My Background
Digital and UX Professional
With more than two decades of professional experience, my core competencies lie in digital revenue growth, audience engagement, and content strategy. My mission is to foster a digital environment that resonates with community values and culture, leveraging my expertise in product development and team leadership to drive innovation and success.
My role in multiple organizations and as a consultant has centered on leading digital transition, focusing on both the user experience and the measurable impact of content across diverse platforms. My work has involved collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure that digital offerings not only meet but exceed audience expectations.
Experience
Nov. 2024- Current
Wick Communications
Director of Philanthropy and Community Impact
Lead newly-created initiative to secure newsroom funding through grant writing informed by measuring community impact of editorial initiatives.
April 2018- Oct. 2024
Sept. 2006- Feb. 2008
Wick Communications
Digital Director
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Led a digital team in agile, product design best practices to implement marketing technology solutions and develop digital news products for a family-owned community media company with newsrooms in 10 states.
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Conceived and led the launch of NABUR (Neighborhood Alliance for Better Understanding and Respect), an innovative journalist-led community conversations platform, in April of 2020.
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Secured funding support from the Google News Initiative’s inaugural North America Innovation Challenge in 2019 as one of 34 projects (out of 269 applicants). Funding helped launch and sustain NABUR on a third-party platform and fund salaries for four journalist product managers in four communities for a year.
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NABUR won first-place awards for “Best Social Media & Engagement Strategy” and “Best Digital Audience Growth Strategy” in the Local Media Association’s 2020 Digital Innovation Awards.
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Oversaw the team that executed a second successful Google News Initiative North America Innovation Challenge application in 2021, which supported a collaboration with Arizona State University’s Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication to research community conversation needs and efforts to combat misinformation in 2022.
May 2015- March 2018
Interface Guru
DrawBackwards
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Vice president of digital strategy for Interface Guru, a user experience design, usability testing and digital strategy consultancy firm in Tucson, with clients in science and technology (including the Mutual Concerns of Air and Space Museums, presenting at Smithsonian Air and Space Museum), media, academia (including Columbia University and the IEEE) and Fortune 500 firms.
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Senior strategist and UX consultant for Drawbackwards, a Phoenix agency with large clients such as GoDaddy, Choice Hotels, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Republic Services.
April 2013- April 2015
KOLD News 13
Digital Media Director
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Oversaw and developed all digital initiatives for Tucson News Now (the Web presence for KOLD 13 and KMSB 11), including website, apps, mobile, social media, and email.
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Won a 2015 Edward R. Murrow regional award for best website in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
May 2011- Nov. 2013
Canyon Ranch
Interactive Marketing Director
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Responsible for the management and strategic development of all digital initiatives for resorts in Tucson and Lenox (Mass.), a hotel and spa in Miami Beach, and spas in Las Vegas, The Homestead (Va.) and on three cruise lines, and led a team of three staff.
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Outcome of digital discovery process spanning four properties and involving 59 participants was a full information architecture and an actionable, strategy-focused request for proposal that expanded previous RFP document from four to 15 pages and saved the company at least $50K in development expenses, according to one vendor who provided bids pre and post-RFP expansion.
Jan. 2003- May 2011
Interface Guru
Senior Media Strategist
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Consultant to media companies, Fortune 100 clients, museums and non-profit organizations on Web usability and user-centric design. Clients included Hearst Magazines, Crain Communications, Allured Business Media, Farm Journal Media, TV Guide, IEEE Computer Society, and Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium.
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National speaker at Folio conference in New York and trade shows on Internet issues.
March 2008- May 2011
UA Science: Flandrau
Digital Media and Marketing Director
Maintained and developed all digital and social media initiatives and project manager for $130 million next-generation, digitally-centric science center development ultimately scrapped due to the downturn in the economy. Managed relationships, project coordination and fundraising with all development partners, including Ralph Appelbaum Associates, best known for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington,, D.C.
Nov. 2004- Aug. 2006
University of Arizona Athletics Dept.
Web Coordinator
Oversaw the development and maintenance of the Arizona Athletics Department’s official web site.
Sept. 2002- June 2004
Voices: Community Stories Past & Present
Project Director
Provided direction and fundraising for after-school magazine program that provided professional mentoring relationships with low-income, at-risk youth to teach writing, interviewing and photography.
Nov. 2000- May 2002
MySanAntonio.com
Content and Creative Director
Managed and oversaw development and maintenance of MySanAntonio.com, the web site for the San Antonio Express-News (Hearst Corporation) and KENS 5 television (Belo).
April 2000- Nov. 2000
Arizona Republic
Digital Media Senior Producer
Oversaw development of the online edition of The Arizona Republic, a Gannett newspaper. • Managed a staff of 12 editors, writers, producers and designers (including Experience Architects).
June 1995- April 2000
Arizona Daily Star
StarNet Editor
One of the founders of StarNet, The Arizona Daily Star newspaper’s online presence for (then) Pulitzer corporation. StarNet was one of the first 10 newspaper sites on the Web.