PORTFOLIO
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Just a sampling of my extensive community engagement portfolio
HAMILTON’S AMERICA DOCUMENTARY SCREENING
- The Byrd Theatre, Richmond, VA
- Partners: The Cheats Movement, Richmond City Dance Theater, Hip-Hop Artists Chance Fischer and God Goldin, Virginia Repertory Theater, Students of Maggie Walker Governor’s School, Broadway in Richmond
- Nationally Recognized as “Best in Community Engagement” by NETA (National Educational Telecommunications Assoc) and CPB (Corporation for Public Broadcasting)
- Included social media elements and Kahoot interaction during event
- Pre-Sceening elements included local dance troupe, actors, rapper/spoken word artists sharing their interpretations of the Hamilton musical
- Sold out/filled to capacity; performances and screening were met with multiple standing ovations
- Bonus Engagement: Fundraising elements that raised over $50K. I presented to PMDMC (Public Media Development and Marketing Conference) about “Connecting Beyond the Broadcast to Strengthen Your Fundraising”
DOWNTON ABBEY FINAL SEASON PREMIERE SCREENING
- Altria Theater, Richmond, VA
- 3000 Attendees/Sold Out
- Introduction/Opening by Actress Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hughes) Click HERE for video of her introduction.
- Prior to the screening, Maymont shared about history parallels between Richmond, VA and the UK during the time/setting of this final season of Downton Abbey
- Included pre-screening dinner and dancing with professional dancers in the mix
- Largest Downton Abbey Screening Event in the U.S.
VICTORIA ON MASTERPIECE SEASON 4 PREMIERE SCREENING
- Dover Hall, Manakin-Sabot, VA
- Partners: English Speaking Union, Maymont, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
- 2 Screening Times; both sold out
- Included tour of estate with signature cocktails and a British themed scavenger hunt. Guests enjoyed full tea service while watching the premiere screening. The English Speaking Union shared fun facts about the history of the Royal Family that informed the backstory of that season of Victoria.
- Bonus Engagement: Ellen LeCompte, from the English Speaking Union, did weekly blog posts on the VPM website (“Musings on the Monarchy”) sharing fun and interesting (and sometimes spicy!) facts and stories about the Royal Family that pertained to each episode.
THE VIETNAM WAR (Ken Burns) MULTI-MEDIA INITIATIVE
- Partners: Virginia War Memorial, Virginia Museum of History and Culture, Veterans of Foreign Wars
- Screening Event at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture (frmly Virginia Historical Society) filled to capacity.
- Featured radio stories and online articles spotlighting local veterans and those affected by the Vietnam War.
- The Vietnam War: Virginia Remembers traveling photo exhibit featuring local citizens with connections to the Vietnam War. Displayed in various venues across Central Virginia over the span of 3 months.
- Two local 30-minute documentaries featuring local interviews with veterans from both sides of the war and conscientious objectors.
- Provided additional screening events to teachers during their professional development days and worked with educators to create lesson plans centered on the film to Virginia Standards of Learning. Included City of Richmond and Chesterfield and Henrico County Public Schools.
THE GREAT AMERICAN READ (TGAR) MULTI-MEDIA INITIATIVE
- Partners: Chesterfield County Public Library, Henrico Public Library, Richmond Public Library, James Madison Regional Public Library, Massanutten Regional Library; Junior League
- Worked with library systems to promote the series, along with voting for America’s favorite book in their locations.
- Held a screening party for library representatives and provided TGAR assets to post and distribute in their locations. Assisted them in hosting their own screening parties of movie titles that were also book titles in the series.
- Hosted a TGAR kiosk and table at the Junior League’s Book and Author event. Created an online quiz to help guests pick their next read from the official list of 100 TGAR books. Shared program details and swag to promote the series.
- Created photo exhibit of community members’ portraits profiling their favorite titles from the list and how these books influenced their lives. These community profiles were also shared as an Instagram series.
Community Partners That I've Had the Pleasure of Working With Include...
