Lara Ortiz Email & Phone Number

Jacksonville Beach, Fl, Us

USCG 100 GRT Master Near Coastal + Aux Sail, leading logistics, bookkeeping, provisioning, marketing, while serving as first mate and chef on board an 50' all-inclusive charter operation. I own and manage this business with my husband, who holds an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean credential. Together we have sailed our 50' blue water sailing catamaran, Tahina, over 20k miles since 2010 while training new sailors, crafting unforgettable vacation experiences, and sharing our passion for the ocean-going lifestyle with others.We sail annually between The Bahamas and New England, offering charters in both markets. We regularly participate in boat shows and charter shows, as well as programs that provide consulting to new buyers, sailors, and people who aim to sail into the sunset someday.

• Strategic consulting and digital project management for SMEs and agencies. Expertise includes print, email, mobile and web.• Content strategy, analytics and search optimization.• Testing, editing and proofreading websites, client communications and digital media content. • Graphic design and branding.• Clients included Miles, Sparks Interactive, Jasons Travel Media, Brunet-García Advertising, Stay Today, MyBuckett, Panelfold and Pay Today.

Sarasota, Fl, Us

Internal and external training and process development and optimization, product strategy and logistics and project management.

Sarasota, Fl, Us

Sarasota, Fl, Us

Plan, manage and deliver brand strategy, marketing strategy, websites and campaigns for destinations and hospitality organizations. • Led the rearchitecture, redesign and redevelopment of GotoBermuda.com, which involved integrating new CRM, booking and CMS platforms and a complete overhaul of content including inspirational content, partner listings and media assets.• Strategic consulting in preparation for the complete redesign and redevelopment of NYCgo.com. Concentrated on content strategy, user experience, architecture, identification of target personas and definition of brand voice.• Strategic consulting for the redesign of SanDiego.org, focused on SEO, content, and performance measurement framework for the new site.• Strategic leadership for the redesign of TampaAirport.com, which received a Amy Award (Judges'​ Choice) and Gold Award at the 2015 American Advertising Awards.• Led the redesign of ExploreGeorgia.org, Georgia's official state tourism website. 90 days after launch, traffic (sessions) had grown to 48% over the previous year due to organic search performance improvements derived from content and architectural upgrades to the site. This was a responsive build completed using Agile scrum methodology. It earned a 2014 Silver HSMAI Adrian Award and a Silver Award at the 2015 American Advertising Awards. • Led the strategy and PM process for the redesign and responsive relaunch of CincinnatiUSA.com, collaborating with the Regional Cincinnati Tourism Network's internal team and web partner, Enquirer Media. Responsive build completed using Agile scrum methodology.• 2019 Speaker, E-Tourism Summit, San Francisco, CA• 2014 Professor, SE Tourism Society's Marketing College, Alumni Course: Digital Master Class, Dahlonega, GA• Speaker, General Session, 2014 GA Governor's Tourism Conference, Augusta, GA• Speaker, "What Travelers Want from Destination Websites," FL Association of Destination Marketing Organizations Conference, Daytona Beach, FL

Sarasota, Fl, Us

• Managed implementation of digital marketing initiatives for agency clients—SEO, analytics, website builds and/or maintenance, email marketing, landing page optimization• Client and industry training sessions—social media, SEO best practice, using Google Analytics• Content planning / review and design consultation• SEO – In one year, doubled the organic traffic to AucklandNZ.com, raising it to its highest-ever level through a combination of content development recommendations to the in-house team, on-page optimization, off-page and collaborative social efforts with the client. Goal completion ratios and engagement measures showed this traffic to be the lowest-cost, highest quality traffic to this client's website.• Education and training – Coordinated and produced the RTONZ digital program, a twice-annual 2-3 day summit for New Zealand Regional Tourism Organizations' marketing and digital teams, complemented by a series of three webinars. Attended by over 60 RTO staff, this program increases capabilities and performance in the digital marketing space by incorporating international speakers, hands-on workshops, and case studies of regions' marketing campaigns. Past speakers have included representatives of Google, Tourism New Zealand, international destination marketers, and global agencies such as SparkLoft. As part of this project, I also created the visual identity for the program and managed email marketing / communications for the event.• Email Marketing – Designed & produced an email marketing series for a New Zealand hotel group, which generated 800% ROI in revenue over the first three emails, including template development and platform setup costs.• Analytics – Responsibility for performance reporting and troubleshooting of analytics issues for Miles' New Zealand clients, including goal setup, trackable phone numbers, online campaign tracking, conversion and engagement measures.

