Less than a year into my tenure as Head of Content at Soluna, the creative team I’d built had a reputation for:

• Making beautiful and boldly bespoke creative the digital healthcare industry had never seen
• Grounding every single asset we created — every brush stroke, every word — in data

Not a bad rap, right?

That commitment to ensuring our creative work was not only visually and verbally stunning but also data-driven for impact and conversion landed us two epic opportunities.

First, to take over Soluna’s organic social channels. And second, to lead a Soluna rebrand.

Our reaction?

Let’s go.

True to form, we took big creative risks informed by big data in our rebrand strategy. Here’s how:

• Designed three user research studies in partnership with our UXR team, including a SWOT of the current brand, a competitive analysis, and an exploration of how to amp up appeal to our uber-discriminating Gen Z audience

• Hosted a cross-functional Brand Summit where we applied the findings of our UXR studies to brand psychology strategies and archetype definition

• Developed and tested new creative informed by in-house research, external industry research, and our Brand Summit findings

• Applied our learnings to update color palette, visual style, typography, voice, tone, and archetypes — all tied up in a sparkly new Brand Guide bow.

The result?

A daring and boldly original new brand, making Soluna the first and only digital healthcare provider to go all in on both a mascot and Gen Z’s signature coping mechanism: humor.

I was thrilled to pick up a pen myself (once a copywriter, always a copywriter) to craft copy for the rebrand launch campaign shown here. From billboards to CTV ads to brochure and web copy, I flexed my storytelling muscle to drive consistent brand narratives across channels — and loved every minute of it.

The fact that I got to build a brand with an all-star team, including the meteoric vision and breathtaking visual direction of Sarah Rucci?

That was just icing on the carrot cake.

He’s pink. He’s fuzzy. But fair warning…

The dude is snarky.

Space Bunny was developed as an experiment for the Soluna app, inspired by a well-known phenomenon: that Gen Z uses humor — often edgy, sometimes sardonic — to cope with mental health challenges.

The question was: would irreverent humor work in a Gen Z mental health app...?

To find out, I partnered with the genius video storytelling brain of Brenna Eckerson (formerly of Hello Sunshine and Headspace), to together lead a team of creatives in the development of a three-part video mini-series featuring Space Bun: a socially awkward, totally relatable Gen Zer doing his best to avoid the mental health rabbit holes so many digital natives fall down.

Since every hero needs a sidekick, we brought a voice of wisdom and trustworthy authority to the series with an all-knowing, cosmic narrator. Careful not to overstep, the narrator guides Space Bun through each episodic challenge with Morgan Freeman-esque tenor and tenderness.

The perspective-bending and absurdity of a pink rabbit astronaut navigating the complex and nuanced life of Gen Z in a world far, far away aligned perfectly with one of Soluna’s brand archetypes: the Entertainer. 

Through the lens of Space Bun’s edgy wit, skepticism of anyone over the age of 25, and irresistible relatability, we explored common Gen Z challenges including anxiety, stress, and emotional regulation — all of which were sourced from both internal user research and external studies like Deloitte’s annual Gen Z and Millennial Survey.

So, will Space Bunny become a new Gen Z hero,  á la Duo of Duolingo? Only time will tell.

After a recent design glow-up (hello, orange fur!), early user research shows Space Bun is much beloved by 13-25yos. Soluna app users are also actively searching for the term “bunny,” and the video mini-series has broken into the top ten content pieces out of all 400+ in the app.

Which implies that at least for now, the strategy of less stick, more carrot is working just fine.

Looks like a tree. Sounds like a tree.

But turns out, the Joshua Tree isn’t a tree at all. It's actually a cousin of the agave plant (without that tequila-producing punch).

So what's the Joshua Tree of the creative world? That would be brand. Often oversimplified or mistaken for something it’s not: a logo, a tagline, a name.

Like the Joshua Tree, brand is nuanced. And it can be tricky to define and leverage — especially for a start-up.

