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Experience

Professional Summary

I am not defined by the roles I have filled. Rather, I rent my titles, as I grow my character, and find my purpose. And what exactly is my purpose? 

As the writer Josh Ringer once said, "there is an immovable mountain made of a billion little stones. I can't move the mountain, but I can lift a stone." That said, if we work together,  we can move twice as many stones, and if we work together to ignite systems-change  —  we can create a path for all to move around that immovable mountain. This is the philosophy that fuels every step I take. 

To this end, I bring nearly a decade of international experience in the NGO and behavioral change communications sector, creating empowering multimedia content and inclusive initiatives that promote the reduction of food loss & waste, improved nutrition, climate-smart agriculture, gender equity, financial inclusion, youth empowerment, and poverty alleviation across sub-Saharan Africa and North America. I am also passionate about indigenous food systems and cultural dimensions of food security. 

 

Having also worked, lived and studied across four continents, I have a natural diplomacy and cultural competency while interacting with diverse audiences.  As a whole, I approach every opportunity and working relationship with enthusiasm, creativity, and ceaseless desire to strategically problem solve, reduce systematic barriers, and affect social change.

Join me and together we can move that immovable mountain! 

Areas of Focus:
Sustainable Development Goals

Work Experience

October 2019 - Present

Communications Manager

ReFED

​ReFED is a national nonprofit dedicated to ending food loss and waste across the U.S. food system by advancing data-driven solutions. In this role I:

Project Management 

  • Work with relevant ReFED colleagues and/or external stakeholders to oversee projects through their entire life cycle - determining project scope; recommending strategic direction; developing cost estimates and timelines.

  • Oversee and maintain contractual partnerships with ReFED’s web and graphic design firm, and public relations firm – this includes agency management and weekly meetings facilitation

  • Develop project and event engagement plans, and monthly editorial calendars

  • Monitor production process to ensure delivery within scope or implementing contingencies; soliciting/analyzing/addressing feedback; getting buy-in from key stakeholders; launching; evaluating and optimizing as appropriate.

  • Manage all areas of ReFED’s webinar events, from pre-planning, through the event day, and post-event activities – developing technical checklists, coordinating panelists, developing promotional toolkits and follow-up communications.

  • Support the Communications Director in overseeing the development, implementation, and execution of marketing campaigns and communication strategies.

Brand Stewardship and Content Development 

  • Manage the development, distribution, and maintenance of a portfolio of print and digital collateral by serving as ReFED’s in-house graphic designer.

  • Serve as “gate-keeper” for internal and external use cases of the ReFED brand to maintain brand integrity across all company marketing initiatives and communications, and effectively communicate ReFED's vision to external audiences.

  • Develop a content and communications calendar that is aligned to the organizational wide calendar.

  • Design, draft content, and deliver ReFED’s monthly newsletters using MailChimp.

Website Management and Coordination

  • Manage design and content for ReFED’s multiple web properties 

  • Manage the contractual partnership with ReFED’s website development firm – working with them for ongoing maintenance and updates of digital properties and visual assets. 

  • Lead website redesign projects through activity tracking, oversight of work by external vendor, and assisting in the creation of sitemaps, wireframes, and prototypes.

  • Serve as project lead for ReFED’s Content Management System, CloudCannon - training staff and implementing best practices to ensure consistent visual and written content

Social Media Marketing & Management

  • Manage the organization’s social media accounts including Twitter and LinkedIn, and offer constructive interaction with users to cultivate an engaged social media community

  • Analyze complex data sets on food waste and prepare compelling written and visual stories for digital sharing. 

  • Oversee all content in day-to-day communication, social media content planning, authoring, coordination, reviews, edits and launch of digital campaigns, initiatives, and programs.

  • Analyze the long-term needs of the company's social media strategy and offer quarterly reports to leadership that outline any necessary changes to the digital marketing plan.

  • Partner with key stakeholders (internal/external) to promote special events/announcements; encourage engagement; understand follower demographics to ensure we are reaching the right people and increase follower count

Annual Report & Fundraising Support

  • Manage report development process from inception to release; engaging with internal stakeholders to determine content; write content, overseeing graphic design production; ensuring buy-in from Executive Director; develop release plan including MailChimp, social promotion, and other appropriate channels.

  • Work with the Development team to collect, organize, and share compelling impact stories in various mediums. Contribute to grant proposals and reports as needed.

  • Develop creative and mission-centric fundraising visual assets that articulates the special role of ReFED.

October 2019 - December 2019

Teaching & Project Assistant, Food Cultura,

Anthropology Department, University of Chicago

Food Cultura is a Gray Center Mellon Collaborative Fellowship brings together the Head of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, Professor Stephan Palmié DPhil, and renowned food artist, Antoni Miralda, to explore the aesthetics and politics of food and  food systems in Chicago through first hand ethnographic and historical research. In this role I:

  • Designed, facilitated and guided student ethnographic and archival projects, coordinate such research activities, assist Miralda and me in course-related research.

