IN BRIEF...
· Leadership in digital media, strategy and content operations.
· Award-winning communication and story-telling innovation.
· Collaboration and leadership in established and developing organizations.
I've worked with some of the world's biggest media, digital and news brands to develop content, programming, digital products and strategies. Whether with Hearst Magazines, AOL, Univision, the National Hockey League, as well as in my work as DDB’s content strategist for State Farm, Johnson & Johnson and others, I’ve delivered content and digital media that resulted in dramatic growth and creative success.
I’ve led successful transformation of organizations and their digital portfolios to create best-in-class experiences, including the full range of digital and traditional media, including social, mobile, e-mail marketing and more.
For several companies, I also developed creator’s guides to establish consistency in voice, editorial standards, brand style and content value, as well as leading training and development for teams located around the world.
RESUME & EXPERIENCE
May 2017 - CURRENT
Digital Product & Content Strategy
American Medical Association / Chicago, ILL
Leading digital media team in development of new site and content strategies focused on building member engagement and membership growth for the nation’s largest and most influential medical industry organization.
April 2015 To May 2017
Director of Brand Content
DDB NY / New York, NY
Responsible for agency’s brand content strategies, focusing on identifying, acquiring and developing content and creating digital experiences based on collaboration of a cross-functional team including writers, editors, account specialists, UX and creative teams. Focusing primarily on content strategy and content portfolio development for State Farm as well as creating for content strategy and advising on accounts in pharma, beauty and other categories.
March 2012 To September 2014
Digital Product and Content Strategy / New York, NY
Univision.com / Product Strategy and Programming Development
Long-term consultant role focused on development of digital concepts and products to drive performance, engagement and revenue growth for desktop, mobile and social platforms.
NewYork.com / Product Strategy, Content and Organization
As a fulltime consultant to Entertainment Benefits Group, role focused on development of product strategy, planning and operations for launch of an entertainment and travel e-commerce site.
September 2009 To March 2012
Vice President / Programming & Product Strategy
Hearst Digital Media / New York, NY
Leadership responsibility for digital content, media development and product strategy for more than 20 magazine-branded sites and other digital properties. Branded sites included Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Popular Mechanics, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping and Seventeen. Digital properties included food, beauty and teen verticals.
Primary responsibilities spanned content, programming, site design and development, redesigns and product planning. Scope included network programming and concept development, photo, video and IA/UI/UX. Other responsibilities included social and SEO programming, e-commerce integration, forecasting, syndication support, RFP response and revenue program delivery.
Tenure achieved extraordinary growth in audience and revenue, swinging from large operating losses to significant profitability in less than 18 months.
January 2009 To August 2009
Editor-in-Chief
Travelzoo.com / New York, NY
Fulltime position following consulting engagement included responsibility for programming, publishing, content strategy and product for the world’s top provider of travel deals. Developed programming standards and led training for national content, production and sales teams.
January 2008 To January 2009
Digital Media Consulting/ New York, NY
Digital media consulting engagements focused on Web content, programming and product strategies, operations, network optimization and organizational development. Clients included:
· NHL.com: Redesign content plan and editorial standards for the NHL and team sites
· Daily Candy: Programming and content development
· CBS Radio: Digital programming plan and sales playbook
· Hearst Digital Media: Content and programming team development
· Autobytel: Programming playbook, style guide and organizational development
June 2000 To October 2007 / AOL, Inc. / New York, NY and Dulles, VA
September 2003 To October 2007
Vice President / Executive Editor / Network Programming
Responsible for network and homepage programming and editorial operations of AOL, including daily content planning for AOL.com and AOL Welcome Screen during a period of rapid business evolution and demand for audience growth and engagement. Responsibilities included programming development, scheduling, creative direction and editorial operations. Managed coverage of major events and breaking news. Created systems and programs to ensure audience and inventory growth to meet advertising, transactional and strategic objectives. Central role in development, content and programming of major original programs and projects.
June 2000 – September 2003 Executive Director / AOL City Guide - Digital City
Responsibilities included operations for local content and products of AOL, Netscape, MapQuest and CompuServe. Expanded national coverage utilizing a network of nine U.S. offices to cover entertainment, shopping and visitor guides for more than 200 cities. Team included full time and contract staff of 70 and freelance staff of 400+, with an annual budget of nearly $15 million.
January 1997 To May 2000
National Managing Editor / Senior Director
Knight Ridder New Media- RealCities.com / San Jose, Calif.
Responsibilities included management of content and product development, contract negotiations, third-party content implementation and daily operations for the nation’s largest network of newspaper Web sites. Sites included the Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald, San Jose Mercury News and 27 other newspapers. Curated and led digital media fellowship program for more than 80 senior executives.
1978 To 1997 / The Dallas Morning News / Dallas, Texas
1996 to 1997 | Assistant Managing Editor - Development
Created and launched one of the first US newspaper websites to be updated daily. Established site structure, operations, newsroom integration and production.
1990 to 1996 | Assistant Managing Editor - Lifestyles
Managed award-winning lifestyles sections, including entertainment beats, including art, music, architecture, movies and books, as well as fashion, food and the Sunday magazine. Highlights include creation of daily live arts reviews section. Developed coverage on families, women and expanded coverage of film and video.
1978 to 1990 | Editorial Positions: Lifestyle Editor / Fashion Editor / Sunday Editor
Responsibilities included Sunday Editor responsible for Page One and Sunday editions, fashion and features editor and various editorial leadership roles, as well as new section development.
EDUCATION
Master’s Journalism Program, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.
B.A. Zoology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.
AWARDS / HONORS
Numerous sites and projects during my tenure at Hearst Digital Media were honored in a variety of categories with MIN Editorial & Design Awards, OMMA Awards and Webby Awards.
Digital City / AOL City Guide was rated the Web’s best by PC Magazine and Yahoo Internet Life.
At The Dallas Morning News, the fashion writers, graphic designers, photographers and sections were the most honored in the nation in this category, winning more than 20 awards in the top fashion journalism competition. More than a dozen awards were presented to sections and writers in Dallas Press Club competition. Several projects were honored as Society of Newspaper Designers winners and Pulitzer Prize finalists and winners.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES/ADDITIONAL TRAINING
2012: TEDActive, Palm Springs, Calif.
2012: OPA Summit, Miami, Fla.
2011: Digital Publishing Summit, Fort Myers, Fla.: Keynote Speaker “The Adaptive Future”.
2011: Web 2.0 Summit, San Francisco, Calif.
2011: Digital Publishing Summit, Park City, Utah: Panelist on media trends.
2010: Web 2.0 Summit, San Francisco, Calif.
2009: Magazine Innovation Summit, New York, N.Y.
2005 – 2008: TED Conference, Monterey Calif.
2006: Panelist at Promax, New York: “Every Pixel Tells a Story”
1991 to 1999: New Media chairman/regional director, American Assoc. of Sunday & Feature Editors.
1995 - 1996: New Directions for News/Electronic Communities and New Directions for News/News and Content for 2010
ACTIVITIES, INTERESTS & OCCASIONAL PURSUITS
Cycling, Golf, Cooking, Wine, Painting