That’s why I invited eight Soluna team members on a creative pilgrimage to the California desert for a Brand Summit. For five days, we explored the intricacies of brand and dove deeper into Soluna’s DNA by:

• Auditing Soluna’s brand elements
• Reviewing internal user research and feedback on the Soluna brand
• Exploring external research on Gen Z branding preferences
• Conducting a competitive analysis of other mental health and wellbeing apps
• Ideating on how to refresh the Soluna brand
• Developing tangible takeaways for testing

We left the Mojave with Soluna's brand archetypes, a go-forward brand refresh strategy, and respect, chemistry, and connection that never would’ve bloomed had we not met and invested in each other in person.

The desert is mysterious — full of life, beauty, and its own brand of magic. So are creatives.

Joining a start-up to launch a new mobile app for young people?

Thrilling, for sure.

But the opportunity to fuel the mental healthcare accessibility movement in a role where my professional passions for education, mental health, and content would collide?

Historic and life-changing was more like it.

Undaunted by the fact that I was hired at Kooth US as a team of one with the clock ticking relentlessly toward the app’s beta launch, I got to work:

• Conducted an audit of the app’s proof of concept to analyze, organize, and refresh over 1000 screens of existing in-app content

• Defined and applied brand style guide conventions in an app-wide edit to promote consistency, brand voice, and user safety

• Designed and launched a robust user study in collaboration with the User Research team to inform short- and long-term content strategy

• Developed a data-informed content strategy and calendar phased out for pre-beta, beta, full launch, and post-launch

• Replaced all stock art with new custom, branded illustrations developed by the breathtaking visual storytelling of Caitlin Cadieux under the brand-building creative direction of Brenna Eckerson

• Increased volume of in-app content from 63 to 201 research- and data-informed pieces over the course of three months

• Collaborated with the Product, Design, and Engineering teams to resolve bugs, launch new app features, improve user experience, and optimize the use of Contentful for content management

• Designed a competitor research study, identified the most viable potential content partners, and inked partnership deals with household-name industry leaders in the digital health space to feature syndicated multimedia content in app 

• Authored a (22-page!) contractual summary of content deliverables which I managed from initial payor pitch through final payor approval

• Architected and negotiated a team restructure and budget increase with Finance, HR, and C-Suite leadership, ultimately bolstering my team headcount from three to ten

Oh, and one more thing.

After a months-long debate and countless failed attempts to win our payor’s approval of the app’s name, I suggested we call it Soluna — because the sun (sol) and moon (luna) served as an eloquent metaphor for the app's purpose: to support users in their mental health and wellbeing journeys in times of both light and darkness.

And just like that, Soluna was born.

UX copywriting always matters. Obvs.

But in a mental health app young people might visit when in crisis, getting the messaging and user journey just right can mean saving a life.

[Deep breaths.]

With our young users always on my mind and heart, I take the responsibility and potential impact of UX copywriting for the Soluna app seriously – which is why I personally wrote or edited every UX copy flow in the app prior to launch. Whether a user logged in looking for a laugh or looking for a lifeline, the copy and flows needed to anticipate and accommodate the best- and worst-case scenarios.

[Inhale. Exhale.]

Fortunately, I’m not the only one on my team who obsesses over UX copy to promote safety, brand-building, and a general passion for solving problems with words. None of Soluna’s UX flows would strike such a beautiful balance of form and function without the talent of my team’s two literary legends: Editorial Director Sara Crolick (former COO of studio BE) and Editorial Manager Makeda Brown (published author and advocate of 1M4).

Here’s what a few high-stakes UX copy flows look like in practice, all written to solve business challenges and/or safeguard the app for our users:

• Safety tab resources: Some users in crisis need immediate support. Other users have ongoing niche mental health needs (including disordered eating, substance use, LGBTQ+ challenges, and food or housing insecurity). I worked with the Product and Design teams to revamp the Safety tab so that no matter how urgent or specific their need, users would be able to find support quickly and feel encouraged to ask for help.

• Live coaching: One of Soluna’s standout features, 1:1 FREE live coaching, seems almost too good to be true — and in fact, users didn’t think it was true. That’s why I teamed up with the Design team — to solution a flow that clarified Soluna's no-cost coaching and removed account sign-up obstacles. For bonus points, we customized the UX flow for users under different contracts, developing a variety of eligibility criteria checks to ensure that every user journey made sense within the framework of the primary coaching flow.

• PHQ-4: The Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) is an ultra-brief screener that leverages a four-point Likert scale to identify symptoms of anxiety and depression.  Working closely with the Clinical and Design teams to ensure compliance and safeguarding of this survey, I also infused the tone with warmth to reassure users and avoid diagnosis.

What do you get when you bring ten creative strangers together for the very first time?

Magic.

At least, that’s what happened when I assembled my sparkly new Kooth Content team in Chicago to ideate, explore, and create — just days after they were hired.

In this week-long, in-person workshop designed and led by yours truly, here’s how we went from not knowing each other’s names to knowing each other’s hearts over the course of just six days.

The Culture
By together defining our team’s North Stars and Black Holes, we agreed upon shared values, ways of working, and rules of engagement. The cosmic total of those elements was greater than the sum of its parts, creating a sense of psychological safety which made space for trust, vulnerability, and creative risk-taking.

The Work
Over the course of the week, we explored our 12 unique user demos (through current trends and research), defined 12 weeks of content strategy (with pitches and feedback on 100+ new pieces of app content). But to bring it all to life once we returned to the real world, we developed a creative production workflow that would support the ambitious content goals we were charged with achieving by app launch. Needless to say, by week's end, we were spent.

The Fun
If you can’t play together, you can’t create together. So play we did, by:
• Getting to know each other through day-in-the-life photo collages, morning affirmations, evening gratitude, and personal story sharing (happy tears were shed on Day 1!) 
• Bonding through an inspirational visit to the American Writers Museum and a team giveback event at the Greater Chicago Food Depository (so. many. green. peppers!) 
• Rallying to solve the New York Times crossword every day of the week (although Friday bested us — next time!)
• Relishing in the week’s references to the cinematic masterpiece ET, whose hero story served as a metaphor for our team’s own journey. (Side note: that extra-special extra-terrestrial is now our official team mascot with his own Slack reaction.)

The Takeaways
In the end, we walked away from Writers Room with a human-centric team culture, deeply invested connection, and a robust strategy that would carry us through the rest of beta all the way to launch. None of the challenges we had yet to face would stop us. Because after this week, we had each other.

Like I said. Magic.

Ok. So this page isn't technically showcasing the creative assets you'd expect to see in a typical portfolio.

But for me, the relationships I build are just as critical as the work, itself. Because without trust, connectedness, and vulnerability, there can be no creative chemistry, no novelty, no artistic risk-taking.

How bleak would that world be? [shudder]

We're all humans first. So on my team, empathy and humanity lead the way.

But you don't have to take my word for it.

My generous colleagues and team members speak for themselves...

In 2010, I decided to spend a few years at home soaking up my babies while they were still tiny and squishy and sweet. While freelance work kept my skills sharp (and my mind sane), by 2012 I was itching to take on something bigger. When the tragedy at Sandy Hook turned the world upside down in December of that year, I felt compelled to act, to be a force of positive change in some small way. And instinctively, I knew just what I wanted to do.

Combining my background in education with my experience in marketing, I hatched a simple two-step plan: first, I’d dive right into the deep end of the research pool to learn everything I could about what leads young people to commit acts of violence at school; then, I’d apply what I learned to author a research-based curriculum designed to prevent school violence while also curbing the related pervasive problems of bullying and youth suicide. No big deal, right? Just a stay-at-home mom with one baby on each hip, working to save the world one lesson plan at a time.

And that’s how etiQit was born — a fresh, modern social emotional learning and mental health curriculum that over the past eight years has reached tens of thousands of students in classrooms around the world. I am deeply humbled by the feedback I’ve received from teachers, school counselors, and even parents about how etiQit has changed the lives of the young people they know and love. Pouring my heart into this passion project will undoubtedly be one of the proudest accomplishments of my life for which I will be forever grateful.

CUNA Diamond Award Winner:
Category’s Best Email Series

It’s 2022 and you can finally travel again for the first time post-COVID!

Well…sort of. No one was really sure.

Which is why I designed a Recreational Loan strategy that positioned personal rec vehicles as safe “in your bubble” travel alternatives for consumers who’d been social distancing for nearly two years and were craving away-from-home adventures.

To achieve this objective, I wrote emotive copy that paired a love for the outdoors with three of Connexus’ most popular Recreational Loan products: boats, campers, and RVs. I envisioned custom art inspired by scout merit badges to bring the copy to life with a sense of familiarity and nostalgia — and the devastatingly talented Susan Sanfelippo delivered stunning, retro-style graphics reminiscent of the backpack patches and water bottle stickers sported by outdoor enthusiasts.

In addition to the strategic creative choices above which applied to 15+ print and digital assets, I also employed the following tactics specific to a five-email series:

• A short hero headline per email using language common to outdoor enthusiasts (e.g. Let's get on the water.)

• One bold, nostalgic image per email tied directly to the headline

• CTAs that progressed through the sales funnel from low investment (Explore Recreational Loans in Email 1) to high investment (Apply online in minutes in Email 5)

• A variety of engaging subject lines designed to convey excitement for travel and outdoor adventure:

Email 1: Eager to explore in 2022? Let's do this!
Email 2: RV or camper? You choose!
Email 3: Can you hear the lake calling?
Email 4: Get on the road to memory-making.
Email 5: Less daily grind. More exploring.

The creative for this award-winning campaign wasn’t just beautiful. It got results:
• Over 760,000+ emails sent
• 41% Unique Open Rate
• 22% increase in Click-Through Rate (over previous campaign)

A housing market plagued by low inventory, high demand, and inflated prices was one of many COVID-era economic challenges that left mortgage lenders like Connexus feeling pinched.

My strategy to take on the housing market havoc? Pivot from marketing mortgages to home equity loans and lines of credit.

How?

By encouraging prospective buyers to forgo house-hunting and instead invest in their existing homes to create safe, comfy spaces they don’t want to leave. (And by the CDC’s standards, really shouldn’t.)

While the idea to shift marketing efforts from mortgage loans to home equity was novel, Connexus was on board.

To make it happen, I designed a campaign featuring 15+ print and digital assets, including a six-email series that provided room-by-room inspiration for HELOC-funded upgrades:

Email 1
SUBJECT LINE: Upgrade your home with a HELOC.
PREHEADER Make home the place you want to be with this special offer. Details inside!

Email 2
SUBJECT LINE: Your dream kitchen is just a HELOC away.
PREHEADER Rediscover the joy of cooking at home by creating a chef-worthy space with a HELOC.

Email 3
SUBJECT LINE: Upgrade your home office and save.
PREHEADER: Refresh your work-from-home space by leveraging the equity in your home with a HELOC.

Email 4
SUBJECT LINE: Design a space fit for a superfan.
PREHEADER: Upgrade your basement or backyard into the ultimate game-day destination with a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC).

Email 5
SUBJECT LINE: Last chance to save on a HELOC.
PREHEADER: Don’t miss our offer to cover closing costs on new HELOCs – expiring soon!

Email 6
SUBJECT LINE: Closing cost offer extended – hurry!
PREHEADER: Last chance! Apply for a new HELOC by May 29 and we’ll cover your closing costs. Details inside.

The results? The most successful home equity campaign Connexus had run.

Ever.

Achieving a conversion rate 10% higher than average, the campaign exceeded home equity loan goals by 84% and HELOC goals by 71%. Mission accomplished.

Following the successful launch of an online store for my mental health education company back in 2016, my inbox was flooded with two types of messages:
• heartfelt and overwhelmingly positive reviews about the life-changing impact of my current middle school product line
• passionate requests from educators regarding the critical need for a similar product line specifically for elementary grades

They had me at “life-changing.” I was all in.

