hi, i'm jen!
Welcome to the place where all of the wonderful and weird ideas and projects taking up space in my brain and my LinkedIn profile will live. Or, as most creatives call it...a portfolio.
I'm an award-winning creative strategist with a passion for crafting unique content and experiences to drive fandom and community in music, entertainment, and pop culture.
Basically: I turned my fangirl experience into jobs.
(Shoutout Taylor Swift and One Direction for my career path!)
After getting my Bachelor of Arts in communications & media studies and my Master of Science in public relations, I've kicked off my first full-time adventure as a venue marketing coordinator for Live Nation in New York City. Guess I'm really a big kid now!
I've been spending a lot of time running around Jones Beach Amphitheater with my phone camera open and on portrait mode. I've spent even more time working on things that really excite me.
I'll be sharing all of it and more right here :)
Getting your dream job fresh out of college? Pretty cool. Getting to live out your music industry dreams by shaping the brand voice and fan experience for a venue you grew up going to? More than pretty cool. As a venue marketing coordinator for Live Nation Entertainment, I oversee all fan communications for Jones Beach Amphitheater on Long Island, leading marketing efforts from the day a concert is announced to the final encore and applause. Overseeing all elements of the Jones Beach experience, I make sure that all attendees know where to go, how to get there, what to eat, which merch items and VIP upgrades are for sale, and how to have the best (and safest!) nights of their lives.
For nearly three out of my four years in college, I worked for °1824, Universal Music Group's internal youth-based creative solutions team. As a leader on the social media and strategic partnerships teams, I coordinated collaborations and events for Republic, Interscope, Capitol and Island Records artists and amassed over 14.6M views, 1.3M likes, 12.7k shares, and 10.8k comments on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Shorts content. I even won an award (who knew you could get a platinum record without recording music?) and got to do the "HOT TO GO!" dance with Chappell Roan. Talk about a college fangirl's dream job...
Strawberry Skies was born during the COVID-19 pandemic and my senior year of high school. What started as a silly little blog became an outlet for me to talk about (and talk to!) some of my favorite artists. During my college years, it morphed into a weekly radio show where, you guessed it, I played music I loved and yapped about things I loved. What she will become post-grad remains a mystery for now, but until then, you can check out the archives.
In addition to music, one of my biggest passions is advocating for individuals with diverse and intersecting identities. This led to a natural interest in politics and social justice, which made working for HeadCount a perfect fit. Starting as an artist relations intern during my last year of undergrad, I now work as a live events volunteer and digital advocate for the non-profit, meeting Gen Z and music fans where they are (at concerts and festivals!) and helping them make sure they are registered to vote and have a plan for each election. Plus, when a company helps you see Olivia Rodrigo on your 21st birthday for free, you're kinda forever indebted to them ;)
I'll have you know, I've actually had jobs that had something to do with what I went to grad school for...crazy! Over the past few years, I've done PR work for The Syndicate, Big Picture Media, DIMM Entertainment, Wordless PR, The Agency at Quinnipiac, Vibe Check PR & Management, The Bad Idea Collective, UMG's °1824, and myself - I love a good freelance era. Hundreds of pieces of secured coverage later, I consider myself lucky to have played a part in telling the stories of some impactful and inspiring clients.
I consider myself a Bobcat for life, and I don't take that lightly. My four years at Quinnipiac University gave me endless memories and professional experiences, including holding multiple leadership roles in student media and programming-related organizations. I learned how to be both a mentee and a mentor, from covering playoff hockey in Lake Placid's iconic Herb Brooks arena to setting up dressing rooms for Flo Rida and his team before an on-campus concert. Being an involved and engaged member of the Quinnipiac community helped me gain invaluable real-world experience (and a whole lot of free t-shirts).
While my aspirations of being a journalist were short-lived (a hard-news writing class was no match for my endless optimism and whimsy), I've enjoyed writing long-form pieces for various outlets over the years. Whether it was a game recap for a sports blog or an opinion piece for my college newspaper, hitting the word count was never a problem for a Little Miss Chatterbox like me. You can check out my work via my MuckRack profile.
An artist (a social media manager) is nothing without her canvas (an iPhone and subscriptions to CapCut, Canva, Adobe Creative Suite). After running fan accounts for some of my favorite celebrities and musicians during my teen years, roles in social and digital media came naturally to me. Whether it's a silly meme template, a creative graphic or an engaging event recap, I've learned how to create content that can stop even the most tuned-out doom-scroller and make them think (or even just crack a smile).
