Terra Chen Email & Phone Number

Seattle, Wa, Us

Lead and oversee the Communications Team (i.e., Assistant Director of Communication & Communications Specialist), focused on brand management, media relations, content development & strategy, and digital/social media management. Work collaboratively across departments, including Policy/Advocacy, Practice Innovations, Research & Evaluation, Fundraising, and with external partners to strategically deploy communications. Provide guidance and support to the Communications Team and the broader organization on messaging, talking points, and branding. Develop and implement crisis communication plans to effectively manage and mitigate potential reputational risks. Establish and manage communications budget, vendors, and workflow. Key successes include:- Led a communications campaign to raise awareness about the crisis of student homelessness in Washington State and the need for continued investment in successful statewide programs that support students and families experiencing homelessness. The campaign centered on the release of new, in-depth data analysis by Building Changes that offered insights into trends, characteristics, and academic outcomes of students experiencing homelessness in Washington’s K-12 public schools. - Managed the launch of an online "menu of strategies" toolkit, a working collection of recommendations for schools, districts, and community partners to better support students and families experiencing homelessness in Washington. Topics include Basic Needs; Family Outreach and Communication; Doubled-up Guidance; Staffing; Training; Housing Partnerships; Cross-Systems Collaboration; Social-Emotional Learning; Discipline; and Out of School Time. Recommendations are based on insights from Building Changes' analysis of surveys and interviews with school staff, district staff, students/families with lived experience of homelessness, and student data from Washington’s public schools.

Seattle, Wa

Led communications and developed strategies and messaging to advance Building Changes’ mission and goals. Oversaw strategic communications planning, brand management, media relations, content strategy, and digital and social media management. Collaborated with programmatic and fundraising teams to integrate communication efforts, support departmental priorities, and produce high-quality deliverables. Managed communications budget, staff, vendors, and workflow. Defined and documented the role and goals of Strategic Communications and alignment with the organization’s mission and strategic goals. Key successes include:- Served as Lead for a year-long project in the development and design of a new website for the organization. The Project included researching vendors and managing the contract with the chosen firm. Collaborated closely with the web developers and designers, wrote copy, led positioning and messaging initiatives, and conducted wireframes review with internal and external stakeholders. (June 2020 to June 2021, overlapping with previously held position) - Coordinated the publication and dissemination of a Brief Series sharing lessons learned from the ten-year Family Homelessness Initiative (FHI) and supported a national FHI convening. FHI was a partnership between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Building Changes to incentivize government and service providers in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties to enact new strategies that improve systems serving families experiencing homelessness. Throughout the initiative, Building Changes awarded 178 individual grants totaling $29.6M.

Developed and implemented communication and content strategies in support of Building Changes’ mission, goals, and values. Collaborated across departments to produce high-quality collateral and learning products, working to ensure consistent messaging and branding and timely distribution through appropriate channels. Managed social media and wrote, edited, and produced email newsletters and campaigns. Managed websites: created and posted content, planned new features, monitored, and reported on usage/analytics, and troubleshooted issues. Provided creative direction and served as primary liaison to key vendors for graphic design, web development, printing, photography, and videography. Key successes include: - Developed and executed communication strategies to support the Washington State Student and Youth Homelessness COVID-19 Response Fund, through which Building Changes awarded $4.1M in grants to 199 organizations, schools, school districts, and tribes serving 25 counties across the state.- Key Team Lead in a nine-month project resulting in the successful conversion from a custom-built instance of Salesforce to Salesforce NPSP, ensuring that communications-related processes and functions were optimized.- Led an eight-month project to update Building Changes’ image library, which involved working with a professional photographer, gathering input from staff across departments to identify a shot “wish list”, reaching out to partner organizations to find participants, and coordinating compensation for photo subjects.

Managed communications, including all digital and print assets, for Building Changes and its Schoolhouse Washington project. Collaborated across departments to produce high-quality collateral and learning products, working to ensure consistent messaging and branding and timely distribution through appropriate channels. Coordinated social media and produced email newsletters and campaigns. Managed websites: created and posted content, planned new features, monitored, and reported on usage/analytics, and troubleshot issues. Provided creative direction and served as primary liaison to key vendors for graphic design, web development, printing, photography, and videography. Key successes include: - Coordinated launch of rebranded and expanded Schoolhouse Washington website and related digital assets. - Wrote, edited, and produced eNewsletter for more than 4,000 subscribers.

Supported optimization of digital and print communications to support priorities and goals across departments, including Policy, Programs, Measurement & Evaluation, Fundraising, and Executive. Coordinated development, production, and distribution of learning products and communications materials and assets, including print, eNewsletters, and new website. Managed and maintained the organization’s website, creating and posting content, monitoring usage/analytics, & troubleshooting. Acted as liaison with graphic designers, web developers, mail house, and printers. Key successes include:- Troubleshooted organization-wide implementation of Salesforce as its primary CRM and trained staff on usage (2011).

Seattle, Wa

Developed and maintained an internal Resource Library that supported AIDS Housing of Washington’s federally funded National Technical Assistance Program. Oversaw development and maintenance of the organization’s website. Developed and managed numerous customized databases related to national contacts, activities, resources, and evaluation efforts. Supervised Resource Assistant, Information Systems Assistant, and Receptionist/Office Assistant. Acted as liaison to web and database consultants and oversaw computer/systems administration. Edited and produced lengthy, complex planning documents. Key successes include:- Planned and oversaw implementation of major enhancements to website, resulting in expanded capacity for dynamic content and communication, improved navigation/usability, and a 50% increase in visits to the site.- Created and managed Resource Library with more than 1,700 holdings, facilitating access across the Nation.- Coordinated registration logistics and production of curriculum materials for 12 regional federal grantee trainings.

Seattle, Wa

Coordinated development and launch AIDS Housing of Washington’s first dynamic website. Created and maintained internal Resource Library. Provided project management and high-level program support to the organization’s growing National Technical Assistance Program in research, writing, copyediting, fact-checking, document formatting, and materials production. Provided front-line response to requests for technical assistance, information, and resources. Helped organize and convene national conferences and meetings. Promoted from Administrative Assistant (Apr 1993 to Jul 1997).