Resume

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

American Red Cross

Chief Operating Officer for the Illinois Region, 4/2020 – Present

Chief Operating Officer for the Chicago & Northern Illinois Region, 8/2018 – 4/2020

• Responsible for business operations of the second largest region of the American Red Cross, serving 88 counties and more than 12.5 million people in 6 chapters and 22 facilities.
• Manages a 9-person operations team, delivering fleet management, centralized purchasing, vendor management, work order management and tracking, contract review and negotiations, and expense management for organization.
• Managed 5 Chapter Executive Directors in board development, volunteer management, public relations, fund development, and mission delivery.

Regional Marketing Programs Manager, 8/2016 – 8/2018

• Developed and implemented communications strategies in the third largest media market for the American Red Cross to advance the organizational objective to prevent and alleviate suffering by mobilizing volunteers and donors by reaching/engaging across multiple channels to influence target audiences
• Trained as a media spokesperson | Deployed in a Public Affairs capacity to support two local and two national disaster response operations

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.

The Cara Program

Career Resource Manager & Volunteer Manager, Chicago, IL, 10/2007 – 5/2009

• 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, 8/2006 – 7/2007

• 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, 8/2004 – 7/2006

• 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

Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, 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, 2020 – 2021

One Million Degrees – Coach, 2016 – 2020

Cafe Pride Volunteer – Drop-in center for homeless GLBTQ youth on Fridays from 8pm-midnight. Chicago, IL, 2008 – 2009

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 – Provided administrative and communications assistance, including editing the three main publications of the international office. Vatican City, 2007-2008

McDermott, Will & Emory Law Firm Intern (Rome office) – Translated (legal and administrative) documents for attorneys, 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, 2004

TECHNOLOGY

Proficient in: Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut Express, Soundslides, Audacity, Mac & PC operating systems, various Content Management Systems, and social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.

Familiar with: HTML/CSS