Work Experience

Google Fiber    Austin, TX
Head of Brand, Social and Product Marketing     December 2019 to right now
New cities, new products, new approach

  • Lead brand, product marketing, social media, ad campaign and content development across all channels
  • Manage an in-house team of strategists and creatives as well as external agencies
  • Develop go-to-market strategies for new products, features, and markets
  • Led the relaunch of the brand, new strategy for social media
  • Marketing lead for the launch of 2 Gig, streaming TV, and first new market expansion since 2016 (across cities and in Iowa, Arizona)

Milwaukee Art Museum    Milwaukee, WI
Senior Director, Audience Engagement     July 2017 to December 2019
Making an icon approachable on a shoestring for a midwestern gem

  • Led the marketing, PR, design, visitor services, audience engagement, data analytics, and new audience engagement teams
  • Developed advertising and collateral campaigns for exhibitions, initiatives, and events – including in-house media buying, environmental design, and exhibition education support
  • Spearheaded community inclusion programs, including MAM After Dark, Yoga at the Museum, and alternative art interpretation programs to make a wider variety of people feel represented, included, and welcome at the art museum

Google    Mountain View, CA
Head of Naming and brand management, Brand Studio     July 2014 to June 2017
Trying to make sense of all the pieces, from A to Z (or even X)

  • Led the team managing the day-to-day use of the brand: product and program names, domains, entertainment places, and third-party brand use for Google
  • Supported Alphabetization by developing brands for new independent groups and companies
  • Developed guidelines and processes to make brand reviews easier, faster, smoother

Hewlett-Packard Company    Palo Alto, CA
Manager, Naming and Nomenclature, HP Experience     April 2013 to July 2014
Brand Strategist, Brand Strategy and Design, Global Marketing    April 2011 to April 2012
Brands and challenges don’t get much bigger, even when you split them in two

  • Served as the central leader and contact for naming, nomenclature, and brand licensing worldwide
  • Worked with other strategists and external agencies to provide guidance on brand architecture, branded relationships and the use of the visual brand identity for product and service teams around the world

Alliance for Climate Education    Oakland, CA
Director, Marketing and Communications April 2012 to April 2013
Brand Strategist, Brand Strategy and Design, Global Marketing    April 2011 to April 2012
How do you make climate science, and our CO2-filled atmosphere, a little cooler for high school students?

  • Led the marketing, PR, brand, IT and SalesForce efforts of the organization
  • Served on the executive leadership team
  • Spoke to diverse audiences — from high schoolers to potential high-value funders

Logitech, Inc.    Fremont, CA
Global Director, Naming, Writing and Brand Architecture    April 2010 to April 2011
Senior Manager, Naming and Writing    August 2008 to April 2010
You think selling to a client is hard? Trying selling inside the client

  • Headed up the team that created writing for packaging, the web, PR, documentation, and positioning guidance for more than 100 products annually
  • Created and maintained the company’s brand voice and nomenclature standards
  • Refined and guided the standards around documentation, trademarks, and URLs
  • Served as the day-to-day liaison between Global Marketing and the legal department
  • Lead brand architecture and served as support to the business units on product and portfolio-level positioning
  • Directly managed six full-time employees as well as a supplemental team of contract writers, illustrators, and proofreaders
  • Participated in process improvements, content management strategies, and product innovation workshops

Landor    San Francisco, CA
Senior Manager, Naming and Writing    January 2007 to February 2007, September 2007 to August 2008
Manager, Naming and Writing November 2005 to January 2007
Associate Manager, Naming and Writing October 2003 to October 2005
I’m proud of names like Photoshop Lightroom and Samsung Instinct. But I’m prouder of the strategy behind it all that I can’t show off

  • Naming, writing and nomenclature for new products, companies and anything else you can brand
  • Worked extensively with strategists to articulate brand positionings
  • Dealt with clients, proposals, legal clearance and my own stress level on a daily basis
  • Directly managed one full-time employee, numerous projects and client relationships
  • Naming, writing, nomenclature, brand voice strategy, concept sell-in, brand stories, brand architecture, brand video scripting, advertising copywriting, brand positioning, taglines, pitching new business, new product innovation, leading brainstorming and everything else that wasn’t hands-on design.

Clients included:
Logitech, Microsoft, Hilton, NetApp, Energizer, SanDisk, Barclay’s Global Investors, Wellpoint, Teck Cominco, Starz, J. Jill, WellPoint, Boost Mobile, Microsoft, Frito-Lay, Coors, Medtronic, Motorola, YWCA, FedEx, Adobe, Samsung

Real Branding    San Francisco, CA
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter    February 2007 to August 2007
Taking some time to put all my tech geekiness to good use

  • Created concepts and copy for websites, banner ads and other digital marketing activities
  • Developed and pitched concepts to support new business efforts
  • Occasionally served as creative lead

Clients included:
ABC / SoapNet, Smirnoff Ice, Bass, Beck’s, ESPN.com, Lipton Tea, Red Lobster

Academy of Art University    San Francisco, CA
Instructor, Advertising    Fall 2002 to December 2005
Nothing makes you love your industry like teaching it

  • I’ve taught copywriting to aspiring copywriters at the undergraduate and master’s level
  • I’ve also taught copywriting to aspiring planners and art directors who resent the fact my class was required, only to win them over, too.
  • Other classes included Brand and Branding and creative seminars

Elevator    San Francisco, CA
Copywriter and planner    Freelance
It’s important to moonlight in exchange for the opportunity to do amazing work

  • Wrote ads, brainstormed campaigns and whipped up some pretty tight strategy, if I do say so myself
  • Clients included Lamorinda Rugby recruitment, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Skeleton design studio

Mervyn’s    Hayward, CA
Copywriter, Brand Loyalty Team, Creative, Marketing   November 2002 to October 2003
There’s nothing a big agency can do that can’t be done by a scrappy in-house team, if properly motivated

  • Wrote advertising and collateral, including an award-winning campaign of over 100 outdoor and newspaper ads in two months
  • Led a department restructure to allow creative partnerships, more independence and a more agency-like setting
  • Initiated brand repositioning and created their brand personality “kit”
  • Managed design and ad agencies and got to be the person not laughing on the other side of the conference call for a change

Ad-Lib Creative    San Francisco, CA
Copywriter, Creative Department      September 2000 to September 2002
Who lets a junior copywriter be their brand strategist building over 20 brands from the ground up?

