Kevin Solari Email & Phone Number

Kane, Kendall And Dekalb Counties

Arlington, Virginia, United States

As part of a team of researchers and analysts, I advised and directed clients in conducting market research polling with the goal of garnering top-tier media attention. Clients regularly appeared in top-tier, national media.By analyzing current media trends, and forecasting how media will cover topics in the future, we develop compelling narratives and hypotheses, confirm them through rigorous research standards, and present clients with a strategy for pitching the right story to the best media targets.We also research and write white papers for clients looking to carve out a reputation for thought leadership in their industry, providing them with the knowledge and expertise they need to be a voice of authority in their arena.

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Working in a largely remote environment, our team handled communications for a large transportation-focused client. We developed communications plans under tight deadlines and strict requirements, including media contact strategies. We also wrote and developed press release materials for public-facing informational campaigns, and created content for client blogs, social media, and other public-facing communications. This included industry conference presentations, developed with the help of experts across multiple teams and companies.Each year we worked with those subject matter experts to write, edit, and publish annual reports detailing the agency's business for public viewing.

Dekalb, Illinois

Managed a team of editors and reporters at a daily newspaper covering DeKalb County. Planned and prepared content, edited stories, managed coverage of breaking news. Lead effort in the newsroom to direct focus to a digital product. Scheduled and posted stories and pre-determined times throughout the day to ensure maximum coverage, as well as deciding what stories should be pushed out for greater visibility. Digital subscriptions grew by more than 30% during this shift in focus.In 2019 I won first place for original column writing from the Illinois Press Association and the newspaper won eight first-place awards. The paper also received the first prize General Excellence Award in the 2020 Illinois Associated Press Media Editors contest.

Morris, Illinois

Served as editor of the Morris Herald-News. Covered the communities of Grundy County, focusing heavily on Morris. I planned each issue, wrote the news and features content while working with a sports desk and collaborating with other newspapers in the chain - most often The Times of Ottawa and the Joliet Herald-News.Also oversaw the expansion of the paper as it grew from a weekly newspaper to a bi-weekly. Focused on community engagement with the newspaper, ensuring the paper had a presence at major events - parades, races, elections - to bring back community trust in the publication. Subscriptions also grew slightly with the expansion, undertaken at a time when other papers in the area were decreasing publication days.

Dekalb, Illinois

Reported on the City of Sycamore and DeKalb County government. Wrote stories on council meetings, county referendums, crossing guards and a gentleman in town who had in his collection torches made for two Olympiads.You know, local news.

La Salle, Illinois

Covered La Salle County and several small towns in the La Salle-Peru area. In a competitive news environment, with several radio stations and another newspaper covering the region, I regularly broke stories, including first the planned Great Lakes Basin Railroad coming through the area, and then when it was canceled. Covered a wide variety of other stories from food to sports to features. Also did some editing, page design (In Design) and obituary writing.

Covered labor, politics, and education. Most pieces appeared in In These Times, but also Dissent Newswire. Attended press conferences, broke stories, and had stories go viral. Featured in Politico, as well as had pieces reprinted elsewhere, including labor blogs, education blogs, and political candidates' social media sites.Link to portfolio above.

Greater Chicago Area

Duties depend on where in the publication cycle we are. Often I'm fact-checking articles for our print or web editions. I also prepare articles for publication on the website, using a variety of online publishing tools in the process.I also contribute to various sections of the website. My articles have appeared on the ITT List, Working In These Times, on the main page, and in the print edition of the magazine. I've been reprinted in numerous places, and been featured in Politico's Morning Shift vertical.

Romeoville, Illinois

I taught at a time when schools were converting to the new Common Core standards, as mandated by the state of Illinois. Much of my work outside of the classroom involved working with teams and colleagues to update existing materials and create new materials that fit within the new standards. This included writing assessments, learning new software - and then teaching this to coworkers - and communicating constantly with colleagues, administration, and parents as to the status.The challenges of teaching were rewarding, especially when working with the diverse groups of students in my class. It required me to be able to think on my feet, adapt to changing environments and directives, and be willing to learn and try new things all of the time.Proficient in on-line learning tools, such as Livetext, Mastery Manager, and Learning 360.

Blue Island, Illinois

While working for G&W, I was tasked with creating and maintaining a system for the growing company to maintain it's core competencies. This involved creating detailed, step-by-step instructions for various assembly and manufacturing processes, mostly in the cable accessories department. This lead to the creation of training videos, which required me to film the process and edit it in a way that new hires could be trained quickly using that video.The end result was a library of training videos and work instructions that preserved the institutional knowledge of the company and allowed the fast growing company to quickly augment and train its workforce in critical areas.