So, I dove back into research, analyzing product niches and gaps in the elementary grade market to gauge supply and demand. Once I strategized the right content, I designed a video-based product supported by corresponding lesson plans and printable student activities.

Thanks to my fluency in the Adobe Creative Suite (even the notoriously dubious After Effects!), I was able to independently manage the entire creative process: research, concepting, copywriting, design, production, and launch.

And that’s how Ask Big Questions was born.

See what educators have to say about this best-selling fan favorite.

You’ve probably heard the notion that if you’re not spending advertising dollars on Facebook, you shouldn’t be on Facebook at all.

While there’s definitely some truth to that statement — given that Facebook’s ever-changing algorithm makes gaining visibility in newsfeeds challenging — the potential for organic growth is not completely dead on the platform.

If you’re not going to spend money on Facebook Ads and still want to see growth, then you need to be incredibly strategic.

First, you need to post quality content. Frequently. Daily, if possible.

You also need to be in tune with what types of posts generate the most engagement with your followers as well as what day and time of day they’re most active.

Lastly, you need to find the right content mix. At Connexus, I found the 70/20/10 rule to work well: 70% original content, 20% shared content from related (but not competing) established brands, and 10% promos or offers.

So, after developing, implementing, and tracking Connexus’ new social strategy and writing a year’s worth of high-quality, engaging posts, how did the numbers shake out? Pretty impressive, for year-over-year organic growth:
• 28% increase in post reach
• 23% increase in likes and reactions
• 49% increase in link clicks
• 150% increase in comments
• 26% increase in shares

Next stop: Instagram.

What do you get when you reinvent the concept of the one-room schoolhouse in a modern age of tech-focused, individualized learning? Acton Academy Wausau — where students go on a hero’s journey and drive their own learning in order to find their calling and change the world.

Pretty rad, right?

My background in education made me the perfect fit to help Acton design marketing that resonated with students and parents who were seeking a more innovative and forward-thinking approach to learning.

I was thrilled to work with Acton from the ground up on projects including logo design, a Prezi proposal, presentations for community investors and parents, an informational launch video, an infographic-style sell sheet, and more.

This mini-campaign featuring the partnership between Connexus Credit Union and the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, a semi-professional baseball club, was one of my favorite projects during my time at Connexus. I had just a couple days to create a radio ad, program insert, social post, and digital banner ad designed to run on a ballpark billboard during a Rafters game.

No pressure.

Fortunately, once I sourced a groovy version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” for the billboard ad’s soundtrack, everything else fell in line.

Instead of a typical commercial with a voiceover, I opted to engage fans in a multiple-choice guessing game that spoke directly to the Connexus mission of giveback in the communities it serves, highlighted the funds the organization donated directly to Wisconsin Rapids, and created a brand-building, feel-good sense of community banking with a hometown credit union.

Plus, who doesn’t like a little dose of trivia during the seventh-inning stretch?

Historically, the objective of the Connexus Annual Report had been to celebrate news and achievements that transpired over the course of the year.

But as we all know, 2020 wasn’t a typical year.

In the face of the worst global pandemic the world had ever seen, it felt disingenuous and insensitive to employ a celebratory tone.

The solution? Lead with empathy and transparency.

In doing so, I told a genuine story of 2020 — how in a time of unprecedented crisis, Connexus acted with integrity, prioritized its staff and members, and continued to grow and thrive.

This approach balanced an honest acknowledgment of the hardships of 2020 with the hope gleaned from Connexus’ resilience and commitment to members and core values. The theme, 2020 Vision: Members in Focus, highlighted how in a dark time of uncertainty, focusing on members, their needs, and their financial goals gave Connexus vision, direction, purpose, and ultimately, led to growth and success.

Have you ever spent six hours on the phone with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)?

I have.

While it definitely wasn’t the most fun I’ve ever had, I’ll admit I was pretty psyched to get answers to every single question I had about the new Medicare Part B legislation.

Why?

Because while the conversation was time-consuming and admittedly tedious, the info I gleaned was exactly what I needed to write a comprehensive guide to DMEPOS Accreditation — a resource which ultimately resolved a whole lot of headaches for my client, PIPCo.

