Knock
No, you’re not crazy. That is a man dressed as a turkey. If you’ve gotten this far, there’s a good chance your brain’s been overstuffed (turkey pun absolutely intended) with applications and LinkedIn-ese lines screaming “Strategic Storyteller” and “Visionary Communicator”, so why not make this one a little fun? I’ve designed this to showcase the processes, puns, and philosophies behind my projects – but if you’re short on time, head straight to the TLDR tab to gobble-gobble up some of the highlights.
The whole comms kit and caboodle
I know. I know. Starting with reports is an interesting choice for an audience tight on time. Where’s the quick cut video endorphin hit?! Where’s the podcast pizzazz?!
Lucky for you, those are in the reports (and the crowd goes wild!). These annual reports capture the whole gamut of my communications expertise: from concept, to content, to campaigns, to answering the age-old question, “What the h*ll does a community foundation even do?”
To see how the report evolved, I’d recommend viewing 2024 first. The staff “letters” were added in 2025 because analytics showed time and time again that content featuring our staff performs really well with our audience, and this was no exception.
“This is REALLY beautiful!
It’s engaging, easy to digest, and captures ALL the things you do.”
Maureen Devine-Ahl, Strategic Consultant
“This has me in tears!! The individualized messages are so brilliant and powerful. And all the accomplishments!! Congrats to you all.”
Anne VorderBruegge, Housing Policy Consultant
doubling donations between 2021 and 2025
In a chestnut shell, the annual Arlington Nonprofit Holiday Wish Catalog is an online platform where folks can easily browse and support the year-end needs of 70+ small, local nonprofits in one place (think online shopping cart for good).
The Wish Catalog is everything I love about being a comms director. From helping nonprofits articulate their wishes in compelling ways, to deep audience segmentation, to earned media placement, to collaborative social media and e-mail campaigns, to donor gratitude, to breaking records in reach and fundraising every year, to this run-on sentence that captures only a fraction of what I do for the Wish Catalog… it’s the kind of soul work that gets me out of bed in the morning.
“Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading this celebration of all of the good happenings with the wish catalog— this surely made me cheer and your writing style made it even better.”
Susan Duke, Advisor, Arlington Youth Philanthropy Initiative
“Educational Theatre Company (ETC) is ECSTATIC to be fully funded!! I gasped when I saw it after being delighted by today’s email poem!”
Katie McCreary, Development Director, ETC
community-centered & ethical storytelling
The people I feature are always my primary audience. Period. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I am intimately familiar with the dangers of tokenism, ulterior motives, performative allyship, and yes, even good intentions (although I’m not sure what road they’re paving).
Every decision on how, where, why, and of course, if, a story should be told is centered in conversations and trust with those featured, long before the proverbial pen hits the page.
I lead with the Passing the Flag and Arlington Trans Youth Quilt videos because I managed 100% of the projects in-house (concept, prep, consent, interviews, filming [with my phone], editing, approval process with those featured, promotion campaign), and because these people melt my heart.
If your heart is still frozen (are you the Grinch?!), explore the Women Leading Locally collection for more examples of my writing, web design, producing, podcasting, paid professional videoes, and personal heroes.
“You just had to make me cry mid day when I have tons of meetings. Lol. It’s WONDERFUL!”
Monique Bryant, Featured in The Flag of History
“Speechless. Speechless because you made me cry! Love it. No edits. “
Hans Bauman, Coordinator, Arlington Trans Youth Quilt Project
translating think tanks for the water cooler
I have a soft spot for data and policy wonks. They’re some of the most brilliant, passionate people I’ve met. The unfortunate cosmic trade-off? Sometimes this wonkiness doesn’t always align with speaking, writing, or designing reports and data in a simple, human way.
Enter me: a simple human (self burn!). Whether I’m designing a guaranteed income pilot report, writing an e-mail on deeply affordable housing policies, or producing a video about living wages, my ultimate goal is for the audience to feel the same passion and brilliance that the contributors poured into the data, policies, and analyses – and for the contributors to feel a simple, human kind of pride for what they made possible.
“Hats way off on such an outstanding launch and messaging effort!! Visually, verbally and thoughtfully spectacular!!”
Caroline Jones, Author, Safety Net Arlington Report
“BEAUUUUUTIFUL! This is actually one of the best ways I’ve seen this done. You single-handedly increased my appreciation for being on this board.”
