As the brand editor of Campaign US, I covered advertising from a marketer's perspective, writing daily articles that focus on everything from an interview with a Fortune 500 company CMO to an in-depth feature on an industry trend.
Campaign US is the American arm of Campaign, a global advertising trade journal that began in the United Kingdom more than 50 years ago. We have six offices around the world, one of the newest being the US edition, which launched in 2014.
In 2017, I broke news that FOX rejected 84 Lumber's initial Super Bowl script because it was deemed "too political," which was later reported by publications like The Wall Street Journal and Advertising Age.
Since then, I have earned recognition from public figures such as Cindy Gallop, HP CMO Antonio Lucio and more.
Read my interview with Cadillac's director of brand marketing here.
Following Toy Fair 2017 and American Girl Doll's announcement of its first male doll Logan, I investigated how marketers have played a role in boys' toy preferences. Click here to read it.
Click here to read my trend piece on CMOs' new responsibilities.
Click here to read my breaking news story about Kind Bar's potentially controversial campaign.
While companies tout diversity among their ranks, the CMO position remains largely filled by white, straight males. Click here to read my analysis.
Click here to learn how your brand can form a community of fans.
In 2016, I interviewed Jane the Virgin actor Justin Baldoni who is surprisingly an entrepreneur first, thespian second.
Jane the Virgin costar Justin Baldoni on what it takes to juggle an impressive array of social-good and business ventures. Click here to read my profile.
From 2013-2014, I co-founded and developed the first contributor network (called The Community) at Entertainment Weekly using Lean methodology.
During this time, I managed 50 writers, two assistant editors and two copy editors and ensured quality in TV recaps, cast interviews and content exclusives. The Community became a training ground where we experimented with various types of content (podcasts, radio, video, etc.), attracting 1 million-plus monthly unique visitors to EW.com.
I also found time to interview television producer Bryan Fuller, write a few posts on my favorite show Parenthood and appear on camera as part of an original video series.
I left with strong relationships with basic and cable network publicists who collaborated with me for social sharing for maximum exposure and traffic referrals.
Click here to read my recap of Parenthood episode no. 19, "Fraud Alert."
Click here to read my blog post about Jason Sudeikis's commercial for NBC Sports.
Snapshot of our homepage from September 30, 2014, our highest trafficked day.
In 2015, Cambio hired me to take its contributor network, Col[lab], to the next level. In 10 months, I single-handedly grew the community from a handful of volunteer bloggers to over 1,000 writers hailing from every continent except for Antarctica.
I did this by creating a proven incentive initiative and launching a Campus Ambassador program in eight tri-state universities, hosting college events and a speaking engagement with “Pretty Little Liars” actress Shay Mitchell.
I also built out a conversation tool to increase traffic in collaboration with Girls Who Code.
By the end of my tenure, we reached 1 million page views and partnered with organizations such as Girls Write Now and created social exchanges with brands like Hello Giggles, Allure and Refinery 29.
In addition to managing Col[lab], I also formed beauty, fashion and tech verticals for the entertainment-centric website that rebranded with a #BUILTBYGIRLS (feminist) message, accumulating 9.8 million page views. With my eight paid writers, we proved that millennial women care about more than just celebrity gossip but also how to perfect winged eyeliner, rock the athleisure trend at work and celebrate their fellow ladies in STEM fields.
To round out my year at Cambio, I launched an original video series “Cambio Muses,” that featured advice from female scientists, fashionistas and beauty vloggers. By December 2015, it averaged 200,000 monthly streams.
At Col[lab], we played by three simple rules: 1) Build each other up. 2) No bullying and 3) Adapt. Click here to gain a better understanding of how I ran this online community.
As I mentioned, Cambio attracted girls from all over the world to share their #BUILTBYGIRLS message. One of them was based in Syria, and I asked her if she would share what it's like to live through a civil war. Click here to hear what she had to say.
Scientist Jayde Lovell and her producer Bec Gill produced high quality videos for Cambio that reminded me of a cooler version of Bill Nye the Science Guy. "WTF? The Cactus Emoji Means What?!" was our most popular Muse video, garnering millions of page views in a matter of weeks. Click here to watch it.
We began our initial class of fall 2015 Campus Ambassadors with nine wonderfully smart women from eight tri-state universities. Click here to learn more about them and the program.
I managed four beauty freelancers and grew this new vertical to end the year with 4 million page views and 2.5 million unique visitors. Click here to read our most popular beauty post about Kylie Jenner's hair.
I managed four fashion freelancers and grew this new vertical to end the year with 6 million page views. Click here to read our most popular post about the crossover between Instagram's "Free the Nipple" trend to New York Fashion Week.
I managed two tech freelancers and grew this new vertical to end the year with 1 million page views. Click here to read one of our most popular post about the one time you actually want to see naked selfies on Instagram.
In August 2016, Jane the Virgin actor Justin Baldoni took the popular YouTube docuseries My Last Days to network television and launched the philanthropic-minded channel CWGOOD. I spoke with Justin along with cast members Claire Wineland and Jessica Oldwyn about their experiences.
Before Caitlyn Jenner bravely told her story, I told the stories of these 12 trans Americans. I am so proud that Refinery 29 let me give them a platform to change public opinion.
In early 2015, I told the stories of 12 trans Americans. This was also the time that Bruce Jenner announced he was MTF, Amazon's Transparent took home two Golden Globes, and sadly, when Leelah Alcorn committed suicide. Click here to view the article.
My first job post-college was at Esquire magazine, and to this day, it remains one of my most memorable professional experiences.
As part of a two-person team, I helped relaunch Esquire.com transforming it into one of the top men’s magazine websites.
I occasionally wrote full-page magazine articles; the one I'm most proud of is an evaluation of the 2008 presidential candidates based on their biographies.
In between, I managed our entire office and made sure writers like Stephen King and A.J. Jacobs were paid.
An abbreviated guide to six not-so-abbreviated political manifestos
The Rush Hour 3 star spins the tale of a man who can't remember how he knows a woman he meets in the grocery store.
The Entourage star makes us laugh with some medical humor.
Mohammed Aziz tells me how he lived through Saddam Hussein's 1988 napalm bombing.
Click here to read my interview with the Iraqi president's son.
As one of the few female staffers at Esquire, I told the gents what women really want for Christmas.
At Google Offers, I spearheaded the company's foray into the world of online couponing, penning 30 daily deals per week representing 45 US markets.
After researching and writing daily deals on subjects ranging from laser hair removal to vacation destinations, I can pretty much tackle any ecommerce topic.
I added local flavor and insight to Texas- and New York-centered sales, earning a reputation as the go-to writer for those cities and last-minute deadlines.
Right out of college, I freelanced for MTV.com.
I reported from the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards red carpet, but instead of interviewing celebrities, I talked with fans hoping to see their favorite stars.
I pitched every piece I wrote, including fashion trend stories, celebrity profiles and human interest features.
Click here to read my woman-on-the-street reporting from MTV's Video Music Awards.
Click here to read my profile on Crash and Syriana actress Bahar Soomekh.
Click here to read MTV's list of best high school pranks from 2006.
After Esquire, I became the associate editor of Gotham magazine and was responsible for the shelter section "Estate of Mind."
I managed a team of freelance journalists who wrote about luxury interior design, architecture and real estate.
I also contributed to other parts of the magazine, interviewing celebrities like Alexis Stewart and Rashida Jones, and editing now Real Housewives of New York star Kelly Killoren Bensimon's fashion column. (She had yet to appear on the show in 2008.)
Under my leadership, the three-page, middle-of-the-book section grew to 10 pages and expanded to cover architecture, interior design and neighborhood gossip.
Explore the world without ever leaving New York City.
During and in between full-time gigs, I freelanced for Time Out New York magazine.
I applied my interior design knowledge from Gotham to pitch "House Call" features and dished DIY home decor advice.
Read my shelter feature on Philip Roche's gorgeous LIC abode.
At Niche Media, I divided my time between two publications: the monthly Gotham and the weekly Hamptons magazines.
At Hamptons, I remained responsible for shelter topics and managed a team of freelance writers.
I also contributed to the front-of-book section "Picks of the Week," working with publicists to showcase high-end products.
Occasionally, I penned the "Imbibe" column, offering my opinion on top-shelf alcohol.
At MSN Video, I led the morning shift (6 a.m. - 2 p.m.) with complete editorial independence to create and update Bing video showcases with viral and partner content, garnering 300 million monthly streams.
In partnership with Delish.com, I was a member of the team that launched and edited “Taste of Place,” an original Web series centered on cooking that was recognized by the James Beard Awards.
In 2010, I spearheaded MSN Video’s social media campaign, increasing the Facebook following by 10,000 fans in just six weeks.
In this farm-to-table segment, Chef Link makes fresh pizza with andouille sausage.
Chef Link tosses a line to the Louisiana seafood industry and feasts on crab with his friends.
At CouponAlert, I taught readers how to live on a budget through interviews with extreme couponers, money-saving recipes and more.
I developed the start-up’s social media strategy using only organic methods. After seven months, I singlehandedly attracted followers on Twitter (1,800+), Facebook (1,000+) and Pinterest (500+).
I also launched and maintained a weekly newsletter, boasting a click-through rate of greater than 50 percent and 20,200+ subscribers.
Interview with Pittsburgh Steeler Baron Batch
Service piece on streaming video options for budget-minded consumers
Tonic was a website before its time. Similar to Upworthy or UPROXX, we reported positive news. If other outlets' mottos were "If it bleeds, it leads," ours was "If we grin, it wins."
I began my time there as an associate editor in charge of a team of freelance writers and an editorial assistant.
I was soon promoted to a senior editor when I invented a potential section centered on aggregated content to maximize reader traffic.
My biggest accomplishment at Tonic was penning the site's most popular story about actor Butch Patrick’s marriage to a former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader, generating more than 100,000 clicks in one day and driving more than 1 million unique visitors for July 2010.
Tonic also gave me the opportunity to interview celebrities like Lauren Bacall, Dave Barry, Mena Suvari, Tiki Barber and others to discuss their charitable involvements and philanthropies.
Profile on radio host Trey Morgan who had quite a philanthropic month
The writer talks about the charity We Give Books
There's a giant cube in Bryant Park, and people are lining up for a chance to see what, or who, is inside