WRITING PORTFOLIO
1. It’s OK to Be Sad
The challenge: What can we possibly say about sadness that doesn’t feel preachy, gauzy, and clichéd — and can potentially help someone who is in the thick of it? I assigned myself this personal project when I saw my brother feeling the blues.
My take: Instead of trying to downplay or “fix” the sadness I saw my brother experiencing, I realized feeling sad is not a crisis.
My work: I made a book called “It’s OK to Be Sad”, featuring an illustrated poem. It was published in 2022 and again in 2024 by Illuminated Press.
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2. What exactly do people do in public parks?
The challenge: The City of Toronto wanted to know how people spent their time in city parks so they could use that research to improve park design. Partnering with the non-profit 8 80 Cities, the City sent out volunteers—including me—to Toronto’s Western Waterfront for studies to monitor things like how many people were walking their dog, or doing exercise, or using the playground etc.
My work: I went a few steps extra and wrote an essay and made drawings about what I saw people doing, which was a whole variety of nothing, something a public park is great at providing a free and equitable space for. My work was published on the 8 80 Cities blog and also featured in The Globe and Mail in an article about Toronto’s parks.
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3. Rejuvenating an arts and culture non-profit
The client: L’Alliance française de Karachi is part of a global network of French language and cultural centers that promote French language classes and host intercultural events and workshops. I was hired as a one-woman marketing and communications team for the non-profit from 2018 to 2021.
The challenge: The non-profit had never had a marketing team and it showed. Their 90’s-era website was broken, social media accounts were barely updated, visuals were all over the place, and they weren’t telling the story of a cultural center that was genuinely thriving and interesting. Registration for French classes was still a manual process!
My work: I designed and launched a new website from scratch as well as an online shop, launching a newsletter, blog, and social media content in a major brand refresh. My work also included running digital platforms, ads, and producing design and content, in addition to working with the director on partnerships, events and outreach. My interview was published in The News. I also made sure the Alliance française’s French professors and visiting musicians and performers got radio, social media, and press coverage.
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4. Digital PR for Cornell Tech, Atlantic Philanthropies & more
The clients: At the New York-based PR firm BerlinRosen (my first job out of college!), I was one of the first people hired on the digital team, representing clients in education, philanthropy, real estate and beyond.
The challenge: Clients relied on our team to run the internet for them, representing the organization and their leadership on social media, running ads, monitoring media, and recommending digital and in-person events for partnerships and speaking engagements.
My work: I built and managed online communities for Brooklyn’s largest real estate development, generated leads for New York’s top tech initiative, and conducted a digital audit for a national association of healthcare executives, among other projects.