Communications Manager

Communications Manager — Meridian Commerce Group

Chicago, IL | July 2023 – Present

• Drafted and distributed 42 press releases to national media outlets, securing placements in top-tier publications that boosted brand media share-of-voice by 28% over 18 months.
• Developed and executed a comprehensive crisis communication plan for a major service migration, mitigating negative sentiment and retaining 96% of active users.
• Redesigned the internal monthly newsletter layout and communication flow, which increased open rates from 22% to 56% and click-through rates by 14% for 1,200 employees.
• Managed a PR and event communications budget of $180,000, negotiating contracts with 6 external PR agencies to reduce costs by 15% while maintaining campaign output.

Communications Specialist — Clarion Media Systems

Chicago, IL | June 2020 – June 2023

• Authored 80+ articles, blog posts, and internal communications, resulting in a 45% increase in organic web traffic and a 19% boost in brand engagement over two years.
• Coordinated media relations for 8 product launches, coordinating with 15 journalists to secure placements that generated 1.2M impressions and $45,000 in earned media value.
• Analyzed digital communications campaign data using Google Analytics, generating bi-weekly reports that led to a 12% improvement in media campaign conversion rates.
• Maintained corporate social media channels, increasing follower count by 32% and audience engagement by 25% across platforms through structured media planning.

Media relations, Press release writing, Crisis communications, Internal communications, Brand messaging, Stakeholder engagement, Public relations, Event coordination, Corporate communications, Copywriting, Editing, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Google Analytics, Cision, ZoomInfo, Canva, Slack

Global Brand Rebrand Campaign

Role: Lead Communications Specialist

Tools: Cision, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Slack, Canva

Coordinated the communication strategy for a company-wide rebrand, resulting in 4.5M impressions, 12 tier-one media placements, and zero brand disruption.

Crisis Response & System Migration

Role: Communications Manager

Tools: Slack, Mailchimp, Zendesk, Google Analytics

Managed crisis communication strategy during a 24-hour service outage, authoring 5 customer updates that maintained client retention at 98.5%.

• Accredited in Public Relations (APR) (2024)
• Communication Management Professional (CMP) (2022)

• Languages: English (Native), French (Conversational)
• Volunteer Work: Volunteer communications coordinator for regional food bank (2021-present)
• Availability: 2 weeks notice