Ashley Baxstrom Email & Phone Number

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Leading strategy for, and overseeing implementation of, national media relations to position Cleveland as #TheLandForLife:• Managing the strategic development and implementation of a media relations effort that positions Cleveland as a place to live and work in national and international media outlets.• Overseeing the implementation and ongoing optimization of the organization’s strategic B2C media relations plan to promote, enhance and uphold Cleveland’s reputation and deliver on DC’s brand strategy by positioning Cleveland as a destination city. Audience verticals include leisure (including major events), group tour and meetings & conventions.• Contributes to the annual marketing plan, ensuring media relations plans align with marketing and digital strategies and annual integrated marketing promotions.• Serves as a member of the crisis communications team.• Serves as the primary liaison between Destination Cleveland and major attraction PR representatives, maintaining ongoing communication and organizing 2-3 meetings of the group annually.

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Glickman Urological & Kidney InstituteDeveloped internal communications strategy to improve engagement, awareness and information management. o Created weekly internal interdepartmental newsletter; introduced all-caregiver townhalls. o Substantially increased engagement with Florida, London, and Abu Dhabi teams.Supports Institute Chairman in leadership communications, including within the Institute, to Enterprise leadership, and external messaging and advocacy. o Leads planning, production of, and coordination of inputs for Annual Performance Review presentation to Board of Governors. o Leads planning, management, and execution of monthly staff meetings. o Drafting and dissemination of regular communications about important news and information or marking special occasions and achievements/successes. Supports celebrations of major department milestones, including coordination of celebratory events, remarks by the chair, outreach to the CEO’s and Chief of Staff’s office, and special social media coverage. o Writes and coordinates submission of recommendation letters on behalf of the Chair. Liaises regularly and partners with Enterprise Marketing, Corporate Communications/Media and Philanthropy teams to increase visibility for and diversify coverage of Institute, including: o Revival of the publication of GUKI Outcomes for Urology for first time since 2018. o Visibility and media plan for the American Urological Association (AUA) annual meeting. o Rollout of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month activities, including pitched media and targeted direct messaging. o Creation of Patient Education materials.Developing multi-point outreach strategy to increase referral rates in NE Ohio, including targeted and blanket outreach, production of external advocacy and informational materials, direct calls and service-based presentations.

Bangkok, Bangkok City, Thailand

• Supported the Regional Director to advance the strategic positioning of and fundraising for WFP in the region.• Coordinated and drafted advocacy and briefing materials, including talking points, presentations, speeches, and reports, for both internal and external audiences, with consultation from experts across the organization and analysis of political, economic, and social developments.

Zimbabwe

• Responsible for development and implementation of strategies to maintain and enhance the visibility and reputation of WFP and its partners at country level and to support fundraising activities.• Personally managed a diverse portfolio of international donor partners, including soliciting contributions, leading visibility, providing partner stewardship, and regularly updated profiles and analysis to maximize fundraising efforts. o Introduced new donor communication practices such as regular newsletters and tailored topical briefings. o Increased contributions from regular donors and facilitated new partner contributions; in 2019, raised (for the first time for the office) over USD $100 million for national programmes, 125% of the annual requirement. Directed media relations and external communications to effectively engage diverse audiences, including regular press releases, media tours and briefings, and social media strategies.• Led all reporting activities at country level and with HQ, regional bureaus, and external donors, on monthly, quarterly and annual cycles, as well as twice-weekly internal reports during emergency protocols, and responding to regular ad-hoc information requests from donor partners. Coordinated data inputs and crafted narratives to show programmatic impact, effective use of funding, adherence to donor priorities and alignment with national and organizational political priorities.• Built communications capacity of office staff, including writing, storytelling, and information management. Managed a team which grew from two to five national and international staff over three years.

New York

• Analyzed political and external processes, including UN system and intergovernmental negotiations, for opportunities for WFP engagement, while monitoring for key developments and managing relationships with partners.• Drafted briefings and talking points for management, including coordinating global inputs.• Acted as focal point to identify strategic fundraising opportunities in the New York context.

United States

Office of the UN Secretary-General | Special Representative for Food Security & Nutrition.• Communications lead and partner convener of the UN Secretary-General (SG)’s Zero Hunger Challenge (ZHC), a multidimensional global policy advocacy campaign, including strategic relationships and communications.• Developed global UN communications strategy, including media messages, social media plan, high-level events for policy advocacy, partner outreach and citizen engagement; implemented advocacy campaigns through global partner networks.• Established key relationships (including with UN system leaders, ambassadors and other high-level political actors, and international and American NGOs and business directors) to advance the strategic reorientation of the ZHC as a policy framework in the context of the newly adopted global Sustainable Development Agenda (SDGs). • Drafted strategic analysis, talking points and speeches on key issues for the SG and other leaders.• Represented the SG/SR Office in high-level event planning during the annual UN General Assembly, including leading a multi-stakeholder event communications strategy.

New York, Ny

Office of the UN Secretary-General | Special Representative for Food Security & Nutrition.• Developed key political declarations and narratives on priority issues.• Developed database to track programs and initiatives in support of the Zero Hunger Challenge, international media coverage, and global events for ZHC promotion.• Oversaw design, development, and distribution of new ZHC media and promotional materials, partner relationship strategy and operationalization framework.• Managed launch, development, and maintenance of ZHC website and social media. Founded “#ZeroHunger”.• Drafted, edited, and proofread messages, reports, communications materials, op-eds, and press releases.

New York, New York

• Wrote and edited web and social media content.• Led the development of a new website and newsletter.• Promoted articles and events through targeted outreach and social media.

New York, Ny

• Established new social media presence, increasing online following by 300%.• Created twice-weekly email newsletter.• Developed new strategic vendor relationships to facilitate unique offers, coordinating with internal marketing and events team.

Greater New York City Area

Exploring the intersection of religion and new media as a meaning-making social process and site for identity formation and embodied ethical practice.

Los Angeles, Ca

• Wrote press releases for seasonal product campaigns.• Coordinated with local and global media outlets and marketing agencies for features articles, interviews, product photo shoots and celebrity placement.• Performed event planning duties, including location and vendor procurement, logistics, communications, etc.• Organized CEO’s personal and business schedule, home life, travel arrangements, appointments.

Responded to customer inquiries about order histories, shipments, website questions and concerns.Liased with vendors to expedite orders.Wrote site content.Filed and organized billings and receipts from vendors, warehouse and utility companies.

Copy edited internal technical documents.

Rome, Italy

Wrote and edited global press releases, external technical documents and brochures.Edited WFP’s internal news publication.Drafted speeches for organizational leadership.

Japan

Developed and implemented English curriculum and taught 9th grade English.Wrote and edited content for website.

Pitched and wrote community feature articles.

Ma

Ba

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba