Marketing
24 years as a digital marketing professional
I scored my first job as an editorial director ("managing editor" when I'm talking to a journalist) at a 1997 dot-com called the Cambridge Information Network, an early social network for chief information officers. I was living the dot-com dream for a while, with a fridge stocked with Snapple (until the dreaded day when it wasn't). Back then I had high hopes for becoming another 20-something Silicon Valley millionaire (spoiler alert, there will be no retiring early).
Since then I've lived and learned at large corporations (Blue Shield of California) and other hopeful startups (TechTV and Revbox.com, hard to find traces of them now).
From 2016 to 2018 I was the Director of Marketing and Communications at Peaxy, a seven-year-old company making
inroads in the data access market (focusing on the Industrial Internet and other companies with very large unstructured data sets that require advanced analytics). I helped direct two relaunches for the Web site and worked with a great team of designers and other committed people there.
I've been fortunate enough to work with some talented directors and producers as I moved into the film industry and got a degree in Video Production at Berkeley City College. I worked with Jed Riffe at Jed Riffe Films, a documentary post-production shop in the venerable (but now closed) Fantasy Film Studios. I helped Jed promote several documentaries that have already won wide acclaim, including The Long Shadow and One Voice. My latest media project, Lumberjills, is the first TV series to tell the stories of the women of U.S. timber sports. Plan to see it on a sports network or outdoor channel soon!
In 2020 I went to work for "Big Gov" (the U.S. Census 2020), fulfilling a decennial constitutional mission I consider essential for a working democracy. As a media spokesperson during a 24-7 crisis communications period (think pandemic pandemonium), it was a challenging and memorable ride.
Today I'm having fun pitching business and tech journalists stories focused on clients of Firebrand Communications, a PR firm that works with innovative startups. I joined Firebrand in 2021 as an Account Supervisor charged with content creation, messaging strategy and media relations. Firebrand is stocked with creative, talented people and it's a privilege to work with them.