Education

Master of Arts program, Department of Communications, SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY, Springfield, Missouri, during the academic year 1993. Program included course work in media theory, public relations, and other communications-related subjects.

Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, conferred May 1992, INDIANA UNIVERSITY, Bloomington, Indiana. Dean’s List - Spring 1991. 

Work Experience

Communications and Marketing Department, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Ind.
Director of Marketing, February 2020-present

Associate Director, September 2013-January 2020
This position emphasizes excellent communication skills, including the ability to develop stories for a variety of audiences across a number of platforms -- the internet, traditional and social media, video, audio and print. I have worked during my tenure to reshape office interactions so that our efforts are more collaborative and communal. While relying on a foundation of media relations experience, spotlighting story pitches and significant placement in print, television, and digital media, we now use a multimedia approach to aid in student recruitment and alumni involvement, the production of Wabash Magazine, fund-raising appeals, and engagement through social media channels. The position includes regular travel to engage with students, professors and alumni, to collect strong story elements (interviews/photography/video) and advance the College’s goals through storytelling. I am now in my fourth year as host of the College’s weekly podcast -- Wabash on My Mind -- a conversation with the campus community, guest lecturers and interested parties.

Communications Services, Arizona Athletics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.
Associate Communication Services Director, August 2000-July 2013
Assisted the Director of Communication Services in the supervision of the department’s daily activities, which included the supervision of four full-time professional staff and 10 student assistants. Involved in the coordination and implementation of all media relations policies and procedures throughout the athletic department, including copyright protections, social media policies, long-term solutions for video and photographic archival storage and the presentation of on-line content. Managed all media-related activities for the University’s nationally-ranked men’s basketball program, including all coaching staff and student-athlete interviews, press releases, web content and credential distribution. Spearheaded several long-term research projects to make departmental archives more searchable and interactive. Engaged daily with members of the local, regional and national media to foster better working relationships for the University. Served as the associate publisher for the football and men’s basketball game programs and held duties that included press box management and post-game interview supervision at both home and road events. Worked directly with the coverage of the men’s golf program and other sports where needed. Regularly served as a media relations agent at various conference and national championship events, including the 2001 NCAA Final Four. Honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America with multiple awards for both writing and publication design. 

Media Relations Department, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.
Interim Media Relations Director, September 1999-August 2000
Responsible for the day-to-day management of the department. Handled all matters of operation, including budgets and long-term planning, while keeping personnel focused on meeting immediate deadlines. Supervised a staff of two full-time and four temporary or student employees. Worked towards making the department’s website more informative and improving electronic communications with local and national media. Strove to improve the department’s reputation as a service organization both internally and externally, while enhancing the student-athlete experience through increased media exposure. Handled the media relations responsibilities for 10 of the university’s 16 athletic teams, including football and men’s basketball.

Associate Media Relations Director, July 1997-September 1999
Served as the Publications Coordinator and the contact for several of the university’s 16 varsity sports. Responsible for the supervision of staff and management of the department’s day-to-day operations. Worked on a daily basis to improve relationships with local and national media and generated new ideas for the promotion of the school’s varsity athletic teams and student-athletes. Also gained desktop publishing experience with both IBM and Macintosh and website maintenance. Reorganized the department’s bid process to keep printing costs low for more than 40 projects during the academic year.

Sports Information Department, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Fla.
Sports Information Director, August 1995-July 1997
Worked as the primary contact for the University’s athletic teams on a full-time basis and handled the departmental budget. Responsible for all publicity-related material, including press releases, feature stories, game recaps, and contributions to other university-related publications. Served as a press agent at both conference and NCAA championship events. Reorganized the office’s filing system for more effective retrieval of information. Acted as the statistics coordinator for all basketball television broadcasts and font coordinator for baseball telecasts.

Assistant Sports Information Director, June 1993-August 1995
Responsible for the in-house production of media guides, game programs, departmental newsletters, and brochures. Managed publicity efforts for 10 designated sports, while also handling the public address duties for baseball, volleyball, and basketball.

Sports Information Department, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, Mo.
Graduate Assistant, August 1992-June 1993
Served as the contact for several designated sports, production of all media-related information, and supervision of a staff of students. Contributed features regularly to game programs and other school-related publications. Also worked as public address announcer at various events, including the football press box.

Media Relations Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.
Student Assistant, September 1989-May 1992
Media contact for several assigned sports—prepared all media information, including media guides, releases, features, and game stories. Contributed stories to the Varsity Club and Alumni Association newsletters. Desktop publishing experience with Quark Xpress and Adobe Illustrator.

Buffalo Bisons Public Relations Department, Buffalo, N.Y.
Intern, May-August 1991
Responsible for covering the AAA baseball team on a daily basis. Duties included preparing the daily game notes, writing releases and game stories, and compiling and researching statistics. Assisted with photo editing for the game program and team newsletter. Involved with community relations, ranging from guided tours to scheduling player and mascot appearances.

other activities

Official Statistics/Talent Statistics Coordinator, Big Ten Network, November 2014-present
Work with production crew and on-air talent to provide broadcast-usable statistical information for Big Ten Network broadcasts during the men’s and women’s college basketball season.

Freelance Writer, Tucson, Ariz. September 2006-May 2013
Semi-annually submitted primarily sports-based feature stories for publication in Tucson Lifestyle magazine, a member of the Conley Publishing group.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA)