YMCA
2023-2026Of Columbia-
Willamette
The ScopeWhile leading communications and brand strategy for a major regional civic institution, I oversaw complex, full-scale project portfolios spanning three core branches and over 30 regional childcare and camp locations. My efforts focused on standardizing fragmented visual assets, revitalizing legacy digital infrastructure, and safeguarding the organization's reputation through robust crisis management and public relations frameworks—all engineered to meet an elite standard of operational quality.
❋ Channel ReclamationRescued localized digital communication pipelines, including regional Meta channels, from administrative closure. Successfully restored these essential marketing avenues to directly connect local families with vital childcare, youth camp, and community wellness services.
❋ Audit-Proof GovernanceImplemented rigid national Y-USA brand initiatives alongside complex local board task force frameworks. Successfully standardized design consistency across hundreds of localized environmental, print, and digital assets, ensuring the organization easily cleared structural brand audits.
❋ Operational EfficiencyAudited and optimized regional marketing expenditures by auditing software, digital redundancies, and implementing AI tool. Streamlined team asset pipelines and eliminated legacy software overhead, saving thousands in unnecessary licensing fees and efficiency over a three-year period.
❋ Reputation & PR ManagementServed as a tactical creator for C-suite and board-level emergency messaging. Developed rapid-response visual and narrative communication frameworks for high-stakes table-top crises, maintaining community safety updates, maintaining a public relations strategy, and institutional trust.
Brand Framework Mantra,
"Belonging Through Play."
Chapter 1SYSTEMIC BRAND STEWARDSHIP UNDER PRESSURE
Managing a major regional institution requires extreme operational discipline. Tasked with implementing rigid national Y-USA brand initiatives alongside shifting focus to board-driven brand frameworks, I acted as the organization’s core creative guardian. I established an audit-proof system across hundreds of localized digital and print assets, keeping external design, photo, and illustration vendors strictly aligned despite a high-turnover environment of six supervisors in three years.
Details:SCOPE // National Brand Compliance & Local Execution StrategyGOVERNANCE // 100% Audit-Proof Design Consistency Across All ChannelsASSETS // Brand Handbooks, Multi-Branch Marketing PlaybooksCLIENT // YMCA OF COLUMBIA-WILLAMETTE
Chapter TwoDATA-INFORMED FUNNEL MODERNIZATION & OPTIMIZATION
Transforming a legacy civic footprint requires building strategic marketing plumbing, even under restrictive tracking conditions. I focused heavily on strengthening bottom-of-the-funnel conversion methods across regional branches. By reclaiming closed Meta communication pipelines to reach local families, eliminating costly software redundancies, and streamlining budgets, I optimized limited resources to drive direct community access to critical childcare, camp, and wellness services.
Details:SCOPE // Bottom-of-Funnel Conversion & Resource OptimizationNETWORKS // Recovered Social Channels & Branch Membership PortalsIMPACT // Thousands in Redundant Software Costs EliminatedCHANNELS // Built YMCA Media Ecosystem
Content & Social
Chapter ThreeHigh-stakes leadership means maintaining absolute clarity and institutional trust when the unexpected happens. Beyond day-to-day community storytelling, I served as the tactical creative link for C-suite and board-level crisis communications. Whether packaging rapid, critical messaging about childcare facility safety, public health, or regional emergencies, I engineered immediate visual and narrative frameworks that strengthened the institution’s foundational reputation by appearing in community spaces.
Details:SCOPE // Storytelling, Crisis & Public Relations StrategiesDISTRIBUTION // National Campaigns & Network BroadcastFRAMEWORKS // Rapid-Response Layouts & Public Communication HandbooksCHANNELS // Internal, External, and Interpersonal CommunicationsReal Impact.
EMPOWERING FUTURE GENERATIONS // CAMPAIGN FILM
A short-form cinematic presentation designed to donor alignment initiatives for the YMCA of Columbia-Willamette’s annual golf tournament. Tasked with translating the massive institutional scale of youth childcare, fitness, and summer camp operations into an intimate, emotionally resonant narrative, I owned the end-to-end creative production pipeline. Through deliberate visual pacing, high-action environmental cinematography, and a structured five-pillar messaging matrix, the film serves as a powerful call to action that bridges civic responsibility with real-world donor impact.
The Initiatives-
Translating complex top-down Y-USA corporate brand standards into hyper-local regional creative assets that pass strict brand audits.
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Designing foundational operational blueprints and visual playbooks to ensure marketing continuity across multiple branches despite leadership turnover.
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Presenting visual systems, multi-channel initiatives, and high-level communications directly to executive committees and civic boards.
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Vetting, hiring, and managing external photography, design, and illustration partners while eliminating redundant software licensing costs.
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Partnering directly with the C-suite to construct rapid-response visual and narrative frameworks for sensitive public safety and health updates.
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Spearheading end-to-end traffic control and operational logistics for 50 to 80 concurrent marketing, digital, and print initiatives across all regional branch locations.
The Takeaway: Regional brand standardization and cinematic asset production.
The Summary
Brand Unification // Standardized fragmented marketing collateral and modernized digital templates to establish a cohesive visual identity across the entire regional network.
Visual Footprint // Produced a comprehensive suite of cinematic facility tour videos across multiple regional branches to drive community engagement and membership acquisition.
Event Activation // Directed and produced high-end recap media for key foundational initiatives, including their premier charity golf tournament assets.