Communication Systems Portfolio
Communication systems design is the art of creating elegant frameworks that guide the flow of information through organizations.
Communication systems development is the craft of executing tools, processes, and experiences when, how and where audiences need it most.
FEATURED PROJECTS
Most of the work featured in this portfolio was created for Microsoft, Meta, and other clients and remains their intellectual property. As a result, I'm unable to share the original content with writing samples, or many of the supporting visuals. Instead, I've documented the business challenge, my approach, the communications strategy, and the outcomes to provide insight into how I think, collaborate, and solve complex communications problems.
Fiscal Yearend Recap, Microsoft Copilot “Greatest Hits Album”
AI Adoption
Executive Presentation
Creative Writing
Employee Engagement
Corporate Event Management
Learning Operations
Executive Speaker Management
Global Readiness
Simple, but Significant Thanksgiving Message
Inclusive Communications
Executive Ghostwriting
Creative Direction
Leadership Communications
Fiscal Yearend Recap, Microsoft SharePoint “Yearbook Page”
AI Adoption
Executive Presentation
Creative Writing
Employee Engagement
Hygge-Themed Pre-Holiday Team Meeting
Employee Experience
Internal Communications
Experience Design
Engagement Strategy
Custom Avatar Event Badges, Made With Copilot
AI Adoption
Executive Presentation
Creative Writing
Employee Engagement
Microsoft Stores Minecraft Workshop
Marketing Communications
Program Management
Instructional Design
Event Guide
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND & PHILOSOPHY
Program Management • Strategic Communications • Systems Thinking • Continuous Learning
Pre-recorded “interview" video - coming soonish.
CAREER FOUNDATION
At Microsoft, contracting has allowed me to move across teams, build new skill sets, and support organizations in increasingly strategic ways. I began my career as an Executive Administrator and quickly realized that the most creative and impactful work required deeper expertise. That led me to pursue in-role learning across every Microsoft engagement and, ultimately, earn a Master’s in Communication.
EVOLVING EXPERTISE
Over the years, I’ve supported a wide range of sales and marketing organizations, expanding my portfolio across internal communications, program management, employee experience, and Chief of Staff–aligned responsibilities. With this foundation, I’m always open to opportunities that allow me to remain entrepreneurial, dynamic, and open to new ideas.
PHILOSOPHY
Whether I’m building a SharePoint site, writing an executive presentation, designing an employee communications campaign, or documenting an operational process, my goal is the same: create systems that make information easier to find, easier to understand, and easier to act on.
I believe communication systems design is the art of creating elegant frameworks that guide the flow of information through organizations. Communication systems development is the craft of executing the tools, processes, and experiences that deliver the right information to the right audience at the right time.
STREAMLINED INTRODUCTION
Which is more challenging: performing in an interview or recording yourself? Either way, I’ve learned that talking about what I do is more difficult than doing the work itself. In a perfect world, a hiring manager or potential consulting client reviews my website, contacts me to ensure I’m human, and I get to work on their project.
With that in mind, I’ve pre-recorded an on-demand "interview" answering common questions. If anything resonates, let’s talk for real.
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
Exec Comms
Understanding a leader's priorities, translating complex discussions into clear messaging, and helping employees understand what matters most is essential to executive communications
When writing on behalf of an executive, I gather context from every available source, including meetings, calendars, presentations, event recaps, discussion notes, and stakeholder conversations. When available, I also review meeting and speech transcripts to better understand an executive's communication style, recurring themes, and natural voice.
No one can perfectly replicate another person's voice, but these resources allow me to produce messaging that feels authentic and consistent. Every communication is reviewed and approved by leadership before publication, and strong partnerships with executives and their teams are essential to ensuring accuracy and alignment.
Whether I'm writing an organization-wide email, newsletter, all-hands presentation, talking points, or event recap, my goal is to help employees understand what changed, why it matters, and what happens next. I also incorporate original photography, event imagery, and screenshots whenever possible to create more engaging and memorable communications.
