American Red Cross of Illinois
Chief Operating Officer, Chicago, IL, 8/2018 – Present
- Manages business operations for the second largest region of the American Red Cross including expense management, real estate operations and strategic planning with a nine-person operations team
- Manages special initiatives for the region including the Sickle Cell Task Force, and two committees for the Greater Chicago Board of Directors: DE&I Board Committee and the Biomedical Services Board Committee
American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois
Regional Marketing Programs Manager, Chicago, IL, 8/2016 – 8/2018
- Manages regional marketing projects and strategies, including multimedia and social media efforts.
- Deploys to disasters to assist with public affairs.
Kinship Foundation
Communications Associate, Chicago, IL, 1/2012 – 8/2016
- Established marketing and communication strategies, including a crisis communication strategy for a leadership transition within the first quarter of employment, social media and community management
- Coordinated complex events (Kinship Fellows: $47.5K budget; Searle Scholars: $100K budget) attended by high-level stakeholders and valued clients, including supervising a summer assistant during the month-long training program in Bellingham, Washington
- Responsible for budgets throughout a project’s life cycle including: negotiating and executing vendor contracts, tracking ongoing program purchasing in real time, reporting project budget to actuals, and providing estimates for future planning
- Designed layouts for Foundation-generated reports, hard copy collateral, and web ads including the Annual Report and Kinship Conservation Fellows recruitment campaign
Various NGOs and communities
Communications Consultant, Palestinian Territories, 7/2010 – 6/2011
- Taught video and radio journalism courses at An Najah University and Aida Refugee Camp.
- Created websites and media strategies for two communities: Iraq Burin and Wadi Rahal (this website has since changed).
- Produced a promotional video and created a crisis-situation-based social media strategy for an international nonprofit based in Hebron.
Cara Chicago
Career Resource Manager & Volunteer Manager, Chicago, IL, 10/07 – 5/09
- Supervised 50+ volunteers and an intern; recruited for and facilitated monthly trainings for new volunteers
- Taught classes for adult learners and coordinated department monthly training schedule
- Empowered students by redesigning curriculum to establish a student-led portfolio creation process
Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
Young Adult Volunteer, Kerala, India, 8/06 – 7/07
- Taught Spoken English and created/facilitated need-based workshops in village of Mavelikara
- Edited publications for local economics-focused non-profit, Vichara, and maintained blog
- Lived in community with teachers and students associated with a local college in a small, rural town
John Felice Rome Center
Service Learning/Study Trips Coordinator, Rome, Italy, 8/04 – 7/06
- Organized logistics, prepared large budget and chaperoned at least 8 Study Trips each semester in Italy, Africa, The Balkans, the Torino Olympics and Northern Ireland
- Established volunteer sites for students through out Rome and maintained relationships with each site to facilitate student orientation and continued program support
- Teacher’s Assistant for Human Rights in Rome course
EDUCATION
Medill Northwestern University, 2010
Masters of Science in Journalism
Business Reporting & Interactive Storytelling concentration
Editor-in-Chief of Medill Innovation Project
Loyola University Chicago, 2004
Bachelors of Arts in English, minor in Peace Studies
Gannon Scholars Woman Leader Award, 2004
CONTINUED EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION
- Young Professionals in Nonprofits (YNPN) Leadership Institute Participant, 2015. Year-long training program for nonprofit emerging leaders.
- Community Management Certificate, 2013. Certified Association Executive credit.
- Organizational Behavior and Leadership course, 2013. Keller Graduate School of Business, DeVry University.
VOLUNTEERING
Public Narrative – Board Treasurer. Chicago, July 2020-November 2021.
One Million Degrees – Coach. Chicago, April 2016-July 2020.
Palestine/Israel Delegate – Interviewed and met with Palestinian and Israeli organizations to learn about the conflict; facilitated by the Christian Peacemaker Teams. Israel & Palestine, March 2009.
Jesuit Refugee Services International Office – Edited the three main publications of the international office. Vatican City – 2007-2008.
McDermott, Will & Emory Law Firm Intern – Edited documents, including honing language in translated documents (legal and administrative) for attorneys. Rome, Italy – Fall 2006.
Youth Organizing Institute, Discussion Leader – Facilitated reflection groups among Eastern European youth activists and community organizers at an annual conference sponsored by The University of Bologna. Vukovar, Croatia – October 2004
TECHNOLOGY
Proficient in: Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut Express, Soundslides, Audacity, Mac & PC operating systems, Community Management platforms (Ning, Google+), The Databank (CRM), various Content Management Systems, various webinar platforms (GoToWebinar, Cisco WebEx), Prezi, SurveyMonkey, MailChimp, Vimeo/YouTube, WordPress, Sprout Social/Hootsuite, and social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Familiar with: HTML/CSS.