In October 2013, Jimmy Fallon visited Orlando to promote The Tonight Show’s upcoming week of broadcasts from Universal Orlando Resort scheduled for June 2014.

I saw an opportunity: generate publicity for the organization while encouraging Fallon and his production team to consider featuring one of the Science Center’s presenters in a science-based segment during the Orlando shows.

After spotting a social media post Jimmy Fallon shared while visiting Orlando, I immediately recognized an opportunity. The photo had been posted only moments earlier, and I wanted to engage while the iron was hot.

Rather than sending a generic invitation, I noticed Fallon’s one-word Twitter bio — “astrophysicist” — and crafted a playful response positioning Orlando Science Center as a natural stop during his Orlando visit.

The approach worked. Fallon publicly replied within minutes, creating an unexpected opportunity to extend the interaction beyond social media and into a broader publicity campaign.

Working with internal stakeholders, we transformed the exchange into a sustained outreach effort that included local television coverage, media interviews and a customized gift package delivered to Fallon’s team at 30 Rockefeller Plaza ahead of The Tonight Show’s Orlando broadcasts.

The campaign was designed not only to generate publicity, but also to showcase Orlando Science Center’s creativity, personality and educational mission.

Generated local television coverage and expanded public awareness of Orlando Science Center through earned media and social engagement. The campaign demonstrated how timely opportunity recognition and creative storytelling could transform a simple online interaction into a sustained publicity initiative — without paid advertising.

Keeping a six-month exhibition in the public conversation is difficult under any circumstances. Doing so in Orlando with a Star Wars-themed exhibit presented an additional challenge, as audiences were already inundated by Star Wars experiences, attractions and marketing.

As the exhibition entered its final weekend, Orlando Science Center needed a compelling new story capable of generating media attention, driving attendance and creating a final surge of awareness before the exhibit closed.

Develop a publicity opportunity that would increase awareness of the exhibition while reinforcing Orlando Science Center’s position as a destination where science, pop culture and community experiences intersect.

Working with members of the 501st Legion, we coordinated a surprise marriage proposal that took place inside the exhibition and incorporated iconic Star Wars characters into the experience.

The event transformed a personal milestone into a newsworthy community story, creating opportunities for media coverage, social engagement and organic word-of-mouth promotion.

By focusing on the human element rather than simply promoting the exhibit, we created a story that audiences and journalists could immediately connect with.

Generated earned media and community engagement while extending awareness of the exhibition beyond traditional advertising channels.

The story was featured nationally by HLN in three separate broadcasts and syndicated to television affiliates across more than 20 U.S. media markets, including Washington, D.C. and Seattle.

The event demonstrated how creative publicity and strategic storytelling could transform a museum exhibit into a culturally relevant local news story, reinforcing Orlando Science Center’s reputation for innovative community experiences.

The center was created by technical experts, but its success depended on people outside that group understanding why it existed and how they could use it.

I had to turn a collection of sophisticated technologies into a relevant business story for employees, leaders, journalists and other stakeholders.

Position the Innovation Center not simply as a new facility, but as a place where employee ideas, emerging technology and real business challenges could come together.

• Built the communications roadmap
  
  • Defined audiences, messages, channels and launch phases across internal and external communications.
    
    
• Equipped executives to lead the story
  
  • Developed keynote remarks, briefing materials, media Q&A and interview preparation so leaders could communicate the same narrative consistently.
    
    
• Activated the launch
  • Coordinated employee communications, media participation, executive interviews and launch-day storytelling that brought the facility’s capabilities to life.

The coordinated campaign introduced the Innovation Center to employees and external audiences through a consistent, accessible narrative.

It prepared senior leaders for employee and media engagement and generated coverage across local news, business, aerospace and defense outlets.

Role: Communications Lead

Scope: Strategy, messaging, executive communications, speechwriting, internal communications, media relations and cross-functional launch coordination

Lockheed Martin’s Pike County Operations planned significant future expansion that required acquiring approximately 2.6 miles of County Road 7717 running through company property.

