Employment History

Feb. 2011-Present                       

Field Representative, Office of the First Congressional District– Portland, OR

• Collaborated with DC staff to integrate legislative and district operations as a member of Congresswoman Bonamici’s transition team.
• Cultivated relationships with organized labor including: USW, NALC, AFGE and IBU.
• Researched specific public policy issues to brief and advise Members of Congress regarding veterans, natural disasters, environment (water), energy and maritime issues.
• Organized and drove turnout for town halls, roundtables and special events.
• Drafted letters, talking points and correspondence.
• Rectified problems for constituents with FEMA, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs and the IRS.
• Provided briefings and logistical support for earned media events focused on tsunami preparedness, levee certification, food banks, town halls and equal opportunity.

July 2010-Nov. 2010

Regional Field Director, David Wu for Congress – Washington County, OR

• Collaborated on field messaging and strategy for a campaign that won by a 12% margin.
• Managed a team of field personnel and volunteers that, in concert with the Coordinated Campaign, repeatedly exceeded our county goals by 50-200%
• Recruited for more than 350 volunteer shifts that made over 60,000 voter contacts in the month prior to the election.
• Coordinated campaign efforts with unions, the county party and other campaigns.
• Staffed and helped plan the Congressman’s public appearances in Washington County.
• Developed new media outreach capacity.

Nov. 2009-May 2010

Campaign Manager, John Hutzler for Washington County Auditor – Washington County, OR                              

• Collaborated on both messaging and field strategy for a campaign that won 56% of the vote.
• Managed the only Democratically endorsed campaign to win definitively in the May non-partisan election at the county level.
• Secured endorsements from national, state and local office holders.
• Analyzed voter information using the VoteBuilder database and county elections data.
• Placed eight letters to the editor and sourced three articles that supported our campaign message goals.

Dec. 2009-Jan. 2010

Field Organizer, Tax Fairness Oregon – Portland, OR                                                                                          

• Created strategy for regional outreach regarding ballot measures 66 and 67.
• Coordinated two earned media actions that received television and newspaper coverage.
• Recruited 70 volunteers in Central and Southern Oregon.
• Increased the organization’s database by 1100 members.
• Provided narrative support for concurrent fundraising efforts referencing this work and related blog posts that helped raise $10,000 for the organization.

Jan. 2005-Nov. 2009

Communication Coordinator, Consultant – Beaverton, OR                                              

• Developed narratives in support of activist investor’s marketing and outreach efforts.
• Collaborated on efforts to improve company structure and disclosure practices to a level needed to list on better regulated stock exchanges.
• Coached and instructed executives on effective communication and the role of leadership.
• Created press releases, newsletters, speeches, talking points and brochures.
• Complied with the FINRA and SEC guidelines for the discussion of publicly traded equities.
• Used new media tools to engage 15,000 on email and social media.

Sept. 1999- Sept. 2003

General Manager and Partner, St. Louis Cinemas – St. Louis, MO

• Co-founded one of the few profitable movie theaters in the country to open in 1999.
• Awarded ownership stake for my participation in building this business.
• Hosted and provided logistical support for a number of different ethnic and lifestyle community’s film festivals.
• Developed business, advertising and promotional plans.
• Directed media relations with local print and television outlets.
• Managed operations and trained a team of 30 customer service and technical personnel.
• Coordinated other special events such as physician seminars and celebrity appearances.

Education

New Media BootCamp, New Organizing Institute – Washington, DC- 2010

• Selected for a competitive New Media training fellowship that focused on integrating Internet and offline organizing strategies.

Masters in Communication, Northern Illinois University – DeKalb, IL- 2004   

• Course of study and research focused on political rhetoric and social movements (awarded full teaching assistantship.)
• Teacher of record for three semesters of Introduction to Public Speaking.
• Organized campus drive to register over 900 new voters in DeKalb County electing a slate of Democratic county commissioners.

Bachelors in Media Communication/Minor in Art and Design, Webster University – Webster Groves, MO – 1998

• Wrote features for the Webster University Journal.
• MediaMasters Inc.  media relations and crisis communication training.

Volunteer

Washington County Democrats Central Committee, Washington County, OR- 2006-Current

• Organized for parades and fairs for the Community Engagement Committee.
• Established a new media fundraising strategy that has expanded the county party’s donor base with fifty new individual contributors.
• Webmaster for the organizational website.
• First Congressional District Delegate.

Organizer for Project Vote Registration Drive, DeKalb County, Illinois- 2003-2004                                                        

• Created an innovative voter registration program within the Northern Illinois University Writing Center.
• Directed local efforts to register over 900 voters.

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