Work Delivered
Throughout my career, I've partnered with executive leaders across Microsoft, Meta, and consulting engagements to develop executive emails, newsletters, leadership presentations, all-hands content, talking points, FAQs, employee engagement campaigns, and organizational communications that build clarity, alignment, and trust.
Team Messaging
Employee Experience & Culture
Learning & Readiness
Give Campaign
Every team message is an opportunity to help employees feel informed, connected, and confident in what they need to do next. Whether the goal is introducing a new initiative, promoting a learning opportunity, celebrating achievements, or supporting a company-wide campaign, I believe communications should make work easier, not add to the noise.
Employees are already navigating a constant stream of emails, chats, meetings, presentations, and notifications. My job is to help the most important information rise above the rest by making communications timely, relevant, and easy to act on.
My philosophy is simple: communicate less, communicate better.
I consolidate information into concise newsletters, clearly identify the call to action, and direct employees to the right resources or subject matter experts when they need additional support. Rather than repeating information across multiple channels, I rely on team websites to house deadlines, workback schedules, reference materials, and timely updates so employees can find what they need when they need it.
Whether supporting executive communications, employee experience initiatives, learning and readiness programs, or Microsoft's annual Give Campaign, I tailor messaging to the audience while keeping the employee experience at the center. Every communication should answer a few simple questions:
Why does this matter to me?
What do I need to do?
When does it need to happen?
Where can I learn more?
When employees can answer those questions quickly, they're more likely to engage, participate, and feel connected to the organization.
Work Delivered
Throughout my career, I've developed newsletters, employee engagement campaigns, learning and readiness communications, all-hands messaging, recognition programs, team meeting content, annual giving campaigns, and organization-wide communications that help employees stay informed, connected, and prepared.
Event Management
Event management is a broad term. It can mean planning a five-person team meeting, a monthly all-hands, a multi-day learning program, a roadshow, or a large conference. Over the years, I've owned entire events, managed individual workstreams, and developed repeatable programs that could be delivered by teams around the world.
No matter the size, I always start with the people attending. Why are they giving up their time? What do they need to learn, experience, or leave feeling? Understanding both the audience and the event sponsor helps shape every decision that follows.
My goal is to create experiences that provide real value, whether that's learning something new, building stronger relationships, understanding a business priority, or simply feeling more connected to a team or community. I look for opportunities to create meaningful interactions between attendees, speakers, the content, and each other because those moments are often what people remember most.
Many of the programs I've supported extended well beyond the event itself. I developed facilitator guides, curriculum, presentations, websites, participant handouts, and "Event in a Box" toolkits so instructors could deliver consistent experiences in multiple locations without rebuilding the program from scratch. Creating repeatable systems allows organizations to scale successful programs while maintaining a high-quality experience.
Whether an event lasts one hour or several days, I believe people should leave feeling that their time was well spent. When you put people first, stronger engagement, better learning outcomes, and business results naturally follow.
Webinar Trainings: Making Technical Knowledge Accessible at Scale
Video became one of the fastest ways to deliver technical readiness across Microsoft's global sales organization. Throughout multiple projects, I coordinated the production and publication of webinar-based training content that helped employees learn new products, tools, and processes.
My role included scheduling subject matter experts, coordinating recordings, editing captions, publishing content, and promoting completed trainings through internal communication channels. I also partnered with presenters to ensure each session was organized, engaging, and easy for employees to consume.
One featured training surpassed 11,000 views, demonstrating how thoughtfully produced communications can extend the reach of subject matter experts while creating reusable learning resources for employees around the world.
Training-in-a-Box: Creating Repeatable Learning Experiences
One of my favorite ways to support large organizations is by creating what I call "training-in-a-box." Instead of asking employees to piece together information from multiple sources, I build organized, self-contained learning experiences that give people everything they need to get up to speed quickly.
