At 34 Strong, we believe that every Government Employee deserves a Great Place to Work. The challenge is, most Government Leaders lack the time, expertise, and internal resources necessary to make a REAL DIFFERENCE in their workplace culture.Our team offers Government Leaders the Tools and Training* necessary to develop Strong Leaders, Best Bosses, and Engaged Employees. Our process is simple, yet powerful, and has been applied with great success in government organizations like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Franchise Tax Board (FTB), and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).Teams that leverage our process typically achieve:• 6x higher employee engagement• 38% improved productivity and 50% reduced employee turnover• Enhanced culture, restored trust, and respectful communicationAs an Organizational Development Consultant at 34 Strong, I serve Government Leaders by delivering our suite of workplace development programs. I love every aspect of my job, for different reasons:• In Executive Coaching, I get to work one-on-one with Government Leaders and employees to develop their strengths, overcome their weaknesses, and solve their challenges. I love helping people see obstacles as opportunities!• When I deliver Best Boss University training sessions, I know that I’m making a significant impact on the culture of a whole team. There’s no feeling like it!• Delivering Wellbeing Webinars that connect public servants with supportive resources is energizing, because I understand the power that one message can have in changing a life.Check out 34STRONG.COM or book a time to chat with our team if you’re curious to learn how we can help you hit your workplace development goals!*We leverage the Gallup Q12 and CliftonStrengths tools. My Top 10 CliftonStrengths are: Strategic | Ideation | Individualization | Connectedness | Learner Developer | Input | Empathy | Activator | Adaptability

I am responsible for the creative and strategic direction of this small business, as well as the production of client deliverables.

I help design firm leaders invest in their team's talents and develop strengths-based cultures. I leverage the CliftonStrengths assessment to create coaching sessions, reports and workshops that increase workplace efficiency and engagement.

For over 10 years, I have provided affordable portrait and event photography that aims to celebrate life's unique moments. I also facilitate educational opportunities for organizations interested in developing their team's photography skills and impact.

As the K-State Career Center's marketing coordinator, I connected university students, faculty and staff to career development opportunities and resources. In addition to managing the Center's website and continuing its ongoing marketing efforts, I also:•• Led a team of student employees in the creation and implementation of several campaigns across multiple platforms.•• Provided guidance to student management of the Center's social media accounts, including in the renovation of its Instagram (@KStateCareer).•• Designed a promotion plan around the center's first Suit Up with JCPenney event, that attracted over double the projected attendance.•• Assisted with department transitions related to the merger with the K-State's Housing and Dining marketing team.Skills leveraged: Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, AP Style, communication, consulting, content development, delegation, event management, facilitation, editing, management, training, website management, and writing.

As the graduate research assistant for K-State StrengthsQuest, I worked closely with administrative staff to revitalize, develop and execute the university's campuswide strengths initiative. Daily tasks included:• Designing and implementing a strengths peer coaching program that required the training and management of four student peer coaches. These coaches then facilitated the strengths-based academic, personal and professional development of over 80 students within one month of the program's launch.•• Facilitating 27 strengths-based workshops to approx. 1,450 people.•• Advising 12 student Strengths Advocates on cultivating impact with campuswide events and programs that reached approx. 6,760 individuals.•• Leveraging content creation skills when redesigning the K-State StrengthsQuest website and managing our @KStateStrengths accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.Skills leveraged: Coaching, consulting, content development, design, editing, event planning and management, facilitation, leadership, marketing, program design, photography, public speaking, public relations, relationship management, social media management, strengths development and writing.

As online editor, I facilitated the development of online-only content meant to boost the Kansas State Collegian's web traffic. By the end of my term I had accomplished my three main goals of building relevancy, expanding content and increasing our @KStateCollegian social media presence. Daily responsibilities included:•• Creating and leading a five-person online-content team.•• Collaborating with news-, current-, opinion- and sports-desk editors on content that supplemented their articles.•• Researching the online practices of other collegiate and professional news institutions.•• Assisting in newsroom management of staff designers, editors, photographers, writers and freelancers.•• Facilitating the development and implementation of new series (i.e. "Ask Me Live" and "It Happens Here").Skills leveraged: Communication, consulting, content development, crisis management, deadline management, editing, journalism, leadership, newsroom management, public speaking, social media management, staff training, team building, web development and writing.

I started off my time with the Boys & Girls Club of Manhattan as the Director of Programs and Operations's summer intern, where I split my time between assisting with administrative duties and program implementation. I then spent the following two semesters as a program leader for one of the nonprofit's school sites, and capped it off by spending the following summer interning under the Development Coordinator.Between these three roles I served the Boys & Girls Club of Manhattan in a number of ways, including:•• Developing programs that engaged students from kindergarten to sixth grade in extended learning.•• Planning and implementing events (i.e. STEM Night and Olympic Day) that provided students and their parents to participate in group learning.•• Providing a clean and safe after-school, before-school and summer environment for approx. 2,000 elementary students.•• Assuming personal responsibility for the academic and personal growth of approx. 40 kindergarteners.•• Promoting Club programs and development efforts via various marketing platforms and strategies.Skills leveraged: Communication, content development, conflict management, crisis management design, editing, event planning and management, facilitation, fundraising, leadership, lesson plan development, marketing, program design, photography, public speaking, relationship management, social media management and writing.

