Executive Assistant to the Vice President - Division of Inclusive Excellence, Whitman College

Executive Assistant to the CEO - Valdemar Family (U.S.-Spanish Wine Consortium)

Independent Event Planning Professional - various clients

Conferences and Events Coordinator - Office of the President, Whitman College

Executive Assistant to the Vice Chair & Head of Production, and Coordinator of the UCLA Film Festival, UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television

Executive Support

I have over seven years of experience providing executive administrative support to senior leadership. While in the film industry I worked in some brutally demanding environments for Producers who knew no bounds. I grafted to them to meet (and often exceed) their expectations. From my years working in the Higher Education environment, I have learned what it means to be a conduit between senior leadership, faculty interests, financiers (donors, state and federal endowments), and stakeholders (the Board of Trustees), while ensuring that the student body remain firmly affixed at the helm of our strategic priorities. Within the private sector, I have navigated the international corporate space, working for the CEO and reporting to the CFO and Director of Communications for a multi-billion dollar international wine brand to build and launch a new $14 million wine production facility, tasting room, and marketplace, to extend the company’s reputation from Europe, Asia, and South America to the U.S.

Project Management

I have managed projects in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, the Gates Foundation, the Washington State Department of Commerce, Washington State University, secured high-level event sponsorship with retail brands Mattel, Swarovski, and Stella Artois, and coordinated the UCLA Film Festival in collaboration with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. I have undertaken strategic partnerships and community outreach for a multi-billion dollar wine brand, harnessing communication skills to build regional brand awareness and market presence, while coordinating with general contractors and civil engineers to open a 24,555-square-foot, state-of-the-art production facility, and then address and resolve post-construction “punch list” items over a period of 18 months. I am currently undertaking the launch of an initiative with The Posse Foundation, welcoming our first cohort of students during the 2024-25 academic year.

Event Coordination

Events are magic. They are about convening and communing and commuting; but they are also about creating metrics for success. They are a way by which we measure strategic partnerships, strategic initiatives, and the metrics of how we assess our brand. In this way, I have been able to meet my deliverables, exceed expectations, and enjoy the process.

Hard Skills, Soft Skills, and Technical Skills

Digital Proficiency in Windows and Mac operating systems, MS Office, Outlook Express, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, Reddit, Scoop.it, Whatsapp, Foursquare, Yelp, Instagram, Vimeo, Vine, Flickr, Pinterest, Skype, Youtube, Vimeo, TweetDeck, Hootsuite. Currently learning Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.  

Organizational Abilities & Taking The Initiative

Researching potential news outlets, cultivating new contacts, keeping abreast of the best new media apps and digital media enhancements, observing trends emerging in the 12-18 age groups, so as to best anticipate how the public will eventually receive and absorb information (i.e. Tumblr, short form content, feedly)

Leadership Qualities - I have built and supervised student organizational teams for film festivals, spending numerous caffeine-fueled nights, bonding over an intense workload and sleep deprivation, working side-by-side to accomplish our goals.

Higher Education

• Admissions Assistant, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA

• Graduate Coordinator, American Film Institute Graduate Conservatory, Los Angeles, CA

Production Company Experience

• Production Office Assistant, Chicago Pacific Entertainment, Santa Barbara, CA

• Assistant to Scott Rudin, Scott Rudin Productions, Paramount Studios, CA

• Assistant to Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Jinks Cohen, Universal Studios, CA

• Assistant to Gail Mutrux and Neil LaBute, Pretty Pictures, Universal Studios, CA

Media Agencies - Client Relations

• Assistant to Literary Agent, The Gersh Agency, Beverly Hills, CA

• Assistant to Commercials/Advertising Division, The Skouras Agency, Santa Monica, CA

• Assistant to Below-The-Line Agent Louisa Thompson, Peters Fraser + Dunlop, London, UK

• Assistant to Agency Director Jacquie Drewe, Curtis Brown Group, London, UK

• Junior Agent, Curtis Brown Group, London, UK

Bachelor of Arts, Political Communication Theory, UC Santa Barbara (2000)   

Master of Arts, Film Theory & Mass Communications, University College Dublin (2002)  Graduate research conducted in North Africa, 2001-2022