Communications

Joi M. Ross

**** ******* **., ********, ** *****

Phone: 630-***-**** (cell) Email: ***********@*****.***

SKILLS SUMMARY - Communications professional with over 15 years’ experience

Communications (key messages, writing, editing)

Communication strategy (development and implementation)

Leadership and staff development

Presentation development and delivery

Translating highly technical information into everyday terms targeted to a general audience

Materials development/design (brochures, fact sheets, newsletters, visual displays, web content)

Customer relations (external and internal)

Communications training

Contract and project management

Business development and marketing

Stakeholder outreach, awareness and education

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE and RESULTS

APEX Direct, Inc. – Communications Director (2003-2017)

* Led community relations, public outreach and awareness, event management, risk & crisis communication training, and emergency preparedness projects for various clients.

* Grew staff and increased contract values from $150k to $1M+ within a few years.

* Marketed new work, leveraged existing work.

* Maintained existing and established new client relationships. 95% repeat customer business and referrals.

* Developed and executed campaigns to inform, raise awareness, educate, motivate behavior changes and facilitate internal alignment with corporate vision. Managed all aspects, tracked milestones and results.

* Created framework for Chicago’s first citywide sustainability action agenda with tailored outreach strategies for each stakeholder group.

* Received International Airport Council’s 1st place award for “excellence in communications” for public awareness campaign at Chicago’s midway airport.

* Managed 5-year community involvement support contract for federal environmental cleanup sites in a six-state region. Received “excellent” performance scores and won second 5-year contract.

* Secured a 5-year ~$1M sole-source contract to support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice. Led team of 10 staff plus vendors in providing technical and logistical support to a 25-member federal advisory committee. Created content and style guide protocols.

* Created outreach materials and strategies directed at underserved and overburdened communities nationwide.

* Provided event management, marketing, materials development, editing, emergency preparedness outreach, training, presentations and voice-overs for various private, municipal and federal clients. Results often led to follow-on work.

* Managed tri-state emergency preparedness awareness campaign involving 10 Illinois counties, five Indiana counties and one Wisconsin county for municipal client. Researched best practices and deployed on-the-ground campaigns in local communities throughout the tri-state area. Successful pilot campaign led to the award of a subsequent contract for expanded outreach.

* Conducted community involvement, risk and crisis communications training for municipal, state and federal emergency responders. Participant feedback of “excellent” on initial course resulted in client requesting repeat and expanded course offerings nationwide over a 10-year period.

* Edited and conducted quality control of all deliverables for conformance to technical and style guidelines.

Tetra Tech, Inc.

Public Outreach Programs Director (1998-2003)

* Managed projects and contracts totaling approximately $5 million.

* Oversaw and conducted quality control (technical and editorial reviews) of staff and subcontractor work products before submittal to external clients.

* Interviewed, trained and managed project teams from two to 10+ people.

* Team leader for 8-12 technical and administrative staff. Conducted performance reviews and feedback, consulted on career advancement, helped keep staff billable, and served as a primary point of contact for resolving performance issues.

* Trained new staff on organizational culture and helped them acclimate.

* Conducted stakeholder interviews, created targeted stakeholder engagement plans, and helped clients execute the plans.

* Marketed and won a contract to develop and teach a community involvement course for private clients subject to environmental regulations.

* Trained all regional staff responsible for community outreach work.

* Responsible for projects totaling roughly $5 million involving stakeholder interviews and assessments, created targeted outreach plans, developed written materials targeted to specific groups, and managed and coordinated events.

* Marketed and won contract to assist Fortune 100 client in developing customer service/retail excellence training program for dealer-operated sites nationwide. Conducted training needs assessment via focus groups, developed training objectives and materials for regional pilot program, deployed the training and assessed results. Pilot project was expanded to include sites nationwide.

* Developed and implemented internal customer service training program, delivered to all regional employees. Created companion customer feedback toolkit for use as a day-to-day handbook for developing customer profiles, surveys and questionnaires, and analyzing and using qualitative and quantitative feedback for maximum results.

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

Connect Team Leader for nonprofit organization. Recruited, trained and oversaw team of ~50 volunteers responsible for setting a friendly, inviting, loving atmosphere; providing guest care; and coordinating special events. (~2010-present)

Board of Directors for a women’s shelter in Chicago. Attended monthly board meetings and provided advice and counsel regarding effective ways to run the operations and provide services. (~2006-2008)

Youth Outreach Program Director. Planned and conducted weekly object lessons for 7th and 8th graders focusing on their spiritual development, and worked with a subset to prepare them to compete in regional and national sports and scholastic competitions. (~1998-2005)

EDUCATION

Master of Science, Public Services and Administration, DePaul University (with distinction; 3.8/4.0)

Bachelor of Business Administration, Management/Marketing, Eastern Michigan University (Dean’s list 3 years)

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