As a contracted Communications Specialist for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), I review and respond to unsolicited grant proposals. This responsibility gives me key insight into stakeholder expectations when funding projects and, in turn, strengthens my grant writing and fundraising skills. I also assist with developing and maintaining my team’s communications strategy by creating social media content for over one million followers, sharing resources and funding opportunities, tracking social media metrics, writing and coordinating a weekly internal newsletter, and editing and writing blogs, talking points, technical documentation, and other materials.

I, along with my team, act as a liaison between our internal staff and external audience thus strengthening the relationship between USAID and organizations. We collaborate to create accessible content that accommodates our audiences' varying abilities, languages, and backgrounds. I accomplish this through outreach methods such as social media and taking on a customer service role by managing a delegated email inbox. Through the inbox, I assist organizations with their USAID-related questions and share resources our team has developed to guide them through the process of working with USAID. In this role, I have quickly developed new skills such as search engine optimization, website management and development, creating and analyzing surveys, working with content management systems, and hosting and coordinating events.

Before starting my career with the Agency, I was a Communications Intern at the Virginia Tech Department of Computer Science and a Freelance Writer for Richmond Magazine. I planned and executed campaign strategies with the Department of Computer Science to expand our reach and recognition. At Richmond Magazine, I grew my interviewing and writing skills by interviewing a Grammy-nominated musician, local restaurant owners, students, and artists. I worked with incredible editors whose feedback improved my writing and understanding of the editing process.

With degrees in creative writing and professional and technical writing, my coursework was essential to my growth. In classes such as technical editing and style, I learned to parse highly technical and scientific writing to create documentation for broader audiences. I learned to write grants, press releases, and documentation, and edit for concision, clarity, and Chicago and AP styles. I also learned research strategies, design best practices, HTML, CSS, Microsoft Office, Adobe Suites, Canva, and how to critically engage with the written word.