Recommendation from Adriana Rodriguez at Palo Alto University

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Recommendation from Adriana Rodriguez at Palo Alto University

“I worked closely with Michelle while she was a contractor at Palo Alto University, where she played a central role as part of our External Affairs team.

“Michelle immersed herself in PAU’s culture and community and became a trusted partner in shaping our brand voice and public presence. She managed our social media channels and external-facing newsletter, developed and led our editorial calendar, facilitated large-scale content meetings with stakeholders across the university, and led strategic advertising campaigns. Her work strengthened brand consistency, increased brand awareness, and improved how we showed up across channels.

“Michelle has a unique ability to combine strong storytelling with a strategic understanding of how messaging, audience, and platforms work together. She immersed herself in the content she created and knew how to meaningfully engage our audiences, even when working with complex or sensitive stories. She is also highly knowledgeable about current social media platforms, trends, and best practices, and she uses performance data to inform decisions and refine strategy.

“The content meetings Michelle led were large and cross-functional, with stakeholders from across the university. She kept these meetings focused, productive, and on track. Michelle also played a key role in funneling content from across departments into a clear messaging framework that increased external engagement and visibility. She is highly collaborative, deeply knowledgeable, and a pleasure to work with.

“I truly miss working with Michelle and would highly recommend her to any organization seeking a strategic, brand-minded, and data-savvy communications professional.”

Adriana Rodriguez

Brand, Communications, and Events Manager

Palo Alto University

Recommendation from Adriana Rodriguez at Palo Alto University

Recommendation from Brooke Bennett at Green America

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Recommendation from Brooke Bennett at Green America

“Michelle has been an invaluable mentor and colleague. As someone relatively new to the social media realm, I have greatly benefited from Michelle’s guidance, both professionally and personally.

“Michelle’s expertise in digital communications and social media strategy is unmatched. She not only excels in her own work but also takes the time to support those around her. She has consistently provided me with insightful advice, breaking down the complexities of social media in a way that is easy to understand and apply. Because of her mentorship, I have gained the confidence and skills to take the lead on projects that once seemed daunting.

“Beyond her technical knowledge, Michelle is a reliable and dedicated professional. I can always count on her to provide thoughtful feedback and strategic direction, ensuring that our work is both effective and impactful. Her years of experience bring a level of wisdom that makes navigating the digital space more approachable and less overwhelming.

“I am truly grateful for Michelle’s support in my career.”

Brooke Bennett

Social Media Specialist

Green America

Learn more about social media strategy and one-on-one consulting.

Recommendation Brooke Bennett at Green America

Recommendation from Dana Christianson at Green America

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Recommendation from Dana Christianson at Green America

“I have been working with Michelle for over 5 years, and she still, consistently unearths new ways for Green America to increase ROI, find new donors, streamline processes, and more authentically share our story.

“Michelle is an expert in Google Ad Grants, paid Google Ads, Microsoft Ads for Social Impact, Meta Ads, search engine optimization, social media creative and management, and A/B website testing.

“I am profoundly grateful that I can go to Michelle with big strategic challenges. Michelle is a ‘C-level’ thinker. Her decades of non-profit leadership make her the perfect thought-partner for how I can inspire change in our organization. I am thankful for her mentorship and can honestly say a talk with Michelle makes me feel more energized and confident as a leader.

“What I love most about working with Michelle is that she’s not just going to recite industry-best practices, advise me on a strategy, and walk away. She knows what works, AND she will roll up her sleeves and implement. Michelle is a “doer,” expert project manager, problem solver, presenter, and analyst.

“Green America has benefited tremendously from Michelle’s expertise, ambition, and dedication. Personally, it is a joy to work with Michelle!”

Dana Christianson

Director of Membership Marketing and Operations

Green America

Learn more about Google Ad Grant and Microsoft Ads for Social Impact advertising, search and social advertising, social media strategy, website analytics, search engine optimization (SEO), and integrated, multichannel marketing.

