HELLO THERE!
Thanks for visiting! Explore my site to learn more about me, my background and what I have to offer. If you have questions or would like to discuss an opportunity to work together, feel free to get in touch.
MY STORY
What you won't see on my resume
GROWING UP IN
NORTH CAROLINA
Although I was raised in the South by Southerners, my accent only comes out under these circumstances:
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I'm around family
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I'm jetlagged
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I've had a few glasses of wine
EXPLORING ISRAEL
In college, I got the opportunity to spend a couple of months studying abroad in Israel. We traveled across the country learning about the past and present of the region and meeting people of all different backgrounds.
One of my favorite memories: Hanging out in Jerusalem with new friends listening to Hebrew dubstep in the square
(it was 2011).
MOVING TO THE MIDWEST - SITE UNSEEN
I didn't know anyone. I had never been to Missouri - let alone Springfield, Missouri. But it was a career opportunity I couldn't resist so I left Florida for this new adventure.
Best lesson learned: How to step out of my comfort zone in new places and meet some amazing people.
THE BACKPACKING TRIP THAT STARTED IT ALL
In December 2015, Chris (now my husband) called me up and said, “Hey, Ellen! Crazy idea… what if we went to Europe?” and before he could even finish explaining his reasons, I was all in. We spent two months visiting friends and experiencing art and history in places we had only dreamed about visiting.
Favorite souvenir of the trip:
The travel bug – haven't gotten rid of it since.
LIFE IN LOS ANGELES
Moving from the Midwest to LA (a city I had only visited for 24 hours before) was quite the change but I was ready for it. The museums, the concerts, the airport, the people,
the energy - I loved all of it.
Best LA analogy: Los Angeles is like a riptide – It pulls you in.
HOW I BECAME A DIGITAL NOMAD (ACCIDENTALLY)
After getting engaged, Chris and I traveled the US housesitting and visiting friends since we both worked remotely. Just before returning to LA, we were offered a housesitting gig in France for a month!
The catch? We had to leave in two weeks.
Since I hadn't been in my expensive Santa Monica apartment for a while, we decided to move my stuff into storage with the intention of moving back that summer when travel slowed down.
It never slowed down...
THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE
On December 11, 2018, Chris and I got married.
It truly was the best day of my life - cliché but true.
After getting married, we continued housesitting and traveling the world for another 8 months -
homeless but happy.
Fun fact: Chris and I started a YouTube channel sharing our adventures and lessons learned along the way.
SURPRISE! WE'RE MOVING TO TULSA
Chris and I applied to the Tulsa Remote program when we knew we weren't moving back to LA but weren't sure about the next step.
And surprise! Out of the 10,000 applicants, I was selected to be one of the 100 people to receive the Tulsa Remote Grant! So we moved to Tulsa in August completing 18 months of full-time travel.
A few of our favorite Tulsa things:
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The city's spirit of actively working to make Tulsa the best it can be by investing in each other
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The community we've found within the
Tulsa Remote program -
The chicken and waffles at Dilly's Diner
NOW THAT YOU'RE ALL CAUGHT UP:
MY MARKETING EXPERIENCE
SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING MANAGER, PRIVATE CONTRACTOR
August 2013 - Present
Remote Position
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Collaborates with travel industry entrepreneurs to design and execute social media advertising campaigns that will achieve their launch goals.
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Assesses social media marketing strategies to identify and tap into new channels to optimize ROI and fuel
revenue growth. -
Result: Achieved a 7-figure launch of a travel resource bundle through Facebook advertising.
MARKETING SPECIALIST, VORTALA DIGITAL
September 2016 - October 2019
Remote Position
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Directed internal and external campaigns to increase customer retention, referrals, and sales through email marketing, social media advertising, direct mail, and content creation.
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Managed a team of designers, developers, and marketing assistants to complete marketing projects that were on brand, on time, and delivered quality results.
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Collaborated with a global team to ensure consistent brand messaging and develops new ways to generate and nurture leads across all marketing initiatives.
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Result: Created and executed a social media advertising campaign for 2 brands that increased monthly sales qualified leads by 3X and delivered a 362% ROI.
EMAIL MARKETING COORDINATOR, LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT
June 2016 - September 2016
Beverly Hills, CA
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Oversaw creating new email templates, sent the emails to all national markets using a custom Salesforce platform, and split test variables for optimal results.
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Analyzed the data of the email campaigns and gave recommendations to the ticketing and marketing teams which lead to increased click-through rates, open rates, and revenue.
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Result: Created a new email template that increased the average revenue of each email by 201.3%.
MARKETING PROJECT MANAGER, INFLUENCE RESOURCES
January 2014 - January 2016
Springfield, MO
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Oversaw the launch of more than 20 books and three multi-million-dollar curriculum projects while simultaneously managing the full email marketing, e-commerce strategy, and digital advertising campaigns to ensure on-time production and successful release.
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Developed a publishing pipeline that tracked the progress of books in the production process and summarized the data to support key business discussions with the executive team.
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Result: All new release books were ranked #1 on Amazon in at least one category.
EDUCATION
August 2009 - December 2012
BS SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
Marketing and International Business
Honors Program Graduate
Thesis: Marketing Art Museums in the 21st Century
3.79 / 4.0 Magna Cum Laude
April 2019
CE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Institute of Continuing Education
Short Course Program
Philosophy in Practice
“Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