  • Held regular office hours to advise students on their research and recommended literature guides

  • Conducted course-related research to assist Miralda and Professor Palmié

March 2016 - August 2018

The Mediae Company

Communications Manager & Project Coordinator 

The Mediae Company is an small social enterprise committed to addressing the information needs of large audiences across sub-Saharan Africa through the development of educative, sustainable, and research-based media productions. In this role I:

  • Managed the communications department and created marketing campaigns which resulted in a 100% increase in Twitter following and a surge in website traffic and engagement 

  • Served as a content producer and project coordinator for Shamba Shape Up, Shamba Chef, and Don’t Lose the Plot — award-winning edutainment-based TV shows with an cumulative audience of 12 million users across East Africa — aimed at improving smallholder farming productivity through climate-smart agriculture; nutrition and cooking methods of mothers; and encouraging youth to pursue careers in agribusiness, respectively. 

  • Led the development of a web-based agricultural budgeting tool, Budget Mkononi, used by 30,000+ young farmers (at time of launch) to improve their access to loads and build financial literacy.

  • Engaged and reported to  executives from international organizations such as The Rockefeller Foundation, USAID- Africa Lead II, and Mercy Corps AgriFin Accelerate program. 

  • Collaborated with market research teams to compile impact reports and grant proposals for donor funding 

  • Formulated and edited weekly booklets with nutritious recipes, clean cooking advice, and climate-smart agricultural tips for mothers and farming households.

  •  Conceptualized and implemented branding guidelines to communicate a distinctive company image and boost search engine optimization.

  • Supervised video editing teams by creating a refined and production schedule to manage filming dates and post production activities to ensure programming deadlines and donor-partner needs were met.

January 2015 - March 2015

Africa24 Media

Field Production & Documentaries Intern

Africa24 Media is a Pan-African online media agency that connects the rest of the world with content production resources and information from and about Africa. The organization produces feature stories, series programs, documentaries, films and photography in an effort to highlight all that is beautiful within Africa and it’s people. In this role I:

  • Researched background information for feature stories on “On the Road” and Africa Journal” segments.

  • Designed shooting plans while accompanying  camera crews on shoots, and contributed to script writing, forming interview questions, and liaising with talent.

  • Transcribed interviews for the “Africa Means Business” program.

  • Recorded 3 voice-overs that were used in various segments of the "Africa Journal" and "On the Road" TV programs. 

Education

2018-2019

University of Chicago, United States

Masters of Arts Program in the Social Sciences | Anthropology Concentration (Food and Medical)

  • Merit-Based Academic Scholarship 2018-2019, maintaining a GPA of 3.97/4.00

  • Masters Thesis supervised by Prof. Stephan Palmié: "When Hunger is Flavored with the Sweet Longing for Home: Stirring Up Food Memories in the African Diaspora Kitchen." 

Other Activities

  • Managing an independent research project - proposal, research design, and ethnographic analysis - examining the cultural dimensions of food security amongst African immigrants in Chicago. 

Leadership  & Equity and Inclusion Experience 

  • Mentored two undergraduate students through the Fried Public Policy and Service Mentorship program and Institute of Politics’ Leaders of Color initiative.

  • Member of  the UChicago Food Recovery Network, reducing environmental footprint and addressing local food security in the South side of Chicago by recovering surplus food that would otherwise go to waste on campus. 

2011 - 2015

University of Sydney, Australia

Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) | Major in Anthropology and Sociology

Awards & Recognition

  • Alan Davis Memorial Prize: awarded to top undergraduate student in sociology

  • Academic Merit Prize (awarded to 600 out of 70,000 students)

  • Dean's List of Honor Roll Students

 

Research & Analysis 

  • Conducted Critical Discourse Analysis of the New York Times and Washington Post to determine how ideology impacts the media representation and ‘Africanization’ of the Ebola outbreak. Supervised by Dr. Joseph Brennan.

  • Conducted Critical Discourse Analysis of Miami and St.Louis’ newspapers to examine how ideological inferences contribute to the criminalization & character assassination of Black male victims of police brutality in the United States. Supervised by Dr. Benedetta Brevini.

Leadership  & Equity and Inclusion Activities

  • Produced a short documentary to highlight the plight of asylum seekers in Australia. In addition, participated in public rallies, reached out to detained asylum seekers at Villawood detention center, and petitioned to end compulsory detention of asylum seekers in Australia. 

  • Recruited students and coordinated an awareness campaign for Oxfam’s ‘Close the Gap’ initiative which aims to enhance health equity amongst Indigenous Australians. 

Skills

 Industry Knowledge 

International Development | Food Security | Sustainable Agriculture | Climate Action | Youth Empowerment | Poverty Alleviation | Food Anthropology  | Rural Development | Gender Equity | Human Rights | Justice, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging | Cultural Anthropology |

 Technical Skills 

WritingKnowledge Management | Content Management Systems (CMS) | Research & Analysis |  Website Management | Brand  Development |  Social Media  Group Facilitation | Graphic Design | Event Coordination | Brand Management | 

 Project Management & Implementation | Salesforce and CRMs |

Stakeholder Engagement |  User Experience | SEO | Human-Centered Design

 Languages 

English (Native)Dutch (Beginner) |  Kiswahili (Intermediate)

Personal Interests

Poetry  Indoor Plants & Gardening Motown Music Travelling

Upcycling & Home Renovation  Meditation  Kick-boxing  Cooking Documentaries  Stoicism Cycling by Lake Michigan  

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