A great example was a High Performance Computing (HPC) readiness initiative at Microsoft. Product information, technical documentation, pitch decks, recorded webinars, and supporting resources already existed, but they were distributed across multiple locations and maintained by different teams. Finding the right information often took as much effort as learning it.
Working with a colleague, I gathered, reviewed, updated, and organized those materials into a single, structured readiness package. The final experience included industry-specific presentations, technical documentation, action checklists, recorded training sessions, and supporting resources, all designed to guide sellers through the content in a logical progression.
While HPC provided the content for this particular project, the approach became a repeatable model I applied across multiple readiness initiatives. By organizing information into clear, easy-to-navigate learning experiences, I helped reduce information overload, improve consistency, and make it easier for employees to find the resources they needed when they needed them.
The result was more than a collection of documents. It was a scalable knowledge management framework that transformed scattered information into a practical, reusable learning experience.
Website Content
Whether I'm creating a new website from scratch or improving an existing one, I begin by understanding the people it's meant to serve.
I gather information from stakeholders, review the organizational structure, and organize content in a way that reflects how the team actually works. Rather than simply publishing information, I build websites that function as a centralized resource for the entire organization. My goal is for a new team member to quickly understand where to find information, who owns it, and where to go next. The objective isn't to place every answer on one page—it's to help people find it fast.
I apply user experience (UX) and information architecture principles to determine how content is organized, prioritized, and presented. Navigation, page hierarchy, labeling, searchability, accessibility, and page layouts are all intentional decisions that reduce friction and make information easier to discover and maintain over time.
Website content is never static. I continually evaluate terminology, organizational changes, audience needs, technology, and the broader business environment to keep content accurate, relevant, and useful.
Every website has a purpose. Sometimes it's to educate, sometimes to inform, sometimes to enable people to complete a task or take action. I tailor content, calls to action, navigation, and page structure to support that purpose while balancing the needs of leaders, content owners, and end users.
Writing and program management are both service-oriented disciplines. My role is to create clear, intuitive experiences that help people accomplish what they came to do as efficiently as possible.
Work Delivered
Website and SharePoint content management has been a consistent part of nearly every role I've held. Across Microsoft, Meta, consulting engagements, volunteer organizations, and personal projects, I've planned, created, organized, and maintained digital experiences that help people quickly find information, complete tasks, and stay connected.
Awards and Recognition
Recognition programs reinforce organizational values, increase leadership visibility, and encourage the behaviors that drive business success.
Over five years, I designed and managed awards and recognition programs across multiple Microsoft organizations, administering thousands of employee nominations and awards that resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in employee recognition.
I developed the end-to-end program structure, including the annual cadence, nomination process, leadership review framework, communications strategy, and governance model. Each award cycle, I coordinated submissions, prepared leadership review materials, edited and elevated nomination stories into compelling examples of business impact, created executive presentations, produced winner announcements, maintained recognition websites, tracked deadlines and historical recipients, and managed communications across email, Microsoft Teams, and other internal channels.
The result was a scalable, repeatable recognition program that celebrated outstanding work, increased visibility for high-performing individuals and teams, strengthened employee engagement, and reinforced the behaviors and values leadership wanted to recognize across the organization.
Work Delivered
Meta - Reality Labs | 2026
Microsoft - Global Customer Experience (GCX) | 2023–2026
Microsoft - Consumer Channel Sales & Marketing | 2020-2022
Opening Day at Trillium Nursery Farm in Redmond, Washington.
Original content included masking and photographing Seattle’s famous “Waiting for the Interurban” statues.
Photo shoot on Bainbridge Island
CONSULTING & FRACTIONAL SUPPORT
Trillium Nursery Farm
Business Development • Brand Strategy • Website Design • Digital Marketing
Partnered with the founders to build the business from the ground up, developing the brand identity, positioning, voice, and storytelling that define Trillium Nursery Farm's presence across landscape design, nursery services, and event offerings.
Designed and launched the complete digital experience, creating the website architecture, user experience, messaging framework, and customer journey while highlighting the farm's 60-year legacy, on-site nursery, and event venue.
Developed marketing content, service descriptions, and product narratives for landscape design, nursery inventory, weddings, and corporate events, creating a consistent brand voice across the customer experience.
Worked alongside the owners to refine business goals, define service offerings, and establish scalable communications and customer engagement processes to support future growth.
Washington State Department of Labor & Industries
Copywriting • Content Strategy • Public Health Communications • User Experience
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I served as the lead English-language copywriter on a multidisciplinary University of Washington Communication Leadership team supporting the redesign and launch of the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries' Mask Selection web app. The tool helped workers identify the appropriate mask for their job tasks by translating complex health and safety guidance into clear, actionable information.
Working closely with designers, researchers, and subject matter experts, I developed the app's public-facing content, instructional copy, campaign messaging, and bilingual social media content in English and Spanish. My role focused on making technical information accessible, ensuring the language met government communication standards while remaining easy for workers across Washington State to understand and use.
To support the campaign, I also created original photography and visual concepts that encouraged public engagement. One image, featuring Seattle's iconic Waiting for the Interurban statues wearing masks, became a recognizable campaign asset at a time when photography reflecting everyday life during the pandemic was difficult to find.
The result was a clear, approachable communication experience that helped workers quickly understand complex safety guidance while supporting one of the state's public health initiatives during a rapidly changing time.
Seacharrones
Digital Marketing • Content Strategy • Brand Storytelling • Product Launch
Selected through the University of Washington's Communication Leadership graduate program for a 10-week consulting engagement supporting the launch of Seacharrones, a new-to-market regenerative kelp snack created by Blue Dot Kitchen.
Partnered with the founders to develop the brand's digital marketing strategy, translating complex marine science, sustainability research, and sea-farming practices into clear, engaging messaging that connected with consumers while supporting the company's mission of restoring ocean health.
Created website content, product narratives, campaign messaging, social media content, photography, and video concepts that introduced Seacharrones' organic, vegan kelp puffs through a voice that emphasized flavor, fun, and purpose-driven snacking.
The result was a cohesive digital marketing foundation that helped establish the brand's early online presence while making an innovative, science-based product approachable and engaging for everyday consumers.
VIDEO PRODUCTION
Watch chicks hatch from a classroom incubator and make their classroom debut. (3 minutes)
6.7K views
Learn how to make a delicious, kid-sized breakfast. (3 minutes)
Watch this documentary capturing the final moments before a 40‑year career comes to a close in the midst of the COVID‑19 pandemic. (4 minutes)
St. Thomas School
Educational Video Production • Science Communication • Instructional Design • Storytelling
Partnered with St. Thomas School to create an engaging educational video documenting the complete 21-day chick-hatching process, transforming a classroom science project into a reusable learning experience for kindergarten students.
Managed the project from concept to completion, writing the script, filming, editing, and producing the video in Adobe Premiere Pro while collaborating with teachers to ensure the content aligned with curriculum goals, classroom timing, and student readiness.
Developed a companion classroom presentation that educators could customize and reuse each year, extending the value of the project beyond a single lesson and creating a repeatable instructional resource.
The result was a lasting educational experience that continued well beyond its original production. After I introduced the program, my daughter used the materials to lead the annual chick-hatching lesson, becoming the school's unofficial "chick expert" and helping younger students experience the excitement of watching new life emerge.
Dutch Babies: Just for Kids
Video Production • Creative Direction • Educational Storytelling • Family Content
Created a kid-friendly cooking video that teaches young audiences how to make single-serving Dutch Babies, combining step-by-step instruction with playful storytelling to make cooking approachable and fun.
Managed every stage of production, including concept development, scripting, filming, directing, and editing in Adobe Premiere Pro. Working with my daughter as the on-camera host, I focused on creating a natural, engaging learning experience that balanced clear instruction with humor and personality.
