My Experience
My professional experience crosses three sectors - non-profit, private, and public - and spans a variety of purposes. Though the context may change, I consistently apply my strengths in communication and connection-making to inform and engage, wherever I am.
Lexington Area Metropolitan
Planning Organization
2021 - now
​My role:
Advise the director on how best to include the public in the MPO's transportation planning process. Whenever possible I advocate for asset-based framing, cumulative tactical interventions, and approachable communication.
Major contributions:
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Maintain the MPO's public email inbox responding to concerns, questions, and requests from the community
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Manage the MPO's social media through a partnership with the city of Lexington's Public Information team
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Use Adobe Indesign and Illustrator to create some of the MPO's key products (e.g., 25-year long range Transportation Plan)
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Manage the MPO's website, create and compile content
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Manage contract for multi-use trail feasibility study, Campus to Commons
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Represent the MPO on Trust for Public Lands "Park Equity Accelerator" Lexington project team
Hands-on activity encouraging reflection and interaction at Lexington's annual Streetfest event. Using the Place It model helps spark creativity!
Brandstetter Carroll, Inc.
2020 - 2021
​My role:
Collaborate to craft long-range improvement plans for municipal Parks and Recreation departments. Thriving communities sustain vibrant public services. Working for departments across Ohio, Kentucky, and South Carolina helped me better understand the interplay between built facilities and meaningful programming.
Major contributions:
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Conduct background research & on-site assessments
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Compile population and benchmark data
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Lead strategic visioning sessions with clients
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Write and edit copy for reports and plan documents
In-person outreach for parks planning in Ohio. Meeting the community out in parks helped us make important discoveries!
Center for Neighborhoods
2017 - 2020
​My role:
What started out as a volunteer adventure became a grad school internship which then turned into a full-time role! My responsibilities expanded over time, but my work was always about listening well and turning ideas into tangible positive change. Center for Neighborhoods is a grassroots-organizing neighborhood design center with a rich history of supporting resident-led improvements all across Louisville.
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Major contributions:
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Co-create neighborhood engagement strategy
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Assistant manage placemaking programs, including Better Block and PAINT (Producing Art in Neighborhoods Together)
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Conduct educational workshops on civic engagement and urban design during bi-annual Neighborhood Institute
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Support administration of public events like Neighborhood Summit
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Assist with Congress for New Urbanism's 2019 project-based programming
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Conduct on-site interviews, canvass door-to-door, and asset-map for neighborhood improvement projects
DIY intervention for Center for Neighborhood's annual Better Block event. Neighbors coming together to test out possibilities!
Miscellany
2009 - 2017
​Jane-of-all-trades:
Turns out being a deeply curious person equipped with a Bachelor's in Liberal Arts can lead to a real feast of experiences! I've worked as an intern for the Smithsonian Institute's Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage and 21c Museum Hotels' brand marketing office - add nanny, landscaper, tutor, and college bookstore assistant manager to the mix, and then some...Through my broad experiences I've gained extraordinary insights into how teams function and what individuals need to thrive. Each role I've had has deepened my understanding, cultivated my strengths, and kept me open-minded.
Roles I've had*:
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Bellarmine College bookstore assistant manager
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St. John's College library associate
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High school tutor
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Au pair in Europe
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Landscaper
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University of Louisville Hite Institute nude art model
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Hair salon cleaner
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Photo-booth technician
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Café barista
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Communications intern for Smithsonian Institute Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
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Marketing research assistant for 21c Museum Hotel
*Sometimes multiple at one time
Being a landscaper taught me a lot about hard physical labor - and it definitely made me more compassionate for different worker perspectives.