While the project promised new investment and future job growth, it also generated public concern surrounding emergency response, property access and community impact. Local news closely followed the issue as it progressed through county meetings, public hearings and ultimately a county commission vote.

The communications challenge extended well beyond announcing a proposal — it required maintaining organizational credibility throughout a complex public conversation involving multiple stakeholder groups with competing interests.

Following months of public discussion, county commission meetings and community engagement, the Pike County Commission ultimately approved the road transfer.

Develop a communications strategy that clearly articulated the business rationale behind the proposal while helping company leadership communicate consistently and transparently with employees, county officials, media and local residents throughout the public decision-making process.

• Served as the communications lead supporting Pike County Operations throughout the proposal, partnering closely with site leadership, legal counsel and corporate communications to ensure messaging remained accurate, consistent and responsive as public discussion evolved.

• Developed key messages explaining the business need for the proposed road transfer and adapted communications as new community concerns emerged.

• Prepared the site director for media interviews and public appearances surrounding commission meetings and hearing dates, ensuring leadership could confidently address questions from reporters and stakeholders.

• Drafted multiple official media statements issued to local news organizations throughout the process, providing consistent company responses as coverage evolved over several months.

• Ghostwrote a published Letter to the Editor on behalf of the site director that reinforced the company’s position directly to the local community while respectfully addressing concerns raised during the public debate.

• Traveled to Pike County, Alabama, to support company leadership during the county commission vote, providing on-site communications counsel and media support throughout the proceedings.

The communications strategy extended far beyond messaging alone.

Explore three examples of work that supported leadership, media engagement and community communications throughout the project.

• Communications strategy
• Executive messaging
• Media relations
• Stakeholder communications

Recurring leadership communications had become heavily presentation-driven, often requiring significant preparation from presenters while generating limited audience interaction. The challenge was finding a scalable way to increase engagement without sacrificing the business objectives of the sessions.

Transform passive information delivery into interactive experiences that employees would actively choose to attend while preserving the strategic value of leadership communications.

Rather than relying on traditional presentation formats, I adapted familiar entertainment and gaming concepts into leadership communication experiences designed to encourage participation, discussion and retention.

Modeled after ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, this executive all-hands format transformed organizational updates into a fast-paced broadcast featuring interviews, recognition, business updates and rapid-fire closing segments. The format combined extensive presentation design, custom animations and broadcast-inspired production techniques to create a memorable employee experience.

Modeled after ESPN’s Around the Horn, this quarterly leadership forum featured four leaders responding to themed discussion questions while attendees awarded points in real time. The format increased audience interaction, reduced presenter preparation requirements and remained in use for approximately two years.

Inspired by the classic book series, this interactive experience placed leaders in realistic workplace scenarios requiring a series of decisions. Participants tracked their choices throughout the session and ultimately discovered which characteristics from the organization’s Authentic Leadership Framework most closely aligned with their leadership style.

• Executive communications
• Employee engagement strategy
• Meeting format design
• Presentation development
• Audience participation planning
• Event production
• Facilitation support
• Creative direction

Lockheed Martin wanted an engaging YouTube series that showcased emerging technologies and the experts driving innovation across the enterprise.

Rather than relying on traditional presentations, the series embraced a conversational format to make complex topics more approachable and engaging.

Beyond serving as on-camera talent, I collaborated on script development and contributed improvised dialogue that helped shape the series’ conversational tone while making complex technical topics accessible for a global audience.

Social Fresh is a nationally recognized social media conference that brings together marketing leaders, digital strategists and brand communicators for keynote presentations, workshops and networking.

As the event’s live announcer, I served as the conference’s voice throughout the program, delivering live announcements from the production booth while also pre-producing the voiceover introductions that accompanied each speaker’s on-stage entrance, helping create a polished and engaging attendee experience.