And when my clients are happy, so am I.

Side note: some writers boo and hiss at research and swear off technical writing as a total snoozefest. I, on the other hand, have never met a flow chart or annotated table I didn’t like.

In a world where you find a Walgreens on almost every corner, how do independently owned, mom-and-pop pharmacies manage to stay in business?

Easy.

By partnering with PIPCo, a cooperative that fights for the little guys by leveraging their combined buying power and negotiating on their behalf.

While their competitors focused almost exclusively on pricing in their marketing, PIPCo wanted to escape the number-crunching rat race and set themselves apart with a campaign that was less about profits and more about personal attention.

To foster the sense of human connection and small-town Americana PIPCo was looking for, I designed an emotionally-driven ad campaign telling the stories of real customers and what they loved most about PIPCo — benefits that no other buying group offered: personal attention, integrity, transparency, and an appreciation of small business values.

I was thrilled to hear the authenticity of the campaign resonated with customers like nothing PIPCo had done before. But I can’t say I was surprised.

After all, who doesn’t love a story about a giant cow named Elsie?

It turns out that financial investment education isn’t at the top of every millennial’s must-have list — which was a big problem for PTT Research, whose paid education subscription service was designed for the 25 to 40 set.

Solution? Market the subscription as a gift from current customers, mostly boomers, to their millennial family members. Once the youngsters start reaping the benefits of their subscription, they’ll develop an appreciation for financial planning and convert into long-term PTT customers themselves. Hopefully. Because you just never know with millennials…

The folks at Central Wisconsin Window Cleaners do more than just keep the glass in the Northwoods looking shiny — they’re also big supporters of the arts. A Broadway musical junkie myself, I get pretty jazzed whenever CWWC asks me to produce playbill ads to support their local community theatre productions.

With only a half page of real estate and one color at my disposal, I keep it simple. Striking headlines highlight CWWT’s competitive rates while also paying subtle homage to each Broadway show — Stephen Schwartz’s biblical masterpiece, Children of Eden, and Disney’s blockbuster, Frozen.

When an articulate, accomplished woman with a history of public service and a fierce commitment to her community asks you to help her run for office, the answer is always YES. I was so honored to work with Michelle on her logo, direct mail piece, and candidate profile responses for local media. Although she lost the election by a heartbreaking ten votes, there is not a doubt in my mind that extraordinary things are yet to come for her. I can not wait to see how Michelle applies her profound intellect and deeply empathetic worldview to make a beautiful mark on her community and the world at large.

Oh, and just one more thing. Please vote.

Central Wisconsin Children’s Theatre (CWCT) has a mission that is about much more than putting kids on stage. This well-loved community organization empowers young people to build healthy relationships, take positive risks, bolster their self-esteem, and explore their passions through the theatre arts.

In a bold departure from its standard repertoire of Disney musicals and classic children’s shows, CWCT recently decided to produce Be More Chill, a coming-of-age story about teenagers trying to navigate the social-emotional complexities of high school life. While the show provided a unique opportunity to engage adolescent students with themes that are highly relevant to their lives and invaluable learning opportunities to improve their mental health, self-esteem, identity, and relationships, there was just one catch: Be More Chill is full of sensitive and mature content which isn’t typically explored in children’s theatre.

To educate parents, auditionees, and the community at large about how CWCT planned to help participants learn and grow by diving into the complex and compelling themes in Be More Chill, I completed an intensive study of the musical and wrote a comprehensive content guide. I’m exceptionally grateful for the opportunity to work with a forward-thinking organization that advocates for young people by engaging them in conversations and learning opportunities to promote their mental health, emotional growth, and personal safety.

What do you do when a highly-regarded industry survey ranks your company as one of the best in its class? Advertise your awesomeness, naturally.

So when CBIZ Tofias received news that they ranked in the top five percent of their industry across several categories analyzed by an InfoQuest Survey, I was happy to concept some sleek, new trade show collateral touting their unparalleled customer service.