessity with COVID-19, but when you are put in this setting, it shows that humans are able to adapt to their surroundings. Working from home is something I never really thought I would do, but just like everyone else, it taught me something about my work ethic, my ability to conform and pushed me out of my zone.
JKD & Company
JKD & Company is a Public Relations agency located in Lakewood. It is owned by a woman named Jane Dvorak who is a PR professional, mentor and in 2017 she was the PRSA national chair. Working with Jane was my first entrance into the professional world of PR and I had the opportunity to work in multiple sectors with her. The biggest client we partnered with was 7-Eleven. We would coordinate Colorado grand openings which required planning, execution of social media and connecting with vendors. Outside of that, we worked with B2C clients running the digital side of their business as well as nonprofits. I loved working with CASA of Jefferson and Gilpin county. This organization helps connect children that have been abused or neglected to a mentor that becomes part of the child's' life on a weekly basis. I helped organize their annual gala raising over $150,000. I also created the collateral for the gala which introduced me to Adobe Creative Suite. Outside of these clients, I was often involved in client meetings and I participated in PRSA events including the Annual Summit and Media Roundtable.
Tough Skin
Tough Skin is a nonprofit organization owned and operated by the lovely Jasmine Colgan. She created this nonprofit to bring awareness to the skin condition, Vitiligo. The skin starts to lose pigment creating white spots on individuals who are diagnosed. Jasmine found out she had this condition when she turned 21 which pushed her to create dialogue around what she had to grow through. I have had the pleasure of knowing Jasmine since I was in elementary school because she was my gymnastics coach, but our relationship has changed since then. She asked me to help her with her nonprofit with social, consumer outreach and planning. This is a project that I am honored to work on and expand. As of now, I have created a mood board, a social media voice document and have done some planning and research alongside Jasmine. Tough Skin was her first project, but then she added Skin which is a small business selling shea butter sourced from Ghana. I have worked on this with her slightly with digital media, planning and strategy.
The Brazen Project
The Brazen Project is a nonprofit organization that works to end the stigma around abortion. It's a youth-lead initiative based in Colorado and one of the main goals of the establishment is to create a safe space for dialogue around abortion. I volunteer for Brazen on occasion, but I love the work they do and the opportunity for involvement they provide to the community. In 2020, I wrote a blog for Brazen about how as females (or anyone with a uterus), we're not taken into consideration for a lot of the experiences we take on as women. I had a conversation with a few male friends of mine and they asked me how President Trump being in office had a direct effect on my life. In my opinion, the question felt naive because women's rights were clearly being threatened for the entirety of Trump's presidency and that would be more clear if women's opinions were more valued. I wanted to express what I experienced so my blog was submitted to Brazen and published to Medium. I felt empowered and I loved having this opportunity to raise my voice.
Sunlight Music Festival Series
The Sunlight Music Festival Series is located in Glenwood Springs, Colorado and it is a small pro bono project that I create marketing for. The first year it will take place will be 2021 which makes this project interesting because I'm watching it be built from bottom to top. Two individuals in my network came up with the idea to host this event at a mountain inn that they own and I was asked to join the project because of my creative ability and organizational skills. This is different than anything I've done before because it's for an event that has no prior history meaning it's constant trial and error. I look at this as growth and ability to adapt which is important in the marketing world. I've also had the opportunity of creating merchandise and being part of the planning process which has been exciting to experience.