Designed the video's pacing around a child's attention span, incorporating visual gags, candid moments, and creative cutaways, including scenes showing how to pass the time while the Dutch Babies baked, to keep young viewers entertained while reinforcing the lesson.
The result was an educational video that blended learning with entertainment, demonstrating how thoughtful storytelling and approachable production can make everyday skills more engaging for children and families.
King County Metro Transit
Documentary Storytelling • Video Production • Human-Centered Communications • Editing
Created a short documentary as part of a graduate-level Video Storytelling course, capturing my dad's final days as a King County Metro Transit Base Chief after a 40-year career. Filmed during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the project documented a deeply personal milestone against the backdrop of unprecedented uncertainty.
Managed every aspect of production, including concept development, interviewing, filming, editing, and post-production in Adobe Premiere Pro. Through thoughtful pacing, original footage, and intentional music selection, I balanced moments of humor with the emotional reality of retiring during a global crisis.
Rather than focusing solely on one individual's retirement, the documentary explored the broader experience of frontline public-sector employees navigating rapidly changing health guidance, workplace policies, union concerns, and the uncertainty that defined the early pandemic.
The result was an intimate documentary that preserved an important family milestone while demonstrating the power of human-centered storytelling to connect personal experiences with larger societal events.
PODCAST STORYTELLING
Much like video production in Adobe Premiere Pro, podcasting allowed me to focus entirely on the story through voice, pacing, and sound. I often started by converting every interview and recording into a transcript, then rearranged the conversation until the narrative flowed naturally. Without visuals to rely on, every edit mattered. Listeners fill in the details themselves, using a different part of their brain to imagine the people, places, and moments being described. I love that audio leaves room for the audience to picture the story in their own way.
Listen to the 8-minute podcast. Soundcloud login required.
Graduate Capstone | A Legacy of Builders
Audio Storytelling • Narrative Writing • Podcast Production • Personal Documentary
Created a narrative podcast as the capstone project for my Master of Communication in Digital Media program, exploring my family's multigenerational connection to building and how that legacy influenced my response to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Developed the concept, script, and story structure, weaving together personal history, remote learning, pandemic layoffs, and the unexpected decision to build a backyard greenhouse as a way to create something tangible during an uncertain time.
Managed the project from concept to completion, recording all audio on an iPhone and completing editing, sound design, and production in Adobe Premiere Pro using techniques developed through graduate coursework in audio storytelling.
The result was a reflective, instructor-reviewed narrative that demonstrated how personal storytelling can connect individual experiences to broader cultural moments, transforming everyday events into a compelling audio documentary.
Listen to the 1-minute audio postcard Soundcloud login required.
Audio Storytelling | Winter at Snoqualmie Falls
Audio Storytelling • Sound Design • Narrative Writing • Sense of Place
Created a narrated audio postcard as part of my graduate coursework in Audio Storytelling, using sound to capture the experience of visiting Snoqualmie Falls on a winter day when the waterfall itself was completely hidden by clouds.
Developed the concept, script, and narrative arc, relying on natural ambience, environmental audio, and descriptive narration to tell the story without visuals. The project explored how sound alone can shape a listener's imagination and create a vivid sense of place.
Recorded audio on location and completed editing, mixing, and production using techniques learned throughout the program, carefully balancing narration with the surrounding soundscape to immerse listeners in the experience.
The result was a concise audio vignette that demonstrated the power of sound to evoke atmosphere, proving that sometimes the most memorable part of a destination isn't what you see, but what you hear.
SCREENPLAYS
Writing screenplays and creating story concepts allow me to write for myself. Tangleheart is a draft I finished. It’s the first in a 3-part series.
The others are in development. Movie posters are courtesy of AI.
Tangleheart
Screenplay by Alyssa Hagen
When two sisters are forced back home for the summer to rescue their beloved but failing family dairy, they find themselves confronting more than financial trouble. Their father refuses to face the abandonment by his wife, and a rogue farmhand’s substance abuse threatens what little stability remains. To save the farm, and themselves, they must decide what truly matters, both together and apart, as they rebuild the foundation for the rest of their lives.
This isn’t Grandpa’s farm anymore. With technology and globalization reshaping rural life, American farmers are constantly recalibrating to preserve their way of living without losing authenticity.
A love letter to Washington State, Tangleheart showcases the region’s natural beauty, from Eastern Washington’s wide plains, across the mountain passes, through the Snohomish Valley, and into Seattle, capturing the tension between tradition and transformation in a changing world.
Four Lives, One Moon
Screenplay by Alyssa Hagen
As four generations of women move through the thresholds of girlhood, adulthood, aging, and late‑life expansion, each finds herself confronting a bodily change she does not fully understand.
Lila hides her first period out of general annoyance and resistance, Maya battles the chaos of perimenopause, Rose searches for identity in the stillness of post‑menopause, and Ada embraces aging as a widening horizon.
Their lives begin to shift as an inexplicable pull draws them toward Ada’s desert home, where she is preparing to marry again. Years of cultural discomfort and generational secrecy have left each woman feeling alone in her experience, yet the journey brings them face to face with one another’s fears, frustrations, and hopes. What begins as an awkward reunion becomes a rediscovery of lineage as they realize that the changes they carry in their bodies are not isolating events but shared passages.
Four Moons is a story about connection, inheritance, and the power of naming what was once kept in the dark.
Tangleheart Crush
Screenplay by Alyssa Hagen
Four years after sisters Marielle and Violet transformed half their struggling family dairy into a vineyard, harvest season has finally arrived. Their first crop of grapes promises just enough wine to age until next year, but a looming winter storm and pressure from a commercial real‑estate developer threaten everything they’ve built.
As they fight to protect their land, they face impossible choices: take the money and run, or find the resources to preserve their legacy. Their father’s new position on the city council complicates matters further; his decisions could either save the farm or destroy it.
Between friendship, love, loyalty, and conflicting visions for the future, the sisters must navigate a community divided between nostalgia for “the good old days” and younger families desperate for affordable housing. As Violet graduates from college, this harvest might be her chance to break free on her own terms, or stand together.
Generation Gamma, 2057
Screenplay by Alyssa Hagen
Staggering under the weight of centuries of environmental damage, a mother and daughter set out on a daring, multi‑generational mission to restore Earth to its natural balance. Their work begins with low‑tech tools and grassroots organizing, but the true turning point comes from a growing recognition that human consciousness holds capacities far deeper than society has ever acknowledged.
Their mission unfolds in the shadow of disinformation campaigns, political resistance, and powerful institutions determined to maintain the status quo. While identifying the planet’s most urgent threats, they discover a global network of unconventional ambassadors whose perceptiveness and inner resonance make them uniquely equipped to guide the movement.
Told across the present day and the year 2057, two generations into the future, Generation Gamma explores the intersection of science, intuition, and collective will. It is a story about legacy, the power of human connection, and the possibility that the key to saving the planet has been within us all along, waiting for someone brave enough to trust it.
Tangleheart: In the Mix
Screenplay by Alyssa Hagen
Marielle is deep into vet school, splitting her time between classes and working alongside the semi‑retired local veterinarian. As she steps further into adulthood, the past begins to surface in unexpected ways. Her father finally opens up about how he met her mother, his years in the military, the early days of their marriage. What they once thought was a happy lullaby now carries a different weight. With age and experience, perspective shifts.
When a widowed neighbor becomes a steady presence in the sisters’ lives. she reminds them that it’s okay to remember their mother as doting and loving.
With the vineyard and dairy now thriving under Violet’s management, Marielle pursue an opportunity to study traditional cattle work in South America, coincidentally, where she believes her mother may be.
