-Launched Gather, Inc’s second city in the East Bay, building and maintaining partnerships with funders, other Jewish professionals, community members, and organizational partners-Build and maintain ongoing relationships with community members in their 30s, learning about their Jewish journeys, and connecting them to other Jewish initiatives in the Bay Area-Hired and manage Community Rabbi and Community Coordinator to guide our engagement and education initiatives; oversee their projects with significant attention to detail-Developed strategic priorities for GatherBay and manage our program budget-Created and maintain communications strategy, including newsletter with an average open rate of 75% and click-through rate of 18%; use website analytics to make content decisions-Leverage Salesforce reports, dashboards, and other data to make decisions, examine the gaps in our work, and track our progress toward our goals-Embed DEIJ principles across the entire organization by developing Strategic Priorities document through The Equity Collective, a cross-pillar team at Gather, Inc-Create, develop, and deliver a wide variety of communications including online resource guides for our community members, presentations for supporters, facilitate internal and external meetings for diverse groups of community members, Jewish professionals/educators, and other stakeholdersLearn more about our work connecting Jewish young adults to each other, to Jewish life, and to meaningful Jewish experiences: gatherbay.org

When folks work with me, they’re empowered to finish books, refresh websites, concretize book proposals, sharpen their ideas, and ultimately, speak to the communities, customers, or clients they want to serve.I’m a hands-on editor who brings the big-picture thinking of a brand strategist and the wisdom of a trusted thought partner to help you break through whatever is holding you (and your book, brand, or initiative) back. My decade of experience and training as a poet and writer means that (together!) we’ll use the potent tools of language to crystallize your ideas and hone your voice.I’ll listen in between the lines of what you share, generating clarity for actionable next steps. Past/current clients include:-Bestselling author Chris GuillebeauWriter and changemaker Adam Smiley Poswolsky-Founder of the Experience Institute, Victor Saad-Startups including Vidcaster, Lyft, and ReWork-Organizations including Jewish Studio Project, Ayin Press, Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and Wilderness TorahLearn more at carokess.com or write me at hi[at]carokess.com.

-Managed and coordinated UpStart's thought leadership strategy, including concept design, drafting, editing, scheduling, and approvals for 30+ pieces (op-eds, press releases, blog posts, resource guides, and other materials) across our 5-city team-Created UpStart’s first-ever style guide, managed editorial calendar, and provided training and editing support for 23 team members to activate our brand and align on messaging-Served as the primary writer for major projects, including web copy for the 2019 version of UpStart's website, our foundational case for giving and supporting materials, funder reports, impact stories, and other development communications-Synthesized complex information to write and edit blog posts, e-books, op-eds, articles, talking points, grants, key messaging, scripts, and development collateral, in collaboration with our C-suite team, to convey UpStart’s impact on its network members and the overall ecosystem

-Facilitated numerous sessions, including two day-long seminars (Theory of Occupation and Intentional Communities), conversations with award-winning authors Etgar Keret and Assaf Gavron, and workshops for organizations like Achvat Amim and the Negev Writers Retreat-As one of twelve people selected for this funded opportunity, designed a highly-experiential, individualized learning program including Hebrew study, volunteering with children of Eritrean refugees, participating in a Beit Midrash (Jewish study), and deepening into a somatic practice involving dance, movement, and contact improvisation. -Advanced two projects coalesced: a collection of poems about Eve, femininity, and the body, as well as a collection of lyric essays about moving, displacement, and the diaspora.

Ashreinu is an egalitarian kehilla (community) that gathers for spirited davening, inspired learning, and creative ritual. We are steeped in tradition, based in St. Louis, and committed to building a collaborative, spiritual community.Founded in November 2015 by Caroline Kessler and Tasha Kaminsky, Ashreinu is the only egalitarian kehilla of its kind in St. Louis CIty. We meet in the homes of our community members throughout St. Louis, and occasionally in University City and Clayton. Our radically inclusive community has drawn people from all denominations, including those in the process of converting to Judaism. Our work has received generous support from the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, Moishe House Without Walls, Kol Rinah, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

I was a T.S. Eliot Scholar and the recipient of a fully-funded fellowship (tuition remission + stipend) for a two-year, full-time MFA program, as well as an instructor for Poetry Writing 1, a class open to all undergraduates at Washington University. My thesis has been published as a chapbook, Ritual in Blue (Sutra Press, April 2018).

JVS transforms lives by helping people build skills and find jobs to achieve self-sufficiency. I wore many hats, doing everything from teaching over 200 workshops and strategy groups, developing online and in-person curriculum, supporting the 28th Kohn Summer Intern program, and coordinating two monthly newsletters.

A new style of recruiting service that charges by the hour for their time, plus expenses (mostly the cost of advertising the jobs)--perfect for small and medium-sized businesses. The Sourcery is a recruiting-as-a-service company. In addition to filtering resumes, phone screening, and sourcing candidates, I managed the blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

Produced of twice-monthly newsletter reaching 34,000+ members using Exact Target and SalesforceManaged social media (Facebook and Twitter), reaching a total audience of about 16,000Oversaw internal communication processes, such as proofing system, media scanning, and press monitoringConducted research on various topics, such as CSR, sustainable business, career development, and MBA programs

American Jewish Committee Goldman FellowEdited and designed donor reports for the Forum's largest project, the School of DialogueCollaborated on three grants, conducted linguistic verification of Forum’s materials, developed a style guide for writing for American audiences, coordinated logistics for study tour

Maintained relationships with ad agency contacts, wrote blog entries, monitored social media, gathered press, brainstormed new marketing strategies, researched and pitched specific projects to road roads across the U.S.

Advised students one-on-one for time management, study skills, and test preparation; developed and conducted large group workshops for students across all years and majors on preparing for finals, time and stress management, and other study skills