Karen Thomas Email & Phone Number

Kent, Washington, United States

My first day working with Pickleball Central was at the US OPEN Pickleball Championships in 2017 and I have been on the leadership team helping drive Pickleball Central's growth as the largest pickleball eCommerce retailer since then. When I started I was Pickleball Central's first marketing employee, responsible for all aspects of marketing strategy.

Greater Seattle Area

• I supported business clients with marketing, communications and project management consulting. Areas of expertise and focus:
• Project scoping, oversight and coordination
• Social media strategy and content creation
• Blog and email newsletter writing and design
• Process improvement, workflow optimization
• Time and task management, electronic organization

Greater Seattle Area

• Owned blog, email and social media calendars, created content, wrote blog, social posts and email newsletters.
• Designed graphics for online marketing channels; curated and managed library of digital media assets.
• Developed successful client and vendor relationships, strategic partnerships and new business opportunities.
• Managed client accounts and projects, tracked and reported on goals, status and outcomes.
• Designed presentations, facilitated workshops on productivity topics for professional organizations.
• Provided training and consulting for business owners, executives, employees and residential clients.

Seattle, WA

• Managed and executed marketing, PR and communications strategy for Saas tech company that provides B2B event management software for multiple verticals.
• Designed large corporate website: created UX, content and graphics, developed mobile-responsive functionality, lead generation strategies and landing pages, wrote copy.
• Implemented consistent branding, identity and messaging throughout website and collateral.
• Managed editorial calendar for website and social media content creation and publishing.
• Designed and wrote persuasive copy for press releases, case studies, fact sheets, user stories, advertising, brochures, white pages, email newsletters and social media posts.
• Increased brand awareness and customer engagement with multiple social media campaigns.

Seattle, WA

• Managed technology development for two complex multi-year enterprise IT initiatives to build web-based accounting and grants administrations systems used across all UW departments.
• Drove and documented project strategy and objectives, scoping, business and technical requirements, risk analysis/mitigation, budgets, milestone schedules, training and test plans.
• Wrote design documents, RFP responses, project proposals, project plans and reports.
• Led cross-functional technical architecture design and software development teams.
• Coordinated usability testing, user feedback sessions, QA/UA testing and end user training.
• Presented status updates, proposals and demos to executives and stakeholder committees.

Bellevue, WA

• Vivendi Universal was the parent company that acquired Sierra Entertainment.
• Successfully managed design, development, release and support of eight software titles and four collections of casual games created for mobile devices and online.
• Oversaw all phases of product development and project management from concept through launch and post mortem/lifecycle analysis and documentation.
• Developed and managed detailed project schedules and budgets totaling $5 million.
• Collaborated effectively with marketing and other departments to determine marketing plans, project plans, product strategy, features and implementation plans.
• Planned and executed marketing focus groups to inform strategy and development.

Bellevue, WA

• Sierra On-line became Sierra Entertainment then was purchased by Vivendi Universal.
• Managed internal and external development of multiple brands, software product franchises, individual software titles and websites.
• Responsible for all major strategic, administrative and financial decisions determining product design, development, staffing, scheduling, budgeting and resource allocation.
• Developed and managed relationships with strategic partners; negotiated contracts and royalty agreements with licensors and vendors.
• Collaborated with marketing to determine strategy, branding, messaging and deliverables.
• Successfully launched 12 game titles and websites on time and within budget.

Bellevue, WA

• Managed the design and development of multiple entertainment and productivity software products, successfully shipping 20+ major titles, websites and dozens of online games.
• Made major contribution to the growth of Sierra's most profitable division. Drove Land Designer 3D to #1 in sales among gardening software and grew the Hoyle brand from $1M to >$50M in revenue.
• Simultaneously managed three internal and off-site development teams comprised of staff and contractors in three states: developers, designers, artists, writers and associate producers.
• Managed integration of newly acquired software companies, acting as key liaison between headquarters and remote development groups, creating successful transitions and collaboration.
• Managed usability and quality testing. Made final decision on issue resolution and authorized manufacturing releases.
• Wrote and edited copy for websites, marketing collateral, press releases and user manuals.

Bellevue, WA

• Successfully managed design, development, launch and maintenance of Power Chess, the most popular, innovative, award-winning interactive chess game for PC/Mac and online.
• Collaborated effectively with marketing and sales departments to determine product strategy and features, create marketing collateral and packaging and establish development goals and timelines.
• Improved team collaboration, productivity and morale with effective leadership and organization of project roles, deliverables, milestones, scheduling and process improvement.
• Supervised team of artists and developers; designed UI and graphics, art directed demos.
• Created art asset management system, streamlined workflow and reduced data/asset loss.
• Managed testing, coordinated bug tracking and determined issue status and resolution.

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), French Language And Literature

French Studies