UpRoot Colorado (UpRoot) measurably reduces surplus protective foods in Colorado, supports the resilience of farmers and increases the nutritional security of our state’s residents. We envision a mindful, humane and equitable Colorado food system where farmers are valued for who they are: a cornerstone of our society.

I helped purpose-driven businesses, non-profits, and causes develop stronger ties with communities or customers through writing, editing, brand strategy, social media campaigns and design thinking.

In collaboration with team members at EPA Region 8, I helped develop a statewide coalition—made up of tribal, federal, state and local governments, NGOs, nonprofits, private businesses, citizens and students—to reduce the amount of food that is wasted in Colorado. Mission: Reduce wasted food in homes, grocery stores, restaurants, businesses, nonprofits and on farms throughout Colorado through collaboration, education, technology, legislation and participation; reduce wasted food in… Show more In collaboration with team members at EPA Region 8, I helped develop a statewide coalition—made up of tribal, federal, state and local governments, NGOs, nonprofits, private businesses, citizens and students—to reduce the amount of food that is wasted in Colorado. Mission: Reduce wasted food in homes, grocery stores, restaurants, businesses, nonprofits and on farms throughout Colorado through collaboration, education, technology, legislation and participation; reduce wasted food in Colorado by 25 percent by 2023.Vision: Wake up to an even more beautiful Colorado—one where no food is wasted.#If you are interested in joining this collaborative statewide initiative to reduce the amount of food that is currently wasted, please contact Virginia Till at Till.Virginia@epa.gov Show less

Feeding the 5000 Front Range was held in Denver's Skyline Park on October 14th to bring more awareness to wasted food, champion delicious solutions, and catalyze the global movement against food waste. At Feeding the 5000 Front Range, we served up a delicious vegetable curry prepared by a team headed by Chef Jennifer Jasinski and Chef Jorel Pierce for more than 6,000 people made entirely out of food that would otherwise have been wasted, bringing together a coalition of organizations… Show more Feeding the 5000 Front Range was held in Denver's Skyline Park on October 14th to bring more awareness to wasted food, champion delicious solutions, and catalyze the global movement against food waste. At Feeding the 5000 Front Range, we served up a delicious vegetable curry prepared by a team headed by Chef Jennifer Jasinski and Chef Jorel Pierce for more than 6,000 people made entirely out of food that would otherwise have been wasted, bringing together a coalition of organizations offering solutions to food waste, and raising the issue with local and state public servants to inspire new local initiatives against wasted food. Show less

Bee Safe Earth is a grassroots organization currently under the stewardship of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, a 501(c)(3) organization that is dedicated to progressive personal and social change, working to restore and protect Earth and human rights. The mission of Bee Safe Earth is to create cleaner, healthier, and more biologically diverse urban and suburban environments—one neighborhood at a time—safe for bees and other pollinators, as well as all life. To… Show more Bee Safe Earth is a grassroots organization currently under the stewardship of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, a 501(c)(3) organization that is dedicated to progressive personal and social change, working to restore and protect Earth and human rights. The mission of Bee Safe Earth is to create cleaner, healthier, and more biologically diverse urban and suburban environments—one neighborhood at a time—safe for bees and other pollinators, as well as all life. To achieve this, Bee Safe Earth does the following:* Works with local citizens, communities, and organizations to help create Bee Safe Neighborhoods and Communities* Organizes educational campaigns for local businesses and gets pledges from them to not sell or use neonicotinoids and similar pesticides or plant products containing them* Collaborates with local, regional, and both national governmental and non-governmental agencies to create an environment that is safe for bees and other pollinators Show less

I edited and formatted supply-chain audit reports, white papers, presentations and proposals, only faster.

I edited and formatted supply-chain audit reports, white papers, presentations and proposals.

