• Coordinate the timely delivery of communications team products and services. • Ensure an integrated alignment of products appropriate to media relations, social, employee/stakeholder communications, and web in accordance with USDA's Office of Communication, mission area, NIFA, and communications team schedules. • Write, edit, and review NIFA products such as blogs, press releases, fact sheets, FAQs, briefing memos, news clippings, newsletters, infographics, social media content, web content, reports, event support, special projects, and other communications materials to ensure content is professionally written, free of typos and aligned with USDA and NIFA policies, strategic goals and top priorities.• Provide critical support as a member of "Rapid Response" team to respond to requests and data calls from the mission area, department or partners with well-written, concise, accurate materials by assigned deadlines.• Provide thorough recommendations for improvements to communications materials. • Provide strategic communications counsel to communications director to inform and enhance NIFA communications tactics and products. Represents NIFA Communications in meetings and requests in the absence of the Director.• Communicate effectively, providing high-quality information to supervisor, agency leadership, mission area and Office of the Secretary within established timelines. • Ensure chain of command is followed when communicating internally and externally.• Present advice and guidance in a positive and helpful manner, including appropriate options, recommendations, and results.• Follow NIFA, AP and General Printing Office editorial styles.

• Develop and implement long-range national, regional, and local strategic communication plans to optimize the dissemination of agency's activities and accomplishments and increase public awareness of its mission, including serving as an expert consultant for improving the delivery of information to the media and the public via digital platforms.• Work closely with the senior leadership to develop reports, assessments and recommendations to strengthen the organization’s communications position.• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders, including federal and state policymakers, agency leadership, scientific communities, the public, and collaborating universities.• Coordinate strategic communications efforts with partner government agencies, educational and research institutions, private organizations and industry to optimize science education nationally.• Facilitate media interviews with scientists and senior leadership.• Coordinate newsletters, blogs, and other digital and print communication products for external audiences.• Proactively identify opportunities to tell an organization’s story with print and broadcast media.

• Strategic Marketing and Communications: Effort has resulted in extensive internal and external awareness and publicity of experiment station research, which has led directly to increasing research and private funding for the experiment station. Three-sixty communications strategy includes media and public relations; marketing; stakeholder, government, and industry relations; web communications; direct email communications; social media engagement; and event planning and community outreach. • Media Relations: Write and summarize highly technical, scientific research project outcomes and impacts for a broad, nontechnical audience. Serve as spokesperson, and pitch stories to and interact with reporters on a regular basis. Media efforts have resulted in extensive coverage in all statewide news outlets as well as numerous regional outlets and some national outlets, including the New York Times, NPR’s All Things Considered, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Atlantic, and ABC News. Experiment station news also is regularly featured in key agricultural trade press.• Social Media and Web Communications: Since April 2014, experiment station has experienced a dramatic increase in social media and website engagement. Facebook content now reaches more than 2 million people annually, and Twitter impressions exceed 290,000 a year.• Crisis Communications: Anticipate and respond to crisis situations, and consult with faculty and staff to mitigate negative publicity. Crisis communications work has resulted in a more effective response to politically sensitive matters and a decrease in “self-inflicted” crisis situations.• Event Planning: Event planning successes include greater attendance at experiment station events as well as an increase in trade show booth traffic and interaction with researchers.• Marketing Publications: Effort has resulted in consistent branding, messaging, and design.

• Media Relations: Managed national, regional, and statewide publicity efforts for peer-reviewed research and outreach for the College of Liberal Arts, the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, and their associated research centers. Efforts resulted in extensive coverage in top‐level media outlets such as the New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, BBC, Associated Press, and all major New England and state news outlets. Total value of earned media placements was $500 million.• Crisis Communications: Worked with with faculty and staff to anticipate potential crisis situations and responded to crisis situations to mitigate negative publicity.• Government/legislative relations: Developed op-eds and outreach materials with key messages designed to educate government officials and legislators about a range of public policy issues.• Strategic Communications: Developed and implemented strategic communications plans andmessaging with specific outcomes for targeted, key audiences. Required a high level ofcoordination, project management, and interpersonal communication with hundreds offaculty, researchers, administrators, and external stakeholders.• Social Media: Integrated social media into communications strategies. As administrator for several UNH Facebook pages and UNH Twitter accounts, engaged diverse audiences using the most effective social media standards.• Event Planning: Managed high‐profile events such as press conferences with commencementspeakers, media events for national presidential debates, and publicity for events with corporateand governmental partners.• Marketing Publications: Served as principal writer for top‐level university marketing pieces suchas annual reports, newsletters, donor relations materials, alumni outreach products, and high visibility web pages.

• Internal Communications: Editor of UNH's primary internal communications vehicle. Managedprint and online versions of Campus Journal from conception to production. Oversaw allmultimedia content creation, layout, and distribution. Advised UNH president’s office and senioradministrators regarding messaging of sensitive university information on policy changes fromhuman resources and finance departments, implementation of new systems, and organizationalefficiency efforts.• Project Management: Oversaw transition of primary internal communications vehicle, CampusJournal from weekly print publication to an online publication, expanding access and saving theuniversity $100,000 a year in printing costs. Project manager for a database‐driven contentmanagement system that leveraged UNH news and information to internal and externalaudiences, enhancing the reputation of UNH with donors and alumni. Web‐based system now isused to communicate with more than 100,000 members of internal and external audiences.• Online Communications: Oversaw online communications for UNH Media Relations, includingdesign, structure, content, and maintenance of website and distribution of weekly e‐newsletterreaching 45,000 subscribers.

• Principal writer and editor in corporate communications division of software development company. Implemented major external communications efforts including marketing collateral such as brochures, fact sheets, product summaries, white papers, newsletters, advertising, and direct mail/email.• Developed and executed strategic public relations effort and trade show presence. Wrote press releases and announcements. Developed pre-trade show marketing and communications efforts, trade show programs, and post-trade show follow-up and messaging.• Lead member of the strategic group that oversaw NPO’s website. Developed and managed Web site message, writing and editing content for the site. Played key role in redesign of website. Consulted with lead web developer on design enhancements. • Wrote, edited, and designed training manuals and technical documentation.