An experienced writer, editor, and accessibility advocate, committed to inclusive communications strategies to drive social change.
Develop communications plans and strategies to promote AFB and its strategic priorities—oversee the preparation and targeting of press releases, op-eds, position statements, and responses to unsolicited media inquiries, and ensure that staff are prepared for media interviews
Lead content strategy for the organization, oversee master editorial calendar, and guide interactive services for AFB’s web programs—which exceeded nonprofit benchmarks for engagement and traffic growth for the past five years
Oversee the organization’s social media channels and digital advertising campaigns (Google AdWords, Facebook), including integrated cross-channel posting strategy, hashtag and keyword strategy, SEO, and landing page optimization
Supervise work of staff and freelance editors, writers, social media specialist, p.r. manager, programmers, translators, and multimedia producers
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Wrote and edited high volume of blog posts, articles, and newsletters for AFB’s family of websites
Introduced pair writing as a strategy to collaborate more productively with subject matter experts
Collected, tracked, and analyzed digital metrics and conversion goals
Designed, conducted, and analyzed the results of focus groups, usability studies, A/B tests, card-sorting exercises, and accessibility evaluations with a wide variety of users, including participants with sensory disabilities
Advised senior leadership on usability and accessibility standards and the information gathered from iterative user tests on all new projects
Planned, conducted, and published usability research on the groundbreaking Helen Keller Archive, the first fully accessible digital archive
Developed the business case for the creation of an accessible HTML5 multimedia player, and assisted in its development, testing, launch, and adoption by government agencies and schools
Served as project manager and lead information architect for the development and launch of multiple web projects, including AFB’s elearning offerings, online bookstore, braille-themed website for children, a technology news magazine, and the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness
Created style guide and multimedia accessibility policy for AFB’s family of websites
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Edited market research on Latin American companies and country trends for international brokerage firm
Effectively translated complex financial information for a non-expert audience
Designed easily digestible graphs, figures, and reports ranging from short company updates to comprehensive regional surveys
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Managed peer review process of academic books in sociology, criminology, and Asian studies
Served as primary liaison to the Press for over 85 authors, and developed an extensive database of contacts and advisors
Wrote multiple successfully awarded grant applications to support the publication of specialized monographs
Placed letter to the New York Times on AFB's mission to create a world of no limits for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Secured a Google Grants Pro AdWords grant and increased organization's click-through rate from 2.24% to 9.7%.
Produced complex, large-scale, accessible events highlighting diverse voices and perspectives.
Strategic communications
Writing
Editing
Accessibility
UX research
Google AdWords
Google Analytics
Optimizely
Canva
Hootsuite
MailChimp
HTML, CSS
XML, XSLT
B.A. Political Science and English
Graduated 1992
General Studies, October 1990 to June 1991
Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competency (CPACC)
AdWords Search Certification
AdWords Fundamentals
Heat Wave, YA novel in the Road Trip series, Lerner Publishing Group, 2020
The Game, YA novel in The Do-Over series, Lerner Publishing Group, 2019
AFB’s Social Media Accessibility Guidelines, AFB.org, originally published in 2018, updated regularly through 2021
“8 Ways to Be a Disability Rights Ally” AFB.org, 2021
“Celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day by Taking Action” AFB.org, 2020
“Seven Blind Women You Should Know About for Women's History Month“ AFB.org, 2020
“5 Accessibility Actions You Can Take When Moving Your Conference or Classes Online” AFB.org, 2020
“Is Your Campaign Accessible?” AFB.org, 2019
“Case Study: Creating a Fully Accessible Digital Archive of the American Foundation for the Blind’s Helen Keller Collection,” Journal of Digital Media Management Autumn/Fall 2018
"How Does the Department of Justice's Withdrawal of Proposed Regulations Change How the ADA Applies to Websites?" AFB.org, 2018
"Celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2016" AFB.org, 2016
“Facebook Launches Its Own Approach to Making Photos Accessible to Blind Users” AFB.org 2016
“Big News: Twitter Is Adding Alt Text for Images” AFB.org 2016
"Apps Can and Should Be Accessible to All" AFB.org, 2016
"Usability and Accessibility Go Hand in Hand" AFB.org, 2014
"Not the Usual Suspects: How to Recruit Usability Test Participants," SitePoint.com, 2005
"How to Make Your Blog Accessible to Blind Readers," AFB.org, 2005
"Why You Don't Need a Usability Lab," SitePoint.com, 2004
“The Digital Helen Keller Archive Education Project: Teaching a Fully Accessible Online Collection,” Society of Ohio Archivists 2020 Annual Meeting
“The Helen Keller Archive: A Fully Accessible Digital Archive,” NYC Digital Humanities Week 2020
“Pioneering a Gold Standard: An Odyssey to Digitize Helen Keller’s Archive for Sighted, Hearing, Blind, and Deaf Audiences,” Society of American Archivists 2017
“HTML5 Accessible Video Player,” Web For All (W4A) Conference 2016
“Marketing for a Digital World,” AFB Leadership Conference 2012
“An Accessible Approach to Usability Testing,” California State University at Northridge (CSUN) Annual International Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities 2008
"Using Cascading Style Sheets to Give Visitors More Choices," CSUN 2005
"Ensuring the Usability of Your Accessible Web Site," Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Annual Conference 2005
"Practical Solutions for Developing an Accessible and Usable Web Site," ATIA 2004
"Accessible Solutions to Difficult Web Design Problems," CSUN 2004
"Ensuring Accessibility and Usability in a Feature-Rich, Database-Driven Web Site," CSUN 2003