GirlWords

After spending 2002-2007 leading Saint Louis University's internal communications efforts, leadership offered me the opportunity to move into marketing the school to prospective students. The university president had big goals for enrollment in the coming years, and the marketing department would be developing a new undergraduate recruitment brand. As the ungrad marketing specialist, I'd be responsible for setting the tone for all signature marketing channels. A new opportuni

Learning to see after you've been operating blindly for so long can be daunting. It is for me. And it is for many businesses, including media outlets. But we have to start thinking about the big picture if we want to build a truly more inclusive world. In media, seeing that big picture along with the details is vital. That's why it's important that every newsroom (and every business, period) have a diverse staff on all levels and on all teams. With women, Black folks, disable

Digital feature, Riverfront Times, May 14, 2015 I've been writing for the Riverfront Times for many years now, and I'm blessed and grateful that they let me cover pretty much whatever I want at this point. They trust me to use my news judgement to look into stories that need to be documented and that will resonate with readers -- especially when it comes to geek stuff, which is not the paper's specialty. This story about a nationally known business with headquarters in St. Lo

Digital story, BrainJet, December 2015 Photo by Erik Drost via Flickr Creative Commons In 2015 and 2016, I was an editor at a local content startup, overseeing two websites and making sure that our stories and slideshows about history, "Star Wars," pets, geography, careers and weird stuff went viral. I'm not going to lie; it was pretty sweet. This is one of the sports/pop culture stories that I wrote for BrainJet about a guy who's done a lot of my home state of Ohio. Awesome

While at HLK, a full-service digital agency, I was one of the lead digital brand stewards for a major Monsanto crop-management solution system. For the #CompeteForClean campaign, I contributed significantly to a content series that centered around videos highlighting how regional farmers tend their fields, what problems they face, how they use Monsanto products to combat issues and what tips they might have for other farmers who grow corn or soybeans. I prepared interview que

Digital story, BrainJet, March 14, 2016 Photos by Allison Babka In 2015, I was an editor at a local content startup, overseeing two websites and making sure that our stories and slideshows about history, "Star Wars," pets, geography, careers and weird stuff went viral. I'm not going to lie; it was pretty sweet. We also covered tech -- AI revolting, apps that were too good to be true, phone fails, etc. To that end, leadership decided that they wanted a presence at the 2016 Sou

Brand content, Alive Magazine, November 9, 2016 Photo via Unsplash Based in St. Louis, Alive Magazine focuses on makers and artisans in almost 10 cities in the Midwest. The magazine, which publishes full-sized traditional magazines as well as smaller wedding- and city-specific guides six to ten times a year, covers art, fashion, food, social justice, beauty, wellness and more. While most print and digital features are traditional journalism or journalism-lite, Alive also part

On August 7, 2018, those of us in St. Louis, Missouri voted on a number of important issues and primary candidates. I'd posted the following to LinkedIn that evening: I voted today. I always become a little jazzed, a little proud and a little sad each time I walk into a polling place. I might write about that soon, but that's not the point at the moment. Right now, as results are starting to come in, I just want to stress how vital voting is (and yes, I realize that I should

Print feature, Riverfront Times, November 15, 2017 Local editors know that I love exploring everything that St. Louis has to offer, so they frequently tap me to give readers the scoop on the city's best *everything* through lists and guides. In 2017, I contributed heavily to the Riverfront Times' guide to outstanding local stores and services -- just as the big holiday shopping season was about to hit. The guide was published in a special city-focused magazine that served as

The Riverfront Times' music issue has been published in many forms, but the essence of the guide -- helping readers discover the amazing performers that have reignited the region's notoriety for music -- has remained steadfast year after year. The items below are just a few of my many contributions for the music issue over the years. The annual issue features staff and picks in pop, rock, hip-hop, songwriting and more. When my schedule allows it, I've also edited and fact-ch