Working up a business strategy from my workspace
Here’s a quick view into what I’ve been up to.
Currently, I’m the Deputy Director of the Digital Services Division at the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom on November 30, 2021. In this role, I set the direction for new and existing digital service channels, kiosks, business-to-business, and our government-to-government channels. The Digital Services Division is the newest division at DMV, created as a key function for modernizing DMV products and services, bringing consumer-friendly apps and mobile-first experiences to DMV customers, personalizing services to their needs in the digital world, giving constituents the technology and user experience that will help improve the daily lives of all Californians.
Prior to joining the leadership team at DMV, I was the Chief of Engagement and Retention Marketing at the California State Lottery, where I was responsible for the thought leadership, strategy, design, operational management, analytics and performance of marketing programs and initiatives aimed at creating a positive customer experience, increasing player retention, managing customer relationships, and building brand loyalty. Tactical areas of ownership included digital marketing, communications, calottery.com, the CA Lottery Official App, player communications, social media, influencer marketing, search engine marketing and loyalty programming. There I built and led a high-performing digital marketing team that contributed to the Lottery surpassing ten historic all-time sales records and, in fiscal year 2020/21, contributed to the single highest revenue and profit in the Lottery’s 30-year history.
Before transitioning into State of California leadership, I was a founding principal at A23 Advisors, an award-winning boutique strategy consulting firm staffed by mompreneurs and digital nomads around the world. Since their founding 2016, A23 Advisors has overseen the development and launch of over 250 brands, products, websites, mobile apps and marketing campaigns for B2B SaaS and D2C eCommerce organizations. Clients range from boot-strapped startups like TripTuner, FLYR and Bonwi Rewards to mid-sized multi-million dollar companies such as iSeatz, and global brands like American Express and IHG.
I worked as the Director of Corporate Communications and Public Relations at TripActions, an award-winning business travel and payments platform used by over 4,000 companies around the globe, valued at $4 billion at the time of hire. In this role, my charter was to drive positive coverage of the company, brand, and mission among business, tech, vertical and business media through executive communications, thought leadership plans, bylines, contributed articles, awards, speakerships and world-class crisis communications. Team results included launching three new products in three weeks: TripActions Liquid, TripActions Coronavirus Report Dashboard and TripActions Business Continuity. My role was eliminated as the coronavirus pandemic intensified and travel screeched to a halt.
Prior to TripActions and as part of my work with A23 Advisors, I was the Head of Marketing and Communications for myDigitalOffice, the leading technology platform for hospitality information management and back-office automation. In this role, I was responsible for building awareness, preference, and affinity through strategic communications, public relations, invesdtor relations and demand generation. Under my marketing leadership, myDigitalOffice raised their Series A round, closed a five-year deal with a global hotel brand, and was named the #1 Hotel Accounting and Finance Product for 2020 by Hotel Tech Report.
Before my extensive work with myDigitalOffice and A23 Advisors, I worked as the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Switchfly, an award-winning travel e-commerce and loyalty engagement platform used by brands like American Airlines, United, Marriott Bonvoy, AMEX, VISA, Groupon, and IHG.
I’m a co-producer of the award-winning Women in Travel Tech (WiTT) community. WiTT's mission is to advance women in travel tech businesses to leadership positions, and to foster and support travel tech companies founded, funded, owned, operated or led by women.
On business:
It’s my daily practice to maintain a solid grasp on the ever-changing business landscape which my business partners, clients and investors compete.
On marketing:
I balance instinct/analytics and art/science across digital and live channels. I seek to preserve the beauty of life and the humanity of people in all of my campaigns.
On teams:
I form deep connections with superiors, peers, and key stakeholders. I use two-way mentorship and a hands-on approach to bring out the best in teams.
On community:
I am a diversity, inclusion and equity activist who vocally identifies traditional power structures and systemic bias when present, and carries forward proactive change-making.