Learn THE BASICS.
I wouldn’t call myself an expert in any one field, so fortunately, I am a tinkerer at heart who loves to learn and teach myself how to accomplish a job. Whether it be photography, digital editing, website design or even government affairs, I love seeking out new challenges.
Kansas Grain and Feed Association
Vice President | External Affairs
January 2023 - Present
Associate Vice President | External Affairs
November 2019 - January 2023
Accepted a promotion and maintained previous responsibilities held as director of communications and marketing, but also became the association’s secondary government affairs professional, fostering trust and developing open lines of communication on behalf of the association with state and federal elected officials. Testified in front of legislative committees and elected officials on issues affecting members’ abilities to do business. Served on contract lobbying client BioKansas’ Public Policy Committee. Conceived and launched the ‘This is KGFA’ and ‘This is KARA’ campaigns with accompanying printed books to drive member retention and engage new potential members. Administrator of the Tomorrow’s Agribusiness Leaders program, an annual, three-part, leadership development class of the associations’ members. Primary contact for the association’s government affairs contract client.
Kansas Grain and Feed Association
Director of Communications and Marketing
September 2017 - November 2019
Refreshed and modernized all external facing assets for the Kansas Grain and Feed Association and its contractual clients, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and Renew Kansas Biofuels Association. Crafted new digital visual identities including logos, websites, mobile applications and more. Enhanced social media feeds to include storytelling through photo, video and animation. Designed and edited the contents of quarterly printed magazines for two associations. Served as the photographer at all events. Marketed all training programs and events using Constant Contact email software. Played a key role in modernizing the associations’ internal member management database from Microsoft Access to Atlas member management software.
Kansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc.
Communications Intern
May 2017 - August 2017
Transitioned from telling stories of athletes and coaches to explaining the importance of rural electricity in Kansas. KEC is the Kansas statewide service organization for 27 electric distribution cooperatives and three generation and transmission cooperatives. Crafted news releases, wrote feature stories for the organization’s statewide magazine Kansas Country Living, served as event photographer and introduced motion graphics to social media feeds.
Kansas Athletics Inc.
Tertiary Football Communications Contact
May 2014 - May 2017
Held this position as an undergraduate student. Served as the tertiary communications contact for the Kansas football team. In this role I handled media interview requests, updated the team and athletic department website, posted on social media, shot and edited action photography, wrote feature and game stories and took a lead role in producing an annual media guide.
University of Kansas
School of Journalism and Mass Communications
August 2013 - May 2017
Graduated from the University of Kansas’ William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. The curriculum focused on teaching the traditional values of journalism education - writing and editing, but is also recognized as one of the most innovative schools in the United States. The hands-on experience of the capstone course required a brand awareness campaign for an organization, FlyOtto, which provided a firm step to stand for a career telling stories.
Knowledge
Reporting, writing & editing
Desktop publishing
Basic photography & videography
AP Style
Government relations
Grassroots organization
Research
Verbal storytelling
Longform narrative
Content management systems
Adobe Creative Suite
Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
Marketing campaigns