Based in DC, From the Farmer is a mature startup working to reconnect people with the land, healthy food and local farmers and food artisans through weekly deliveries of farm-fresh food. I curated content, engaged our community, helped set up and run contests, and wrote original feature stories focusing on DC-area farmers to spread the word about From the Farmer and create more mindfulness about the importance of sustainable food systems.Summary:* Grew From the Farmer’s… Show more Based in DC, From the Farmer is a mature startup working to reconnect people with the land, healthy food and local farmers and food artisans through weekly deliveries of farm-fresh food. I curated content, engaged our community, helped set up and run contests, and wrote original feature stories focusing on DC-area farmers to spread the word about From the Farmer and create more mindfulness about the importance of sustainable food systems.Summary:* Grew From the Farmer’s social presence—and customer base—by posting health-, nutrition- and education-based content, ideas for sustainability, inspirational quotes, and local farm and food-system news via HootSuite.* Increased followers / Likes: Twitter, +421.38% / Facebook, +69.52% (Sep - May).* Prototyped branded materials to extend From the Farmer's mission, message and community.* Provided founders with social-engagement analytics each month. * Mapped out long-term social media and community-engagement development plans.* Interviewed local farmers (via Skype or phone) and wrote sharable feature articles for From the Farmer’s newsletter, social media channels, and website. Show less

Good for your wallet, good for your soul. That's the gist of investing for impact: a growing economic sector seeking to generate positive and measurable social and environmental impact alongside financial returns. As director of social content for Impact Driven—an early stage startup designing total portfolio tools for financial advisors—I wrote, edited and posted original content, along with curated content, to our website, educating both the public and the financial advisor community… Show more Good for your wallet, good for your soul. That's the gist of investing for impact: a growing economic sector seeking to generate positive and measurable social and environmental impact alongside financial returns. As director of social content for Impact Driven—an early stage startup designing total portfolio tools for financial advisors—I wrote, edited and posted original content, along with curated content, to our website, educating both the public and the financial advisor community on the local and global benefits to investing for impact. I also helped to create awareness for Impact Driven by leveraging social media channels to share germane, useful content to create a smart, consistent brand-voice.Additionally, I edited all company proposals, email digests, and blog posts.Last but not least, I acted as digital producer on external projects.Highlights:* Grew online community on Twitter by +3,028%; on LinkedIn by +460%; on Facebook by +394% (May-Dec.).* Investigated story leads, interviewed subject-matter experts, and wrote original-content feature articles for the Impact Driven site and newswires. Show less

Exiting the BDW postgraduate program, we were born again—from whatever our business cards used to say into exceptionally generative and integrated thinkers and makers.Shaped by design thinking and agile methodologies, we graduated in December 2012 and walked away as T-shaped people; individuals with a deep awareness of the ecosystem of the evolving 21st century creative industries and the capabilities to navigate it successfully.Highlights:* I worked with BDW classmates… Show more Exiting the BDW postgraduate program, we were born again—from whatever our business cards used to say into exceptionally generative and integrated thinkers and makers.Shaped by design thinking and agile methodologies, we graduated in December 2012 and walked away as T-shaped people; individuals with a deep awareness of the ecosystem of the evolving 21st century creative industries and the capabilities to navigate it successfully.Highlights:* I worked with BDW classmates and Alex Bogusky and The Fearless Cottage to create occupationalist.org, a website devoted to displaying all information—the good and the bad—surrounding the Occupy Wall Street movement. * I helped build and launch a business in 15 weeks using Eric Ries' "Lean Startup" model as a guide. The biz in βeta is called GoodShuffle and it connects neighbors with home & garden stuff that's collecting dust in sheds around each neighborhood: http://goodshuffle.com* I helped create a social innovation Beta platform for Mav6, a private defense contractor, that included two mobile apps, a desktop interface, and an offline group. The goal is to connect the problems of edgefighters with problem-solvers worldwide and rapidly get solutions into the hands of the people who need them, helping to save lives. We presented the prototype platform to NATO for potential global adoption and received a writeup in Co.EXIST: http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680270/edgefuse-a-pinterest-for-making-weapons* In fall 2012, I presented a prototype smartphone app that I developed to the Bureau of Land Management. My goal is to encourage the BLM to use technology to create awareness of our nation's public lands, get more people off the couch and onto public lands, and build a rapport between the BLM and Americans. Show less

As the co-chair on the Outside Voices committee, I invited industry leaders to visit Denver to speak to—and inspire—our local advertising / commercial arts community.At monthly Board meetings, I also worked with Board members to boost the Ad Club's brand via social events like "Kegs with Legs" and The Fifty—our annual awards show, as well as engaged in efforts to offset our carbon footprint by exploring partnerships with eco-minded organizations like TerraPass.