2nd Street Festival |
African American Genealogical Association | Greater Richmond, VA Chapter |
Altria Theater |
Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia |
Capital One CarMax Chesterfield County Public Library |
Chesterfield County Public Schools Chesterfield County Recreation and Parks |
Chesterfield Extension |
Children’s Museum (of Richmond) |
Churchill Activities and Tutoring Community Foundation of Richmond |
Discovery Museum (Charlottesville) |
Dover Hall |
English Speaking Union – Richmond Chapter |
First Book |
Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia |
Glen Allen Cultural Arts Center
Greater Richmond Association for Volunteer Administration
Greater Richmond Convention Center |
Henrico County Public Schools
Henrico Public Library |
Hippodrome Theater |
Institute for Nonprofit News |
Jefferson Hotel |
Jefferson-Madison Regional Library |
Junior League of Richmond |
Latin Jazz and Salsa Festival |
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden |
Library of Virginia |
Maymont |
McGuire VA Medical Center |
National Coalition Against Censorship |
National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) |
National Endowment for the Arts |
Peter Paul Development Center |
Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival |
Poetry Foundation |
Poetry Out Loud |
Randolph Macon College/Blackwell Center for Performing Arts |
Richmond Christmas Parade |
Richmond Folk Festival |
Richmond Public Library
Richmond Public Schools
Richmond Young Writers |
RVA Environmental Film Festival |
Science Museum of Virginia |
The Byrd Theatre |
The Cheats Movement |
The Market at 25th |
The Poe Museum |
The Richmond Flying Squirrels/The Diamond |
The Valentine Museum |
University of Richmond |
Veterans of Foreign War |
Vietnamese Society of Richmond |
Virginia Commission for the Arts
Virginia Commonwealth University |
Virginia Festival of the Book
Virginia High School League
Virginia Humanities |
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)
Virginia Museum of History and Culture (formerly Virginia Historical Society) Virginia Repertory Theater
Virginia State University
Virginia War Memorial |
Visual Arts Center of Richmond |
Event Categories & Projects I've Spearheaded
Screening Events – Documentaries and PBS Television Series Premieres | ||
The Vietnam War | ||
The Great American Read | ||
Victoria on Masterpiece (3 Seasons) | ||
Downton Abbey (3 Seasons) | ||
Hamilton’s America at the Byrd Theatre | ||
Genealogy Roadshow at the Hippodrome | ||
Chasing the Moon with Margot Lee Shetterly | ||
Revolutionizing Dementia Care (Local Documentary) at the VPM studios | ||
Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive (American Masters) at the Poe Museum | ||
Polytrauma Rehab in the VA (Local Documentary) at the McGuire VA Hospital | ||
Screening Events – Children/PBS KIDS Premieres | ||
Pinkalicious & Peterrific at the Byrd Theatre | ||
Let’s Go Luna! at the Glen Allen Cultural Center | ||
Odd Squad and Nature Cat at the Science Museum of Virginia | ||
Curious George at the VPM Studios | ||
In-Studio Events with Live Audiences for Television | ||
Poetry Out Loud Virginia State Finals (3 years) | ||
Political Forums Panel Discussions (2 years) | ||
Senate Political Debate – Tim Kaine and Corey Stewart | ||
Film Festivals | ||
Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival (introduced a PBS film on behalf of VPM) | ||
RVA Environmental Film Festival (hosted screenings annually at VPM Studios) | ||
Outreach | ||
VPM NPR/PBS: The Market at 25th | PBS KIDS programs and presence in store in Richmond’s East End | ||
Annual Explore the Outdoors (up to 5K guests – children and families) with 50 community partners each year | ||
Seasonal Open Houses at the VPM Studios | ||
PBS KIDS Summer Challenge | engaging children in 3 television markets over the summer to prevent summer slide with online activities, tv programs, in-person events, and more. You can see details of the activity sheets I created for this outreach initiative in the Communications section of my website HERE. | ||
Regular PBS KIDS character appearances/sharing resources and activities with Children’s Museum of Richmond and Maymont
The Vietnam War (PBS/Ken Burns Documentary Series) – presented to teachers in three school districts during their professional development days. Worked with educators to develop lesson plans related to the documentary, to Virginia SOL standards
James River Writers Advocacy Series: Book Banning and Censorship (in partnership with Newbery Medalist/National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Meg Medina and The National Coalition Against Censorship)
The Importance of Local Journalism in a Healthy Democracy (in partnership with NPR’s Full Disclosure and the Institute for Nonprofit News)
We STILL Need Diverse Books (in partnership with We Need Diverse Books) | ||
Conferences
| 21st Annual James River Writers Conference (In-Person) 20th Annual James River Writers Conference (In-Person) 19th Annual James River Writers Conference (Online) 18th Annual James River Writers Conference (Online) | |