DIGITAL

OUTDOORS.ORG | 2015–19

SEO STRATEGY
When I arrived, AMC didn’t have an SEO strategy. After implementing a set of best practices, our front-page Google search returns included “Leave No Trace for fat bikes,” “bike camping,” “quiet water paddling,” and “stargazing new England.”

48 HOURS PROJECT
When free tools like the Knight Lab’s Timeline exist, we couldn’t not use them. It was a beast of a project, and I’d do a number of things differently now, but I’m proud of what we accomplished in this all-stakeholder effort. (Also in print.)

HOMEGROWN.ORG | 2012–15

FACEBOOK
Despite the social network doing its darnedest to squash organic reach, HOMEGROWN.org hit 50,000 followers in 2014, a major milestone and a tenfold increase under my tenure.

E-NEWSLETTER
Even with the advent of Google’s sorted inbox, HOMEGROWN.org’s e-newsletter maintained an open rate nearly 2% higher than the industry average.

csacookoff NEW CONTENT MODELS
I loved thinking about new ways to support family farmers through fresh content, including the 101 series, which ranged from my own kitchen experiments (stone soup, tamales, soft pretzels, harissa, mole poblano, horchata, bitters, mulled wine) to step-by-step plans for building social infrastructure, contributed by passionate members (how to host a food swap, how to start a food-recovery program).

My themed Spotify playlists (e.g. soundtrack for cooking Thanksgiving dinner) led to an invitation for a local guest DJ spot.

And then there was our book club. As a college lecturer, I couldn’t always get my students to do their reading. But Homegrown members read a 480-page book and met online weekly to discuss it. Pretty cool.

CHICAGO MAGAZINE | 2007–12

E-NEWSLETTER
Chicago Guide, the award-winning weekly newsletter I conceived and produced, featured Q&As with the likes of Peter Sagal and Sarah Vowell.

EXCLUSIVE AUDIO
I scored permission to share an exclusive preview of a Chicago band‘s new album.

CHICAGO BEER WEEK
I had fun getting creative with digital exclusives tied to my CRMA-nominated beer package.

VIDEO
Each year we produced videos for Chicago‘s singles issue—the magazine’s largest annual traffic generator.