The great part about working in admissions and student affairs was that it allowed me to interact with people all the time. It was a people person’s job. I worked with great colleagues and managed a team of 25 people, which helped me build my leadership skills and inspire people to do great work and achieve their goals. The job reinforced that I had to make some sort of impact, that whatever I chose to do in the future had to be purpose-driven and had to make a difference. It led me to pursue a career in social responsibility and cause marketing!

It took a little awhile for me to find CK&D. I had to be proactive and really understand what it meant to pursue a career in the social impact space. I met with industry leaders, enrolled in a cause marketing class at UCLA and volunteered with a couple of nonprofit organizations. This gave me perspective on different paths I could take and was a perfect way to network. I ended up meeting someone in my cause marketing class who told me about CK&D. 

I get to walk into an office with people who are like-minded and want to change the world for the better. CK&D allows my colleagues and me to be incredibly creative and come up with campaigns, partnerships and strategies that elevate a cause or issue to a national and sometimes global stage. That’s why I pursued the “cause” niche. I want my work to have a positive impact!  

The way people process information is so different than it used to be. We have access to information 24/7 thanks to the Internet, which makes it harder to break through the clutter! I’m still learning about the digital world every day and I think everyone is kind of in the same boat. It’s always changing, but it’s our job to learn how to stay relevant.

A lot of business comes through referrals or from people who have seen our work. And, there always is a benefit to networking. I love meeting like-minded people and often a great conversation can turn into a friendship, which leads to trust and then sometimes working together!  

Working with the creative community and influencers offers a unique megaphone that, if used properly, has an incredible impact. I love working with these individuals because it allows us to amplify a message in a way that you might not necessarily be able to otherwise. 

It all depends on the objectives and goals of the campaign. Regardless of whether it’s a Fortune 500 or a nonprofit, it’s important to figure out what the drivers of value are, and then you evaluate the best tactics to measure a campaign.

We do! We work with the entertainment industry in several different capacities. We have deep roots and relationships within the industry, which enables us to navigate the best partnerships for our projects and clients. We get to be creative, but most importantly, we are authentic, smart and seek out organic relationships.

I love meeting new people and that’s a big part of the job. I get to go to some pretty cool conferences (in my opinion), which is always an awesome way to continue learning. And I get to think out of the box, inspire people and challenge them to think differently. I love that, at the end of the day, the work I do means something and I’m making an impact. 

The most challenging part of my job is that I’m a super passionate person and there are so many causes that I care about. I get really excited and love to see things come to fruition. I need to remind myself to take it one step at a time. I can’t do everything all at once, even though I want to! 

I think it’s important to understand how to connect with people from various backgrounds and people with different personality types. Being comfortable as a leader and knowing when to pull back and work as a team is crucial. Never give up and keep firing off ideas. If people shoot down your ideas, keep fighting for them if you know in your gut that it’s right. 

And one of my biggest recommendations is to listen. People forget to do that and it’s so important when managing a team and working with clients to clearly understand their business objectives.

I think having an industry niche stems back to your passion for a particular area, product, brand, cause, issue, etc. If there’s a niche that you enjoy, that’s going to make you work harder and drive your career, then I would say that it’s beneficial!

Let’s see, I wake up looking forward to my almond latte!

There’s so much to look forward to. Hopefully I can help people find their passion and encourage them to be tenacious. I’m not sure what’s next in my career, but I know that I will always incorporate some type of purpose into what I’m doing.