Jason Howell, Board, Arlington Community Foundation
Because galas are sooooo 2000 (and late)
Riddle me this – What do a 75 year-old drag queen, a 55 year-old librarian, and a 35 year-old psychotherapist have in common? I’ll give you a hint: they’re LGBTQ+ history makers who captivated an audience of all ages and identities at a waitlisted event I had the honor of producing and emceeing.
Instead of a standard sign-in form? Attendees signed in on copied pages from the “Gay Women’s Open Houses” guestbook of the 1970s – literally signing their names alongside queer history. Instead of sponsor signs on the walls? 50 years of LGBTQ+ event flyers asking attendees “were you there?” Instead of a panel discussion? I shared Arlington’s queer history, while 5 dynamic speakers brought that history to life with a personal story from a specific decade over the last 50 years.
Events like this helped earn my company the 2025 Organizational Equality Award from Northern Virginia’s oldest LGBTQ+ organization, while also inspiring new community-building connections and collaborations that are still unfolding to this day.
“I wish I could describe the way I feel about that event in a more eloquent way, but it was just perfection, and you did an absolutly AMAZING bleeping job.”
Jennifer Owens, President & CEO, Arlington Community Foundation
“It was a terrific event and an honor to be among legends. I enjoyed and learned a lot from your thorough presentation of local LGBTQ+ history. Outstanding. “
Diane Kresh, Director of Arlington Public Libraries
No resource is an island
If nobody is involved before a resource launches, nobody will care when it does. The Arlington Nonprofit Directory exists because the community’s desire for it was already there, my team listened, and we were positioned to work with developers on building it.
But long before we flipped the “on” switch, we involved key stakeholders in the research, design, and implementation process at every key step along the way. So by the time it actually launched, my team was able to share it with the already-invested community instead of pitching it at them.
From a strategic communications standpoint, I saw the directory as both an opportunity to drive new, dynamic traffic to our website, as well as enormous potential for marketing collaborations with the featured nonprofits. As a result, not only is the directory consistently the top performing resource on our site, but our relationship with nonprofits, donors, and previously unreached community members has never been stronger because of it.
“Congrats on the new Directory. Because of it, I learned about Restoration Immigration Legal Aid, and we will be making a grant to it soon from our donor advised fund.”
Erin Devine, Senior Philanthropic Advisor, ALSAC
“The directory looks great! I’m so glad that Reading is Fundamental of Northern Virginia is included!”
Sari Warren, Board, Reading is Fundamental of Northern Virginia
serving passion & expertise beyond the nine-to-five
In early 2025, I co-founded a fund to support small LGBTQ+ nonprofits in the DC area. But rather than seeing this as just a personal charitable giving vehicle, my fellow co-founder (Jamee) and I saw it as an opportunity to build a collective movement around the terrible funding disparities in the queer community.
Over the last year, I’ve used every tool in my communications toolkit to help grow this little baby passion project with 0 dollars and 0 followers, into over $60,000 raised from hundreds of donors across the DC area (and beyond). From building the website, to designing social media content and strategy, to securing corporate sponsorships, to tabling at Pride, to conceptualizing and emceeing fund events, to our e-mail content and strategy, I have loved absolutely every second of “bringing my work home” for this fund.
I say all of this to say: “communications” is more than just a job title to me. It’s my “love language” for the causes, people, and places I love most in this world.
“Your and Jamee’s vision and leadership is making a difference for the LGBTQ community and you should take personal and professional pride in that. Thank you both!”
James Fisher, Former President, Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance
“Wow!! Your gift will go a long way in our building capacity and creating housing and living environments that respect and honor the whole person.”
Dr. Imani Woody, President & CEO, Mary’s House for Older Adults DC
when there’s no time for smelling roses
If you only have time for “what” and not much for “why”, then this page is for you. I’ve included quick links to some of the recent projects I’ve showcased across my portfolio as well as a few other highlights from my 15+ years of communications experience.
Whether this is your first or last stop in my portfolio, thanks for spending a little time with me and the things I love.
Projects featured in portfolio pages:
“Nick is one of the most creative and innovative people I’ve worked with or met in my entire career.”
Jennifer Owens, President & CEO, Arlington Community Foundation
“There’s no way this ‘Nick Knock’ is real. We’re gonna have to meet this guy before we let you keep hanging out with him.”
Tom & Margaret Capell, Parents of my high school best friend
E-MAIL ME TO SAY HI… OR TO GIVE ME YOUR BEST “KNOCK KNOCK” JOKE.