Nz

• Responsible for the design and launch of the first nationwide accommodation booking-enabled iOS app by a New Zealand company, which ranked among the top NZ travel apps on iTunes and received over 2,000 downloads during the first 60 days in market. • Managed a team of up to 9 direct reports whose responsibilities included brand, content, social media, B2B and B2C marketing, SEM and SEO, email marketing, print and digital new product development and online production.• Managed external agency relationships to refresh a classic Kiwi brand to position it in the consideration set of digitally-minded travellers.• Managed the phased rollout of the refreshed brand identity and positioning for Jasons across the various sectors of the business, including NZ, Australia and the South Pacific—online, print and distribution channels. • Upgraded email marketing technology and served as project-manager for the integration of internal systems with the new email platform's API.• Accomplished campaign-based growth and maintained continued organic growth of Jasons' social media presence, from 500 Facebook followers in mid-2011 to a count in early 2012 of over 4,400 followers, while maintaining a vibrant Twitter following through the efforts of the marketing team.• Launched the Jasons E-cademy, a webinar series and educational microsite, to better support Jasons' core advertisers through training and thought-leadership. • Successfully managed client communications during the largest technology-platform transition in Jasons’ 44-year history.• Wrote marketing plans, content plans and creative briefs, documented wireframes and functional specifications for various digital projects.

~ 11,000 nautical miles• Traveled to New Zealand from Trinidad & Tobago working as crew on private sailing yachts. Competed in Tobago Carnival Regatta and Tahiti/Moorea Sailing Rendezvous with stops in Grenada, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Galapagos, French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. • Documented the journey on my blog, Sail Into the Sun (linked above)• On-board duties included yacht maintenance, watch keeping and provisioning, but this experience was really about engaging with new cultures and traditions in a part of the world I had never been. I did quite a bit of consulting as connectivity was available along the way as well.

Jacksonville, Fl, Us

• Hybrid studio manager/senior creative role, where I managed a team of 5 direct reports and was the main point of contact between the studio and account service teams. I also served as art director and interactive project manager on a segment of jobs.• Developed agency processes. Led and managed the implementation of job tracking software. Developed and documented agency training handbooks, job processes and brand guidelines.• Developed and trained the team on the agency's approach to digital projects, managed major website projects and recruited the agency's first digital team.• Trained incoming creative staff on agency process, and led development training for the creative team such as html/css training and best practice for email marketing.• Managed creation of and contributed to the agency's blog: Culturefried• Managed relationships with external writers, designers and developers, coordinated photo shoots, sourced vendors and attended press checks. • Allocated appropriate creative staff to jobs coming into the studio. Responsible for generating effective branding and advertising for the agency’s clients, delivery to deadlines and budgets, while achieving maximum creative quality and managing optimal campaign performance. • Edited and proofread jobs leaving the agency. Achievement:I led the development of the agency’s persona-based approach to technology projects, sourced and formed relationships with development partners, and managed the architectural, creative and technical specification and development of our online projects, from banner ads and email campaigns to complex web applications. My last project involved a complete overhaul of the web site for WorkSource, Northeast Florida's workforce development agency. In the year after launch, WorkSource served 145,000 customers, 48,000 more clients than in 2008, saying our new online content and applications took “an enormous amount of pressure off staff in the career centers.”

Jacksonville, Fl, Us

Concept, presentation and production of marketing and advertising materials for the Brunet-García’s local, regional and national clients. As an art director, my work helped the agency win Florida SHOTS and Vistakon, geared to state and national audiences. Florida SHOTS continued to be the agency’s largest client for over 7 years, with the account nearly tripling in value and awareness among its primary target group having gone from nearly zero to 94% in the first few years.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Us

Assisted the marketing manager in devising annual student meal plan marketing strategy, using strategies to drive revenue and profitability. Adjusted the marketing from a value proposition to a membership proposition and overhauled the student dining website for University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. Increased student meal plan sales by over 8%, accounting for 254 meal plans and $381,000 in revenue. As graphic designer, created campaigns to promote daily and seasonal specials for 2 dining halls, comprising approximately 10 "grab-and-go" restaurants and 2 full-service cafeterias. Designed collateral to support annual meal plan marketing strategies, including mailers, door-to-door delivery materials, orientation packets, brochures, posters and advertising.

B.A., Journalism & Mass Communication

International Baccalaureate