In my role as managing copy chief, I facilitated the meticulous proofreading and fact-checking of all news content published daily in print and online under the Kansas State Collegian, our independent student newspaper. Key responsibilities included:• Managing a staff of about six copy editors for a total of approx. 250 printed issues.•• Becoming fluent in AP Style so I could effectively edit approx. 3,250 assignments.•• Assisting in content development and daily newsroom management.Skills leveraged: Adobe Indesign, Adobe Photoshop, AP Style, communication, consulting, content development, conflict management, crisis management, editing, leadership, newsroom management, training and writing.

My internship with Downtown Topeka, Inc. was spent on developing marketing and communications efforts that supported the nonprofit's mission of encouraging "the growth of business, governmental services and cultural entertainment in the heart of Topeka and Shawnee County." Specific projects included:•• Creating a multi-informational database of available downtown properties.•• Coordinating and documenting DTI's weekly (ex. Brownbag Concerts) and annual (TAP THAT Topeka and Cruisin' The Capitol Car Show) events that garnered an attendance over approx. 3,000 individuals cumulatively.•• Assisting in social media and website content development.Skills leveraged: Advertising, communication, content development, event planning and management, journalism, marketing, photography, social media management and writing.

Working for Olive Garden as a server in a college town meant keeping up with my team in a often high-volume and fast-paced, guest-centric environment. Shift duties centered around providing guests with friendly and attentive service, namely by striving for accuracy and strong team support that exceeded expectations.What I believe is really worth mentioning, however, are the lessons learned during those shifts. And there are a few key ones that spring to mind:•• Empathy, patience, respect and tolerance will serve you well in heated situations.•• Be efficient and focused. Don't let the same mistake happen twice.•• Your team's success is your success. Do what you can to help make sure everyone is operating at their best level.Skills leveraged: Communication, crisis management, customer service, and team building.

When I took over as the Royal Purple's editor in chief, the publication was failing. Sales had been steadily decreasing for the past decade and our Board of Directors were wondering if they should just cut their losses. I pushed back and bargained for one year to make the Royal Purple viable again. If I couldn't rise to the challenge, they could get rid of it. They agreed to let me try, and in doing so enabled me to:•• Manage production of 360-page annual publication with staff of 10 students, plus several freelance writers and photographers.•• Facilitate a two-person marketing team that increased sales by 300 percent within the first three months of operations, which directly correlated with my ground-level sales strategy used during Orientation and Enrollment – Kansas State University's two-week, on-campus registration event.•• Develop marketing strategies that encouraged a deeper buy-in from consumers (i.e., I ended our reliance on traditional yearbook trends, like individual portraits, for ventures that would evoke a sense of community, like organizational group photos).•• Collaborate on content creation and page design, as well as participated in board meetings that included an assortment of alumni, local business owners and faculty.Skills leveraged: Adobe InDesign, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, advertising, consulting, content development, content development, crisis management, deadline management, design, editing, event planning and management, facilitation, journalism, leadership, marketing, newsroom management, photography, staff training, team building and writing.

Spending two consecutive years as the Royal Purple's photo editor meant I spent 730 days doing nothing but eating, sleeping and breathing photography. Every second not spent in class was devoted to developing compelling visual content for the 2011 and 2012 editions of the nation's most-decorated collegiate yearbook. Our work added to that record in 2011 with both an Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker award and Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown award.In those days, from the moment I woke up to the moment I fell asleep, my daily tasks included:•• Facilitating assignments to staff of 13-plus staff photographers and freelancers, and keeping them on deadline.•• Collaborating with a team of designers, editors and writers to produce two cohesive and interesting 360-page publications.•• Using ethical Photoshop practices to edit submitted content.•• Training new photographers to abide by Associated Press photojournalism ethics and guidelines.•• Being both fair and transparent in my tracking assignments and pay.Skills leveraged: Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, communication, consulting, content development, crisis management, deadline management, design, editing, journalism, photography, team building and writing.

As a class leader for the Staley School of Leadership Studies's Introduction to Leadership Concepts course, I contributed to the leadership development of first-semester freshmen. I facilitated two small-group learning communities, each containing 13-15 students, for which my main focus was helping these students appreciate the academic discipline of leadership and adjust to the K-State campus community. Specific class leader responsibilities included:•• Becoming knowledgable in various leadership theories and concepts, which included but were not limited to Adaptive Leadership, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, FISH philosophy, the Myers-Briggs and Clifton StrengthsFinder assessments, ethical dilemma vs ethical issue and conflict resolution.•• Evaluating student work in a comprehensive, ethical and fair manner.•• Facilitating the design and implementation of team service projects.Skills leveraged: Communication, community building, consulting, critical thinking, facilitation, leadership, lesson plan development, performance evaluation, public speaking and team building.