Experience

Director of Communications, Sojourn Church Midtown
March 2022–Present

I drive church-level communications, integrating vision from leaders with other communication priorities into a comprehensive, ongoing plan, across all of our channels (web, email, social media, Sunday services, etc.).

I collaborate with ministry leaders and staff on ministry-level communications: helping them develop and execute communications plans; supporting them with training, best practices, templates, etc.; and developing processes to integrate ministry-level communications into the church-level plan.

I drive creative direction and production of much design, video, photography, and written media across the church.

I steward the brand across all channels and media, ensure that our policies are helpful and are followed, establish and encourage healthy communications systems and processes, and troubleshoot problem areas.

Director of Communications, Sojourn Collective
April 2018 – February 2022
I led a small team to meet communications needs across the six Sojourn churches. I arrived at tumultuous time, right after an overhaul in organizational structure, a rebrand, a new website platform, and the departure of my department’s graphic designer. I had to get up to speed on our new look and our new tech, develop the systems and processes for my role, develop excellent relationships with staff (treating each one as a treasured client), all while producing original work.

My responsibilities fell into four main areas—

Brand & Policy

  • I helped roll out the new Sojourn Collective branding. I served as brand manager for Sojourn, developing identity standards and equipping staff with templates, asset files, training, and other resources, as needs arose.

  • I wrote our brand book, packed with 100+ pages of identity guides, policy, tools and templates, best practices, and helpful reference material.

Graphic Design

  • I directed and designed art for sermon series, church events, campaigns, promotions, and resources.

  • On coordinated global projects, I directed the schedule by creating and managing a global communications calendar.

  • For many other local projects, I took requests from staff ad hoc. After I arrived, I brought my department’s average design project turnaround time for these requests from 6+ weeks to 2.5.

Web & Technology

  • I managed the website, helping staff to complete their projects and providing training and tech support. I became our resident expert on our RockRMS membership database / CMS.

  • I wrote hundreds of pages of documentation to help equip our staff.

  • I created a system of membership database standards, which I trained staff to follow

Video

  • I directed and produced videos for the church, both in-house and with vendors.

I was also involved projects that touched many of these areas at once, like, congregational votes, writing and editing PR statements, multi-church communication campaigns, and more. I also wrote and proofread extensively.

Senior Art Director / Art Director, PracticeLink
July 2015–April 2018
While continuing to perform almost all of the design tasks from my previous role, I also designed and produced PracticeLink Magazine (80+ pages quarterly) and additional marketing collateral (e.g. case studies, infographics, vendor kits). I built and designed spreadsheets for internal, cross-departmental processes and metrics. I managed a production coordinator. I worked with the CIO to design our web properties. I sourced and art directed contract illustrators and contract videographers.

Significant accomplishments

  • I created and implemented a brand identity for the company.

  • I redesigned PracticeLink Magazine.

  • I redesigned PracticeLink’s When to Do What in Your Job Search guidebook.

  • I delivered a presentation, 21 Ways to Apply the Getting Things Done Methodology, at the 2016 annual company meeting.

  • I worked with the CIO to redesign the home page of PracticeLink.com.

  • I improved the efficiency of many processes across the department.

  • For over 9 months, we had no designer to fill my previous role, so I performed all the tasks of both positions.

Graphic Designer & Production Coordinator, PracticeLink
June 2014–July 2015
I designed and produced marketing pieces, including the quarterly PracticeLink inTouch Newsletter, brand identity assets, trade show booths, sales collateral, web graphics, presentations, and swag. I sourced and directed contract photographers for the quarterly magazine. I analyzed our magazine distribution data to build reports for clients. 

Significant accomplishments

  • I improved the appearance and consistency of our art across the board.

  • I redesigned the PracticeLink inTouch Newsletter.

  • I created a logic process for building and filtering our magazine distribution list (100,000+ addresses) from dozens of source lists.

  • I greatly sped up the process of coordinating our magazine advertisers’ art.

  • I overhauled our team’s production calendar and implemented a more deadline-conscious workflow across the department.

Design Consultant, Asbury University, JRN 306
August–November 2013
I helped the students in Asbury’s Print and Digital Magazines class produce a magazine from start to finish. My responsibilities included lecturing on graphic design theory and InDesign paradigms, teaching the students how to construct a grid, offering one-on-one design feedback, directing group critiques, and supervising preflight and print production.

Freelance Designer
August 2008–June 2014

Design Intern, Asbury University, Office of Public Relations
August–December 2008

Web and Graphic Designer, Asbury University, Development Department
May–August 2008

Education

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary · 2016
Master of Divinity

Asbury University · 2009
Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude

Skills

Software
I’m a highly advanced user of Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. I am an advanced user of the Microsoft Office and iWork suites and can build complex spreadsheets and formulas from scratch. I am familiar with Adobe Premiere Pro. I have extensive experience writing GUI automation macros on macOS with Keyboard Maestro. I dabble with HTML and CSS.

Design
I have a wide range of experience with editorial design, identity design and branding, packaging and swag, illustration, print production, and graphic design for web and digital media. I have some photography and videography experience, and I am a skilled video editor.

Other
I am a seasoned editor and proofreader. I love to outline and organize things, and I have been using David Allen’s Getting Things Done productivity methodology for ten years