Strategic communications and government relations consulting and management

Director, Provider Communications and Strategy at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois

Provided messaging and communications support throughout the budget process, including the writing of legislative testimony for the executive directorDirected the alignment of digital educational content with state and national academic standardsOversaw a $700,000 multimedia production grant distributed to public television stations

In 2007, Ohio’s legislature passed a law making the Chancellor of the Board of Regents a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. I joined the first Chancellor under this new law and built a new, proactive communications department 5 times its previous size, adding creative, press, and social media capabilities.- Managed all media strategies for the agency, resulting in almost 700 media stories in 2010 alone- Directed the production of Ohio’s Strategic Plan for Higher Education, generating front-page newspaper coverage on every major Ohio daily upon launch- Coordinated all public events including 500+ participant conferences, press conferences, interactive town halls, and televised events- Trained more than 70% of agency staff in communications and social media while launching the first Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media channels - Developed a statewide social media training program with the Kiplinger Program of the John Glenn School of Public Affairs, one of the nation’s leading media training organizations, for over 1,000 participants from universities and community colleges- Wrote and implemented communications plans for major initiatives funded by the National Governor’s Association, Joyce Foundation, Gates Foundation, and the Lumina Foundation- Managed all speechwriting for the Chancellor of the Board of Regents, including legislative testimony, national speeches, televised events, and press conferences

- Launched major new product, the Virtual Town Hall, for a Washington, D.C. communications firm. The Virtual Town Hall allows political candidates, elected officials, and others with a public interest to reach out to tens or hundreds of thousands of people with a live, interactive conference call at a moment’s notice.- Developed marketing materials including product literature, presentations, and conference materials. Materials were developed for every product, and included technical descriptions and case studies of interactive messaging technologies

- Implemented finance plan targeting large donors and the Ohio business community- Raised approximately $350,000 in 60 days- Managed finance committee and maintained relationships with large donors- Oversaw the opening and setup of joint finance/campaign offices and finance staff- Hired, trained, and managed finance staff

- Developed business intelligence program for one of the largest private insurance brokerages in the U.S.- Initiated new program for prospect development and analysis for property & casualty and risk management lines of business- Developed marketing and strategy for large client account group and client offices in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana- Created and implemented new RFP process for large account practice

- Managed a multi-million dollar credit project coordinating the distribution of $4 million between 160 government customers- Managed the replacement of all State of California calling cards, coordinating multiple vendors, company divisions, over 300 government entities, and 35,000 cardholders- Produced state-by-state revenue analysis and forecasting for Western U.S. Government Markets- Served as liaison between Worldcom executive and legal teams, the State of California Department of General Services, and all California clients for pricing and contract changes