Just Enough Esquire
Screenplay by Alyssa Hagen
Jamie has mastered the art of efficiency everywhere except at home. As a self‑employed attorney, they finish a full day’s workload in a few focused hours, then spend the remaining stretch before school pickup indulging in their favorite mystery novels on a velvet office couch. Coffee runs, stock‑market check‑ins, and plant‑store detours make the afternoons feel almost like a secret life. But the moment Jamie walks through the front door, that calm dissolves.
Home used to be a cozy rambler, but everything changed when Grandma swept in with her inheritance. From that moment on, the household became a stage for Grandma’s opinions, the spouse’s people‑pleasing, and the kids’ rising entitlement resulting in a forbidden gift, tipping the family dynamic off‑kilter.
All summer, Jamie channels their love of mysteries into a bold experiment with a sprawling game of clues, traps, coded messages, and staged encounters meant to jolt the household out of its entitlement spiral.
Just Enough Esquire becomes a story about boundaries, priorities, and how a little mystery can disrupt a family enough to shine a light on what truly matters.
Working Retirement
Screenplay by Alyssa Hagen
Three forty‑something women, Stacy, Carly, and Alex, are jolted out of their carefully curated lives when a major Seattle earthquake shakes loose much more than drywall.
In three sharply drawn opening vignettes, we meet them exactly as they are: Stacy, the wellness‑obsessed empath who forgets to put clothes on; Carly, the hyper‑ competent former college athlete managing a smart home and a small child; and Alex, the anxious tech worker buried under quilts, chickens, and Pinterest affirmations.
They are wildly different, yet bound by decades of friendship and the shared exhaustion of being Gen X women who have weathered 9/11, the 2008 crash, COVID, and now a massive quake within the Cascadia Subduction Zone, on the enormous fault line stretching from Canada to California that scientists warned would seriously rock the entire West Coast.
Months after the natural disaster, over wine and self‑deprecating commentary about Gen Z’s effortless cool, the women take stock of the disasters that shaped their generation.
What begins as a joke about starting the commune they dreamed about in their twenties becomes real when Stacy pulls up a listing for the perfect plot of land. A half‑serious idea becomes a full leap into their own utopia.
As they buy, build, and attempt to inhabit their dream community, the people in their orbit complicate and enrich every step.
Carly’s husband Jake quietly constructs half the commune without anyone noticing. Alex’s husband Brad is focused only on salvaging what’s left of his garage full of seemingly identical classic cars. Stacy floats through life with a drink in hand and a rotating cast of admirers.
Kids, parents, careers, farm animals, and wannabe-commune dwellers collide in a chaotic, comedic ecosystem where everyone is trying, sometimes badly, to grow.
Working Retirement is a comedy about middle age, friendship, and the myth of the perfect life. The women catch fleeting glimpses of the paradise they imagined, only to realize that utopia is not a place you build. It’s in the rare, shimmering moments when we feel seen, supported, and understood. Like the commune, families, and themselves, everything is a work in progress.
VOLUNTEER ROLES & COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS
Outside of work, I'm drawn to opportunities that strengthen communities and help people move forward. These experiences have reinforced many of the same skills I use professionally, including leadership, communication, mentorship, program coordination, and a commitment to continuous learning.
WOMEN, WINE & TECH
Career Mentorship • Public Speaking • Community Engagement • Professional Networking
As a volunteer with techaWare and Women at Microsoft, I helped facilitate Women, Wine & Tech, a networking event designed to connect women interested in careers in technology with professionals from across the Seattle tech community.
What I expected to be a behind-the-scenes volunteer role quickly turned into something much bigger. Instead of helping coordinate the event, I spent the evening speaking with more than 250 attendees about career paths, networking, resumes, LinkedIn, communications, and what it's really like to build a career in tech.
Throughout the evening, I answered questions, shared lessons from my own career journey, and encouraged attendees to build genuine relationships rather than simply collect business cards. One piece of advice I wrote on the whiteboard behind me became the centerpiece of many conversations and served as a reminder that small actions can have a lasting impact on someone's career.