  • Created print advertising and collateral for clients including:
    Argent Hotel, Buildpoint.com, Coastal Ridge, Kendall-Jackson, Wells Fargo, PeopleSoft, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Kimpton Group hotels and restaurants, Sun Microsystems
  • Crafted brand positioning and integrated brand expression for hotels and restaurants throughout the Kimpton line
  • Initiated agency rebranding

Goldberg Moser O’Neill    San Francisco, CA
Junior Production Artist, Art Department    January 1998 to March 1999
Intern, Art Department    October 1997 to December 1997
Sometimes you have to start at the bottom all over again

  • Prepared work for client presentations (physically and electronically)
  • Created mechanicals for production
  • Worked extensively in Quark XPress and Adobe Acrobat
  • Maintained agency font library
  • Logged in over 300 hours cutting Foamcore with only two trips to the emergency room

Wolfram Research Inc. Champaign, IL
Web Programmer, Marketing and Creative Services   August 1996 to August 1997
Back when the only qualifications you needed to be in web marketing was a printout of common VI commands

  • Maintained and updated the Wolfram Research internal and external websites, including the 2000+ page technical FAQs
  • Coordinated projects between programmers and external departments
  • Found out the most productive hours of the day are sometimes those when your boss’s boss is home, asleep

Travis Maguire & Associates    Champaign, IL
Art Director & Webmaster, Creative Department    October 1995 to February 1997
What’s the best way to break into advertising? Work in advertising

  • Created advertising and marketing pieces for potential clients
  • Pitched potential clients
  • Created and maintained the agency web site
  • Learned that you’re only as good as your clients are happy
  • Wrote and illustrated a promotional coloring book for a local restaurant chain to convince drunk college students they wanted ice cream

Publication Services & Associates    Champaign, IL
Digital Artist, Art & Digital Camera Departments
Assistant, Editing Department    
May 1996 to August 1996
Who knew that all that time goofing with computers could be a job?

  • Scanning, cleaning, retouching, and labeling art for print and CD ROM use
  • Used Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Colorize! extensively
  • Corrections checked manuscripts & negatives
  • Created bluelines using a really scary looking machine
  • Sat through an OSHA training video

U of I Student Union Billards Hall    Champaign, IL
Ball & Chalk Hander Outer Chick    September 1995 to May 1996
My favorite job I’ve ever had. Even if I had chalk dust up the nose every night

  • Cleaned billards, snooker and tournament-sized pool tables nightly
  • Listened to James Brown’s “Sex Machine” and New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” over a hundred times each, thanks to a jukebox that hadn’t been restocked since 1989
  • Learned how to spot a pool shark and make ’em get me sodas in exchange for pointing out the kid who paid with a twenty every night

Upward Bound Program – Marquette University    Milwaukee, WI
English & Philosophy Tutor   January to May 1995
One of the many jobs I’ve done that I would have happily done for free (if I could have afforded it)

  • Assisted disadvantaged and minority high school and college students in American Literature and The History of Western Philosophy
  • Taught high school students study skills
  • Accidentally allowed basketball players to copy off me, so they could stare at themselves in Sports Illustrated instead of taking notes

Students Enhancing Education    Milwaukee, WI
Volunteer Teaching Assistant   September to December 1994
Loved every minute of it, even the getting kicked in the shins part

  • Assisted in wrangling 99 fourth and fifth grade students in a team teaching environment
  • Helped teachers in smaller class groups during social studies and music
  • Favored the dorky kids, although I was liked by even the milk-money stealing hooligans

Scissorwerks    Villa Park, IL
Assistant Seamstress    Winter and Summer breaks 1994 & 1995
It’s amazing what some people will pay for a pillow

  • Sewed, cut, and assisted in the manufacture of draperies, pillows, and other soft goods
  • Assisted in the installation of draperies
  • Learned the true meaning of an eye for detail with hand stitching

Advance Controls Inc. / Power Products    Glen Ellyn, IL
Receptionist   May 1993 to August 1993
My voice still goes up a cheery octave when I answer the phone

  • Learned to block telemarketers that pronounce the company owner’s name wrong
  • Learned that a small company can handle big business if run well
  • Took a pair of elderly schnauzers on their daily walk

Cineplex Odeon     Oakbrook, IL
Candy girl
Everyone says, “You too!” when the movie theater attendant says, “Enjoy the show”

  • Sold candy, soda, popcorn and “butter-flavored topping”
  • Tore tickets
  • Sat through the same 12 minutes of HOOK at least eight times

Independent babysitter     Villa Park, IL and surrounding area
Child watcher and live-in nanny (summers)
A human’s bite is more prone to infection if you’re bitten by a mouth full of Goldfish crackers

  • Supervised the care, feeding and bedtimes of children between the ages of 2 and 15
  • Performed minor chores such as school pick up and drop off, grocery shopping, light cleaning, and parent date night planning
  • Spun approximately 25 children in circles by their arms and legs without a single injury