Work Experience

• Manager of Strategic Programming, Ragan Communications

  Jun, 2017 - Present3 years 5 months

  • Produce renowned virtual conferences, workshops and webinars covering crisis communications, PR, social media, internal communications, marketing, SEO, writing, employee experience and more, such as:
    • Internal Communications & Employee Engagement Summit at Facebook
    • Employee Communications, PR and Social Media Summit at Microsoft
    • The Future of Communications Conference in Chicago
    • Social Media Conference for PR, Marketing and Communications Professionals at Walt Disney World
    • Social Media & Digital Communications Virtual Conference

  • Select and collaborate with speakers from Wendy’s, Google, ViacomCBS, Nike, Facebook, LinkedIn, The Onion, PayPal, HBO, Mattel, Target and more to create sessions covering cutting-edge trends and takeaways

  • Work with communication directors at Microsoft, Disney Parks, Amazon, Intel, Nebraska Medicine and more to deliver top-of-the-line training and conference experiences for both internal and external audiences

  • Emcee live and virtual events, including moderating fireside chats and panels with communications experts and leading interactive exercises such as brainstorming activities and Q&A threads for virtual events

  • Collaborate with sponsors, partners and speakers to create content and social media engagement around events

  • Collaborate with A/V, website and logistics teams to ensure a seamless experience for both attendees and speakers, including integrating experimental sessions such as behind-the-scenes tours and interactive activities

• Freelance Reporter, PR Daily

  Nov, 2017 - Present3 years

  • Created PR Daily’s “Daily Scoop”, a breaking news and trends snapshot that’s now one of the most popular series on the site

  • Write takeaway, opinion and feature articles, including interviews with communications leaders from MSNBC, Hilton, OKCupid and more

  • Created Ragan’s affiliate marketing program and built a new revenue stream during COVID-19

• Editor of PR Daily, Ragan Communications

  Sep, 2014 - Nov, 20173 years 2 months

  • Created and managed the publication's editorial calendar, managed internal writers and contributing communications experts, and fielded pitches

  • Wrote, edited and published breaking news and feature articles on a variety of PR, social media, crisis communications and marketing topics—including interviews with communications leaders at Coca-Cola, Amazon, Meredith and more

  • Edited guest posts, editorial and marketing copy, and created visuals (photos and GIFs) to accompany each article

  • Created internal training and best practices documents for social media channel and content creation, image selection and editing, WordPress and more

  • Managed PR Daily’s social media presences across Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest and created Flipboard presence—now one of the top website traffic generators)

  • Hosted a weekly Twitter #RaganChat featuring guests from AP Stylebook, Grammar Girl, Coca-Cola, Twitter, IBM and more

• Social Media and PR Consultant, Freelance Writer and Speaker, Beki Winchel Consulting

  Jul, 2012 - Present8 years 4 months

  • Produce sought-after content, training and networking experiences, including agendas for global events such as The Evolution of Communication Conference in Göteborg, Sweden (featuring speakers from Klarna, Max, Starbucks, Hasselblad, Heineken and more

  • Co-created the “Becoming Allies” podcast, interviewing activists, communicators, comedians and more from OKCupid, A Better Chicago, Ben & Jerry’s and more to discuss diversity, equity, inclusion and allyship

  • Create, execute and evaluate communications and digital media strategies, including press releases, video scripts, social media content, whitepapers, internal social media policies, crises responses, blog posts and more

  • Train business owners on digital best practices and speak at top industry events about PR, marketing and social media trends

  • Attend technology events including Web Summit, Collision and Dublin Tech Summit as a member of the media, covering current trends and interviewing speakers

  • Published in Entrepreneur, Deseret News and industry blogs; co-authored “The Social Media Communication Matrix: A New Direction in Public Relations” and parallel academic research

• Digital Media Manager, Pilmer PR

  Jan, 2014 - Sep, 20148 months

  • Created and executed strategic communication campaigns and delivered ROI reports for clients including SpotterRF, M-Vac, Dragon Con and more

  • Built digital media offerings and pricing to open a new revenue category, attracting new clients to expand the agency’s portfolio

  • Created digital training process and all associated materials as well as employee communications

  • Managed a growing team of PR, marketing, social media and writing professionals and led weekly staff meetings as well as client interactions

• Community Manager, Green PolkaDot Box

  Jan, 2013 - Aug, 20137 months

  • Created and expanded social media presence, including quadrupling Facebook fans and engagement within eight months

  • Managed Google Shop and Adwords campaigns to increase e-commerce revenue

  • Wrote and edited press releases, media spots, executive statements and crisis responses

  • Created the company’s affiliate program, working with top health nutrition and organic-focused influencers and content creators

  • Created storytelling content including videos, articles, images and more and trained employees on content and media-training best practices

• Social Media and Communications Intern, RPM Revenue Drivers and Listen Technologies

  Jan, 2012 - Jul, 20126 months

  • Created PR and social media strategies for s+lab (social innovation event), including social media profiles as well as training documents

  • Trained entrepreneurs, sales staff how to use social media to boost ROI

  • Ghost-wrote and edited blog posts for company leaders

• Sales Business Technology Intern; Social Media and Mobility Contractor, American Family Insurance

  May, 2011 - Jan, 20128 months

  • Proposed and created internal social media site for agents; coordinated with five departments

  • Built strategies for the department’s mobility team, connecting agents and corporate employees to app developers to solve challenges and deliver better agent and customer experiences

  • Led project to standardize and brand agent Outlook signatures, solidifying brand reputation and training agents on digital and email branding best practices

  • Promoted to contract position after internship due to high performance and expertise

Skills

Education

Awards

Publications

References