The experience reinforced something I've found throughout my career: some of the most meaningful opportunities happen when you say yes before you feel completely ready.
YOUTH SOCCER COACH
Leadership • Coaching & Mentorship • Community Building • Team Development
Since the late nineties, I've coached boys', girls', co-ed, indoor, and outdoor soccer teams through Bellevue United FC, Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association, and Crossfire Rec. My goal (pun always intended) is to teach a love for the game and a real understanding of it, while reinforcing sportsmanship and respect. The values learned on the field always translate into life off the field.
Early each season, I commit to learning every player's history with the game so I can meet them wherever they are in their development. Some are working toward high school roster spots, others are brand new to soccer, and a few stay on the team simply because they love the environment we create together.
Coaching at 60 Acres, the same fields where I grew up playing, healed part of my soul. My goal is always to bring back the feeling of "street soccer," playing for joy, connection, and the love of the game.
Alumni Fellow & Mentor | University of Washington (2022- 2023)
Professional Mentorship • Community Building • Public Speaking • Lifelong Learning
As an Alumni Fellow and Mentor, I support the Communication Leadership Graduate Studies program by mentoring current students, strengthening community connections, and helping create meaningful professional development opportunities. In this role, I've partnered with faculty, hosted events, and served as a resource for students navigating their academic and career paths. Staying connected with Comm Lead allows me to attend industry talks, network and continue learning about evolving Communications across industries.
Marketing | Redmond Garden Club (2022- Present)
Community Engagement • Digital Communications • Event Coordination • Volunteer Leadership
Horticulture is a lifelong learning opportunity, and being part of the Redmond Garden Club puts me elbow to elbow with some of the most prolific gardeners in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve updated the club’s website, managed social media, negotiated meeting and plant‑sale venues, and volunteered at events, all while learning from others and helping young gardeners get excited about seed starting. At the plant sale, I run the kids’ tent with my daughter, where young gardeners explore hands‑on activities.
Copy Editor | International Student Guide (2022)
Editorial Strategy • Cross-Cultural Communication • Content Development • Accessibility
More than half of the students in my graduate program come from outside the United States. I had the opportunity to provide copy‑editing support for the first edition of the Comm Lead International Student Guide, a resource created to help incoming international students navigate relocation, academics, and life at the University of Washington. It was meaningful work that allowed me to contribute to a guide designed to make the program more accessible, welcoming, and supportive for students arriving from around the world.
Writing mentor | Gashora Girls Academy of Science & Technology
Mentorship • Global Collaboration • Education • Empowerment
My volunteer commitment with the Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology (2019-2020) in Rwanda involved working with seniors to develop their unique voices through writing‑focused coursework and college essays for international university applications.
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) | King County (2005-2007)
Advocacy • Critical Thinking • Stakeholder Collaboration • Written Communication
While working as a legal clerk in the Family Law department at Preston, Gates & Ellis under Mabry DeBuys, I was considering law school and wanted firsthand experience in child advocacy. I volunteered with the King County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program, representing the best interests of abused and neglected children whose parents were involved in dependency and child‑welfare proceedings.
As a CASA, I interviewed family members and other adults in each child’s life, researched their living conditions, and collaborated with the Department of Social and Human Services to make informed recommendations to the court. I wrote detailed reports and appeared at hearings to present my findings to the judge. All three of my cases ultimately resulted in the children being adopted into safe, loving homes.
My work was featured in the January 2007 issue of All You magazine in an article titled “A Hero for Children,” which profiled my role as a CASA volunteer and highlighted the challenges and rewards of advocating for children in the foster care system.
I look forward to returning as a CASA in the future.
SOCIAL MEDIA
I’ve written across social platforms, industries, audiences, and formats, from C‑suite communications to small‑business storytelling, nonprofit messaging, and my own creative work.
Crafting original, engaging content is a challenge I genuinely enjoy, especially when I’m empowered to use original messaging to reinforce the mission of each product, program or service.