Communications services for public school districts
As a senior associate at VMA Communications, I manage community relations, media relations, public affairs and social outreach services to TK-12 education clients in Southern California. My responsibilities include:

• Writing and distribute press releases, media advisories, public service announcements, talking points and speeches
• Handling crisis communications via strategic messaging and media relations
• Coordinating and executing virtual community information meetings to drive stakeholder engagement
• Coordinating and managing production of promotional videos for social media, website, and movie theater advertising
• Writing content and managing production of monthly and quarterly newsletters and advertisements in digital and print for internal and external audiences – including eblasts, billboards, banners, postcards, fliers and brochures
• Planning and managing ribbon cutting, community engagement and celebratory events
• Securing media placement in local and regional publications and television
• Cultivating relationships with school board members, key stakeholders and media to enhance community relations
• Guiding and training Education Services department associates
• Balancing multiple projects in a timely manner
• Launching, managing and monitoring social media platforms to boost community engagement

Content for DarrasLaw, America’s Top Disability Firm
December 2014 – January 2017

As Interactive Media and Marketing Manager, I created content for the firm’s blog, managed the firm’s social media accounts and wrote guest articles for other publications. The posts focused on a variety of health, insurance and disability news and tips.

Lady leopard for life
May 16, 2014 – La Verne Magazine, Univ. of La Verne

“You know, I’ve known him during his whole La Verne career,” says the woman behind the desk, perfectly at home among the mementos that tell of a life centered around the city and the University….

From the editor…
May 24, 2013 – La Verne Magazine, Univ. of La Verne

When I sit in a waiting room or stand in line, I often observe others. Once this has lost its novelty, I reach into my purse and pull out my preferred form of entertainment. Those around me do the same, and I become acutely aware that I am behind the times….

No debate on excellence
May 24, 2013 – La Verne Magazine, Univ. of La Verne

Thirty pairs of solemn eyes peered out from freshly scrubbed faces, their conservatism and maturity betrayed by the tightly pressed lips that held back youthful smiles. These men and women crowded together March 11, 1912, to take a photograph, one that would document a historic day….

La Verne’s sustainable stalwart
September 7, 2012 – La Verne Magazine, Univ. of La Verne

He is the man responsible for the development of the pre-med program at the University of La Verne. He has served on the La Verne City Council, stepped in as interim provost and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and has celebrated a 53-year storied teaching career at La Verne. He is a father, husband, scientist, minister, environmentalist, and the man….

Social media shifts the ‘revolution’
May 18, 2012 – Campus Times, Univ. of La Verne

An artfully crafted video portrays a 5-year-old boy learning of cruelty in another corner of the Earth for the first time. The boy’s name is Gavin Russell, and his doe eyes widen with sadness and confusion as he is told of the Lord’s Resistance Army in an interview-like conversation with his father. He cannot comprehend that such evil can exist, and that a man named Joseph Kony can be responsible for causing such harm. Thirty minutes later, the video is over, and another person is indoctrinated….

Law students still have hope
October 28, 2011 – Campus Times, Univ. of La Verne

A few students sit in the library of the La Verne College of Law at a table that is covered with open books and notes. They are studying, they say, like they always do between classes. The students study in an eerie silence that remains unbroken; they are the only ones in the library that was once packed with students making….

Music Review: Blink-182 reflects on maturity
October 7, 2011 – Campus Times, Univ. of La Verne

Blink-182 joined numerous bands in the quest back into music with the end of its six-year self-imposed hiatus and the release of its sixth studio album, “Neighborhoods.” The issues that drove the Southern California pop-punk band apart were set aside in the wake of a 2008 plane crash in which drummer Travis Barker was one of two survivors….

Law school must re-apply for ABA accreditation
September 30, 2011 – Campus Times, Univ. of La Verne

After losing provisional accreditation from American Bar Association in July, the College of Law was granted California Bar Association accreditation last month. The college will reapply for ABA accreditation. An immediate re-application approval from the ABA allows the College of Law to forgo….

Retirement options may stay intact
May 13, 2011 – Campus Times, Univ. of La Verne

Administrators’ recent decision to change the retirement plan for all University employees is expected to be reversed, in light of strong opposition by faculty, who objected to the fact that such a decision was made without their consultation. University President Steve Morgan said Thursday….

Sleepless in La Verne: Students skip rest for academics, but with consequences
March 25, 2011 – Campus Times, Univ. of La Verne

A trend among University of La Verne students to skip sleep in favor of studying may be affecting more than their ability to stay awake in class. According to the National Sleep Foundation, approximately 60 percent of adult drivers have driven a vehicle while sleep-deprived and 37 percent have fallen asleep at the wheel….