Education

Assistant Village Administrator (2024-Present)

• Leadership & Organizational Management: Proven ability to lead a dynamic municipal organization, serving as the Assistant Village Administrator.  Successfully addressing staffing and operational challenges through innovation and collaboration.
• Economic & Community Development: Spearheaded tourism and economic initiatives, leveraging Antioch’s position in the Chain O’Lakes region to enhance local businesses and visitor engagement.  Represents the Village of Antioch as a board member of the Visit Lake County tourism organization.
• Human Resources & Team Development: Play a pivotal role in the hiring and onboarding of three department directors and multiple key staff, fostering a high-performing municipal workforce. Participated in successful collective bargaining with the police union to agree on a 4-year contract.
• Public Infrastructure & Capital Projects: Led cross-departmental projects, including park redevelopment, infrastructure improvements, and strategic municipal investments.
• Community Engagement & Public Relations: High visibility in the community, fostering positive relationships with residents, business leaders, and regional stakeholders.  

Communications Manager  (2022-2024)

• Elevated Antioch’s public presence through strategic media relations, increasing positive local and regional coverage.
• Developed and executed marketing campaigns that boosted participation in village events, strengthening community engagement.
• Built partnerships with local businesses and organizations to drive economic development and tourism-related initiatives.
• Managed social media, newsletters, and press releases, achieving record levels of public engagement and outreach.

Communications Specialist  (2021-2022)

• Introduced innovative communication channels to improve public awareness and government transparency.
• Led crisis communication efforts and media relations, ensuring accurate and timely information dissemination.
• Launched the village’s first summer student employment program in partnership with Lake County Workforce Development, promoting youth workforce participation.

• Member of a three-person board of trustees that oversees a budget of approximately $3 million and the subsequent contract agreement for fire and ambulance services with the Village of Libertyville. 

• By working closely with each City department, I provide tactical problem-solving leadership which continuously brings the city increased engagement with residents and stakeholders. 
• Public Relations - Worked with each city department to develop a communications and outreach plan. As a result of this plan, and my connections to local and regional media, the City of North Chicago received a substantial amount of increased positive news coverage, including numerous front-page stories in the Lake County News-Sun and Daily Herald newspapers. Additional prime coverage on WLS-TV, WMAQ-TV, WTTW-TV, WBBM-AM, WXLC-FM, and the Associated Press wire service.
• Social Media Engagement - Created a social media outreach strategy that saw daily Facebook content reach grow by over 175%. I also created and currently optimize engagement on the city’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Nextdoor, and Ring/Neighbors platforms.
• Development and monthly creation of content and editing of a city employee e-newsletter. Work with city council members to create targeted newsletters for their respective city wards.
• Stakeholder Partnerships – Worked in collaboration with AbbVIe to launch a COVID vaccination site for North Chicago seniors, working also with North Chicago Community Partners, the Lake County Health Department, and the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Provided lunch ‘n learn opportunities for city staff through partnerships with Rosalind Franklin University and the United Way of Lake County. Continuous collaboration with the North Chicago Chamber of Commerce, Abbott Laboratories, and other community organizations.

• Part-time/fill-in news anchor/reporter for WLS-AM and WZSR-FM.
• As a news reporter for WLS-AM, covered local and Congressional elections, including election night radio call-ins, live and taped news wraps for on-air anchors, and Facebook Live video updates and interviews of candidates and key political figures.
• Previous on-air news anchor/writer for the Illinois Radio Network and Metro Networks/Shadow Traffic
• As a reporter for the Illinois Radio Network, covered President Trump’s 2019 visit to Chicago, the appointment of the Illinois State Police Director, and other statewide news for dozens of radio, newspaper, and website affiliates.
• As an anchor for Metro Networks/Shadow Traffic delivered news and traffic reports for some of Chicago’s top-rated news stations including WBBM-AM, WGN-AM, WUSN-AM, and WLS-AM

• Transformed business from one of the lowest performing franchises into the fifth largest out of 200 nationwide in just three years.  Annual sales grew from under $100,000 to nearly $1,000,000.
• Established concrete relationships with local and major corporations.
• Led a team of graphic designers, sales representatives, and an administrative assistant.

• Through effective networking, built solid relationships between members of the business and church community and the radio station.
• Sold radio spots successfully by employing quality lead generation techniques.
• Chosen to serve as a team mentor due to my willingness to share winning sales techniques, by creating positive, collaborative work environments and being an impartial advisor to junior teammates seeking guidance.

• Elected to the Village Board receiving the most votes and winning over three incumbents. Served on the Special Projects and Police and Fire Committees.
• Improved government operational transparency by initiating cost-effective broadcasting of Village board meetings. Against overwhelming opposition to the plan, the meeting viewership increased from zero to roughly 1,000 views per meeting.
• Preserved Libertyville’s reputation as a thriving and welcoming business community by solely opposing legislation to restrict business operating hours.