Recommendation Dana Christianson at Green America

Recommendation from Rebecca Levy, Director of External Affairs at Palo Alto University

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Recommendation from Rebecca Levy, Director of External Affairs at Palo Alto University

“Michelle has worked as a contractor for Palo Alto University’s External Affairs Department for four-plus years. She has been instrumental in managing the University’s multiple social media accounts and producing our monthly e-newsletter. She also has responsibility for writing stories and developing digital content. I couldn’t have asked for a more professional, conscientious and reliable partner! A strategist as well as a tactician, Michelle regularly contributes creative and insightful ideas, keeping our audiences in mind, while supporting our goals and making us shine. She is also incredibly organized, detail-oriented, and responsive on short notice. It is a privilege to have Michelle’s expertise in our corner! I would hire her again and highly recommend her!”

Rebecca Levy

Director of External Affairs

Palo Alto University

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Recommendation from Rebecca Levy, Director of External Affairs at Palo Alto University

Recommendation from John Sayles, CEO at Vermont Foodbank

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Recommendation from John Sayles, CEO at Vermont Foodbank

“Michelle was a fabulous contributor to the Vermont Foodbank. She came aboard in a newly-created position of digital media specialist where the tasks and goals were co-created with her team. Michelle was able to quickly learn our mission and culture, and help the Foodbank reflect that in the digital world. She created a vibrant digital presence that interacts with our supporters in a way that is nurturing, mission-oriented and always respectful. She truly brought this organization to a new level in the digital world, and created the base for the organization to continue on a path as a nonprofit innovator in the digital space.

“A short story: I took Michelle with me to a talk by a digital marketing consultant who presented on ways to maximize the value of a website. It was very exciting! The next day Michelle was implementing the tools she learned about and making changes to our website. What resulted was a new way of continual testing and improvement that results in more conversions of website hits to donations. Continuous improvement seems to be in her DNA.

“Michelle is smart, mission-driven, inquisitive and innovative. She is driven and self-motivated. I recommend her highly based on my experience working directly with her, and seeing the results of her work for the Vermont Foodbank.”

John Sayles

CEO

Vermont Foodbank

Learn more about the marketing I do for nonprofits and universities.

Recommendation from John Sayles

Digital Detox: A Modern-Day Sabbath

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Digital Detox: A Modern-Day Sabbath

A Sabbath is a day of rest, observed by some Jewish people from Friday evening to Saturday evening and by some Christian people on Sundays. Within these religious traditions there’s also a ritual of worship on these days. For the past few years, I’ve created my own Sabbath rituals and I thought it was about time I wrote about them.

Since 2014, I’ve blocked off “Sabbath weekends” every few months. On these weekends, I don’t work, I unplug from the internet and all digital devices, I don’t schedule too many projects for myself, and I focus on restful activities, like reading, meditating, going for walks, and journaling. On a few Sabbath weekends, I’ve even tried not to spend money.

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Recommendation from Chris Meehan, Chief Community Impact Officer at Vermont Foodbank

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Recommendation from Chris Meehan, Chief Community Impact Officer at Vermont Foodbank

“Over the past three years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Michelle in her role as digital media specialist for the Vermont Foodbank. From the beginning, Michelle took a keen interest in going above and beyond her official job duties to offer her experience and expertise to the Foodbank’s network of 225 food shelves and meal sites. The majority of food shelves and meal sites are run by volunteers and do not have the capacity to enter into the social media realm. Michelle helped to build their capacity by creating a series of classes that were offered in person and online. This made all the difference for many of these small mission driven organizations. She was always interested in improving the classes offered; each year, she sought feedback and made adjustments to ensure that she was providing the best service possible. I would highly recommend Michelle.”

Chris Meehan

Chief Community Impact Officer

Vermont Foodbank

Learn more about the marketing I do for nonprofits and universities.

Recommendation from Chris Meehan