photo by Sarah Valencia Photography

 

HEY THERE. I’M HOPE.

“WORDS ARE HARD.”

You’re damn right, they are. I wrestle with them every day. I try to place them in the right spot, polish and shine them until they catch someone’s eye, and drive red lines through them until you can’t even tell what they initially spelled.

I love them anyway.

And I’ve loved them ever since I knew how to use them. I carved them into my mom’s black granite sink top in the ‘90s. Since then, I’ve interviewed rock bands in bars, directed a video series that involved me milking a cow for journalism and created TV spots for household name brands.

Today, I use them to create advertising that gets people in their feelings. In a good way.

RIGHT NOW

Hallmark Cards

Senior Greetings Copywriter, Content & Marketing Studio: September 2024 — Present

  • Promoted after a few years of raising my hand when folks needed an expert on the Hallmark brand voice

  • Bring a beloved household brand name and its new card products to life with heartfelt advertising

Freelance Writing and Editing

2015 — Present

  • If you need copywriting, editing, proofreading, lifestyle journalism writing, script writing, email, social, campaign conception or brand editorial strategy, I’m your woman.

BACK THEN

HALLMARK CARDS

Greetings Copywriter, Content & Marketing Studio: January 2022 — September 2024

  • I grew up visiting my local Gold Crown store and pining over stationery, chocolates and cards. When I landed this gig in 2022, I was thrilled!

Feast Magazine

Contributing Writer: January 2021 — 2023

EquipmentShare

Communications and PR Manager: October 2020 — January 2022

  • Managed and wrote both internal and external communications and marketing copy—that’s general, but I really did it all and then some. Startup life, baby!

EquipmentShare

Copywriter: November 2018 — October 2020

  • Learned a lot about skid steers, boom lifts and robots

  • Helped launch the marketing team so the company could secure millions in investment funding, hire hundreds of employees across the nation and get contractors everywhere on board with telematics

  • Wrote everything from UX copy and blog posts to paid media and OOH

Veterans United Home Loans

Copywriter: October 2015 — November 2018

  • Made mortgages sound sexy for the nation’s #1 VA mortgage lender and its 25+ brick-and-mortar locations nationwide

  • Made sure we didn’t get fined as the marketing compliance liaison

Influence & Co.

Content Strategist: March 2014 — October 2015

  • Handled the accounts of 20 content marketing clients, ranging from plus-size lingerie brands and standup paddleboard sales

  • Managed interns who were merely months younger than I

Influence & Co.

Editor: October 2012 — March 2014

  • Boo! I was a ghostwriter published in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Tech Crunch and more, and edited thought leadership content.

THE Montgomery County Journal-News

Copywriter and Feature Writer: 2008 — 2012

  • Penned feature stories, obituaries and news articles about happenings in Montgomery County, Illinois

  • Directed, produced and edited the first-ever video series for the publication called "Hope In Your Hometown”

Fancy Piece of Paper

University of Missouri - Columbia
Bachelor of journalism with an emphasis in magazine editing
Minor in English writing
Multicultural studies certificate

RECOGNITION

Illinois Press Association’s Best of the Press 2012 Award

American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Kansas City 2024 Award: Hallmark + Venmo Cards Campaign