Out on my own after working full-time in agency settings for almost eight years, I focused on making connections and building relationships with agencies, clients and potential clients. I helped both clients and agencies become more likeable to their customers by inventing ideas that communicated, motivated and worked together to creatively solve problems. I did this by listening, thinking, writing, failing, learning, getting up again, and sweating the small stuff. And never quitting… Show more Out on my own after working full-time in agency settings for almost eight years, I focused on making connections and building relationships with agencies, clients and potential clients. I helped both clients and agencies become more likeable to their customers by inventing ideas that communicated, motivated and worked together to creatively solve problems. I did this by listening, thinking, writing, failing, learning, getting up again, and sweating the small stuff. And never quitting. The net-net: brands that became stronger and more in tune with their customers. I happily engaged in storytelling, branding or rebranding work with Turbine, Skip Barber Racing School, Protean Electric, Vladimir Jones, Economy Fuel, R Stone Company, Lucky Frog Design & Illustration, Steamboat Grand, Parkview Medical Center, DISH, Sweetwood Cattle Co., Trimble, Bee Spring Designs, District of Columbia Primary Care Association, Tufts, Tauck, and Norwalk Hospital. Show less

Created print, direct mail, Web banners, brochures, and ambient and outdoor advertising, as well as wrote and produced television and radio spots, for a range of clients including BMW Financial Services (MINI), BMW of Bridgeport, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Cambridge Montessori School, Momentive, Pitney Bowes and UnitedHealthcare, among others; presented work to creative directors, account team and clients on a weekly basis; built positive relationships within the agency, and with the client, by… Show more Created print, direct mail, Web banners, brochures, and ambient and outdoor advertising, as well as wrote and produced television and radio spots, for a range of clients including BMW Financial Services (MINI), BMW of Bridgeport, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Cambridge Montessori School, Momentive, Pitney Bowes and UnitedHealthcare, among others; presented work to creative directors, account team and clients on a weekly basis; built positive relationships within the agency, and with the client, by creating work that both surprised and exceeded expectations; pushed the creative envelope day and night; sweat the small stuff to maintain a standard of excellence that did not waste the reader’s/listener’s time. Show less

Created print, direct mail, radio spots, and Web banners for a list of clients that included Allied Domecq, George Little Management, Oxford Health Plans and Wellesley College, among others. Became a more efficient and effective writer through day-to-day projects; learned how to manage multiple assignments at once, how to meet deadlines consistently, and how to present work in a succinct and confident way to creative directors, account team and clients. Upheld personal standards of… Show more Created print, direct mail, radio spots, and Web banners for a list of clients that included Allied Domecq, George Little Management, Oxford Health Plans and Wellesley College, among others. Became a more efficient and effective writer through day-to-day projects; learned how to manage multiple assignments at once, how to meet deadlines consistently, and how to present work in a succinct and confident way to creative directors, account team and clients. Upheld personal standards of creating work with originality and panache. Seriously, panache. Show less

Created direct mail and print advertising, as well as Web banners, for Hertz and CNN.com; developed and sharpened skills first learned in portfolio school; provided fresh thoughts and infused new energy and creativity into the Hertz and CNN.com accounts in order to build their respective brands.

Worked a lot. Slept a little. Created a portfolio peppered with decent and even pretty darn sweet work. Made many good and a few lifelong friends. And hopefully a bit of a difference.

Managed the $2 million dollar Lucent Technologies account; developed and strengthened agency-client relationship through proactive outreach; steadfastly reviewed marketing plan strategy with Lucent contacts; oversaw, updated and implemented changes in marketing plan as needed; project-managed deadlines with Creative Department; consistently looked for ways to improve account efficiencies for Lucent.

Member of the AT&T agency account team; built relationships with publishers and various outside vendors through daily interactions; leveraged external vendor relationships to enact industry-wide policy changes, saving AT&T hundreds of thousands of dollars and improving efficiencies for every Wahlstrom account; developed trust of all business associates—both internally and externally—through the daily practice of honesty, ethics, and understanding.