With book bans on the rise nationally in both school and local libraries, Brooklyn Public Library launched Books Unbanned in Spring 2022 to promote freedom to read. In addition to developing an intellectual freedom council for Brooklyn teens, BPL also launched a special library ecard available to young people age 13-21 across the country, connecting them to the library’s full ebook collection.

I oversaw the creative development of the program’s branding, web and social presence, and press relations. Books Unbanned positioned BPL as the leading voice around freedom to read advocacy nationally and helped further distinguish its brand among NYC library systems.

Brooklyn Public Library celebrated its 125th Anniversary in 2022. As BPL emerged from the pandemic I oversaw the comprehensive year-long celebration and campaign, including a special logo mark, giveaways, an interactive historical timeline, Brooklyn-themed booklists, a 2,000-cupcake distribution on the library’s bookmobiles throughout Brooklyn, and staff engagement events. The celebration culminated with a countdown of BPL’s most borrowed books of all time, which received local, national and even international press coverage.

Despite offering millions of books and thousands of free events and classes a year, Brooklyn Public Library struggled to communicate its relevance to many residents across the borough. Partnering with Bellweather Agency, I oversaw BPL’s first comprehensive marketing campaign in institutional memory. Called For Brooklyn, the campaign reintroduced the Library to all of Brooklyn’s 2.6 million residents. Highlighting both traditional and contemporary library services, the campaign - which features real library patrons - includes out-of-home and social ad placements, and is incorporated into BPL’s in-house marketing channels. In the campaign’s first year, BPL saw an increase in both library visits and new library card registrations.

Working with youth and family services at the library, we secured the rights to the art from the classic Maurice Sendak book to create a dedicated children's library card. A promotional campaign, including child-sized Max cardboard cutouts at select branches, made the new card wildly successful. (They're available to adults, too - just ask!)

Despite a modern array of offerings to patrons, BPL had not updated its website in more than 10 years. It was not responsive, there was no information hierarchy, and the content had become organized by internal department. I managed a complete redesign and rewrite, unifying the writing style and content to help patrons discover more of what the library has to offer, and to convey the breadth of services and resources available to all Brooklynites.

There are more than two million street signs in New York City. Ever wonder where they come from? Many are made by the New York City Department of Transportation's in-house sign shop based in Maspeth, Queens. This crew of 22 employees fabricate 9,000-12,000 signs a month, ranging from large highway signs down to Alternate Side Parking signs. I worked with a video team to produce this video (one of many during my time at DOT) to highlight how the agency keeps the city moving every day.

At the end of 2010, a snowstorm hit New York City, burying streets and frustrating residents citywide. In the midst of a bad public relations situation and with roadways in poor condition, the External Affairs department at NYC DOT needed to communicate the extraordinary work road crews were doing to make repairs. Rather than bury stats on an already overwhelming agency website, our team launched a Tumblr dedicated to pothole repair. Named after the Excel attachment in the agency's daily email pothole report, The Daily Pothole made road repair enjoyable, and effectively conveyed the hard work being done to combat winter weather wear and tear, (For example, did you know that the city can fill more than 4,000 potholes in a single day?)

Citi Bike launched in New York City in 2013, and planning for the system was comprehensive. Knowing that in-person Community Board meetings were not comprehensive enough on their own to solicit community input, I oversaw the development and launch of an online station suggestion website. The site asked New Yorkers to suggest a bike share station location, as well as why the locations were well-suited. The portal received more than 10,000 individual site suggestions and 60,000 supporting "clicks," and got New Yorkers thinking critically about how the system would be successfully integrated into the city's existing transportation infrastructure.

Every year, the Staten island Ferry carries tens of thousands of runners to the start of the world-famous NYC marathon. While at DOT, I produced this video to showcase the role the agency plays in ferrying the runners to run 26.2 miles through all five boroughs.