Carmen Diana LLC provides consultative services in program direction + facilitation, business development, marketing + operations strategy for underestimated businesses and their founders.

Led a team of seven advisors for a semester-long technical leadership development program serving Girls Who Code college-aged alumni.

⭐️ As a founding team member for i.c.stars in Milwaukee, it was my team's job to find talent, train talent & put talent to work. This nonprofit coding intensive program equips individuals from underserved backgrounds with business, leadership & technology skills.In my role as talent placement manager, I wore three hats:1️⃣ Developed new business leads for i.c.stars' in-house social enterprise, a staffing augmentation2️⃣ Maintained existing staffing accounts, acting as an account executive with an eye on employers that focus on inclusion, equity, access & diversity3️⃣ Prepared talent coming out of i.c.stars' program for their first professional jobs. I trained & coached individuals & groups on key aspects of the job search such as resumes, LinkedIn and interviewing skills.🤝 I signed Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 clients to put i.c.stars' talent to work in entry-level technical roles. Often times I worked with prospective partners through volunteer opportunities, giving them an inside look at the promising talent coming out of the i.c.stars program. I did my very best to ensure that inclusion, diversity, equity & access are a priority for all of the employers we partner with.🏙 As a longtime active member of the Milwaukee Tech Hub working group (see MKE Tech site below) I represented i.c.stars' efforts as a Preferred Reskilling Provider in Greater Milwaukee.

Nov 2017 - Feb 2018:Administrative & operational support for several Metro Milwaukee employers.Jul 2017 - Nov 2017:Business development, branding, video editing & content creation for a cause marketing firm in Milwaukee.Nov 2016 - Jun 2017:Independent contract work while traveling in Latin America. I consulted on social media projects for a hostel in Ecuador and a farm cooperative in Mexico, wrote copy in English & Spanish for print publication in Ecuador, and consulted with a farm cooperative in Mexico on their irrigation plans.

Coached 200+ career changers through the job search as they entered one of the most competitive job markets in the U.S. The individuals I coached landed in roles at companies like Oracle, Uber, Udacity, Instacart and Ticketfly.Drove data-collection initiatives to increase transparency within company, sharing weekly reports with internal team and distributing monthly reports company-wide.Created & facilitated workshops on negotiation, interview prep, resumes, LinkedIn, personal branding, job search strategies and networking.Led 10+ sessions for students & staff who identified as female and/or people of color, to discuss the unique experiences of being a minority group in tech.SELECTED STUDENT FEEDBACK:"Coming into this week, I had no experience job searching, let alone in a completely new industry. Leia really provided that catalyst of instruction I needed.""I enjoyed having Leia as our career instructor. She's friendly, thoughtful, willing to help anytime, and I thought she brought her whole self to this experience to do the best for us.""After spending the week with Leia and the rest of the staff, I see how hard they're working to help us and tangible evidence of their support really bolsters my belief in DBC’s authenticity."

Engagement manager and business strategist across social enterprise, nonprofit and startup accounts. My duties included the creation of comprehensive strategic plans for new clients, online community management, identifying influencers to boost awareness among key populations, creating and deploying email marketing campaigns, securing print, online and broadcast media coverage, creating print and online content for blogs and high profile media properties, creating comprehensive monthly and quarterly performance reports - all while striving for client satisfaction. I was responsible for hiring, training and managing five interns.

Strategic media planner and buyer on the Microsoft account. Created and ran cross-media campaigns with budgets of $5MM - $30MM for XBOX, Dynamics and Office 365. Negotiated 50% savings across brand portfolios with top tier publishers. Built and maintained strong relationships with vendor partners at key online, print and TV publications.

Represented International Academic Programs, the largest study abroad office at UW-Madison, in classrooms across campus for three semesters. Created and gave presentations to different language classes and student organizations about IAP offerings. Maintained an active presence at live campus events and on social media to build rapport and awareness among the 25,000+ undergraduate student population.

Led a team of four to create the online presence for Curb Magazine, an annual publication created by students at the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Our team created a multi-user WordPress site, assisted other teams in the creation of complementary multimedia content and maintained active profiles on Facebook and Twitter.Under my leadership, the Curb website went on to win first place in Best Web Site Design at the Milwaukee Press Club's 2010 Excellence in Journalism awards and first place in Best Affiliated Web Site at the Society of Professional Journalist's Region 6 Mark of Excellence Awards.

As an intern on the digital buying team for Hanesbrands, Inc., I monitored and optimized online media campaigns, researched CPG industry trends and maintained a multimillion dollar database of planned vs. actual performance of campaign ads to maintain billing levels.

Designed the website for Klaetsch Public Affairs Strategies and redesigned the site of an advocacy group the firm manages. This included creating wireframes for sites, generating and updating site content, and creating and maintaining a client blog.

Assisted the manager and director of public relations at the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry in their daily duties. This included writing and editing copy for the company newsletter and magazine, developing the AACD's social media presence and generating content for the weekly eUpdate that went to thousands of Academy members.I created the AACD's Twitter account (Twitter.com/TheAACD) during my internship and increased brand awareness by gaining 222 daily followers in a single month.

Assisted University Housing residents in the Housing computer labs. Duties included laptop checkout, general software knowledge and creating QuickTips documents to acclimate students with frequently-used software like InDesign, Dreamweaver, Illustrator and Excel.

Interned for the Academic Affairs committee within UW-Madison's student governing body. My semester project focused on domestic partner benefits in relation to faculty retention rates.Formed the Wisconsin Coalition for Domestic Partner Benefits, a grassroots community organization, with several other students and community members in December 2008. Planned and held a Day of Action in March 2009 to amplify and elevate constituent support of domestic partner health care coverage in the pending state budget. Approximately 200 individuals affiliated with the UW System contacted elected officials in support of domestic partner benefits for UW System employees.On June 29, 2009, domestic partner health insurance benefits for Wisconsin state employees were approved in the 2009-2011 Wisconsin state budget.