What I Do

I'm a certified Product Owner and ScrumMaster with a background in journalism and political media. Along the way, I found a place in product and project management and let's just say, I do a lot:

  • Facilitate collaboration
  • Improve efficiency
  • Keep track of it all
  • Set up systems
  • Get all the words right
  • Keep people happy
  • Make changes for the better

SKILLS I BRING:

Agile Delivery Methodology | User Experience Design | ScrumMaster | Scrum Product Owner | Product and Project Management | QA Testing | Cross-Functional Team Leadership | Client Management | Process Development | Digital Strategy | Mobile App Design | Public Speaking

TOOLS I USE:

GitHub | GitLab | Bitbucket | JIRA | Trello | Slack | Bugherd | Google Analytics | Google Apps | Microsoft Office | Basecamp | Wrike | Asana | Harvest | Drupal | WordPress | MailChimp | Hootsuite | Radian6 | Highrise | Vertical Response | Campaign Monitor

Who I Am

A writer, editor, speaker, organizer, people person, social advocate, traveler, sailor and lover of words.

I grew up in Bend, Oregon, where the seasons were always changing and the mountains and lakes were always calling. After nearly a decade in Portland, I recently relocated to Seattle, where my love of camping, hiking and jumping into a cold river still thrives — though I also revel in the lively music and food culture the city provides. I spend my summer nights sailing and take every opportunity I can to travel the world. I spent the first half of 2017 volunteering in Tanzania and improving my skills as a writer and as a human. My life goal is to SCUBA dive in the waters off every continent and so far I've knocked out four. Antarctica will be my magnum opus.

I studied journalism and film and have always gravitated towards jobs where words and creativity are essential. I love grammar and the unique challenge of finding the perfect way to say what you mean. The Pacific Northwest has been the ideal place to dabble in different sectors, while continuing to hone my skills as a manager of people, products and the processes that unify them to get things done. I love a good spreadsheet, I enjoy solving technical challenges and I prefer not to use the Oxford comma because, quite honestly, I just don’t like the way it looks. I never used to think of myself as the creative type because I wasn’t one to pick up a paintbrush, but with a keen eye for visual appeal and user experience, I consider the role I play on creative and technical teams an essential one.

Work I've Done

My experience ranges from nonprofits and publishing to politics and tech. I manage people and production and while I'm great at the little details, I also excel at problem solving and conflict resolution. Some of the most rewarding work of my career has been helping to create an online organizing model for the Oregon marriage campaign, working on research technology for the National Cancer Institute and helping to raise money and awareness for education in Tanzania. I’ve also had a lot of fun waking up at 4 a.m. for political canvassing and running around downtown Portland taking pictures of people with big cardboard hearts. View my full resume on LinkedIn or see some samples of my work below.

ASA24 Dietary Assessment Tool

Following strict guidelines from the USDA, in 2006 the National Cancer Institute (NCI) created ASA24 to collect dietary data for cancer research. I managed the complete rebuild of the Silverlight site to be mobile and cross-browser compatible. Facing the unique challenge of needing to preserve the parameters of the study, we had to follow the same strict workflow that had been in place for over a decade. ASA24 2016 is the first version that works on mobile and includes a multi-day diary to collect new and important data. Visit NCI's demo site to compare the old and new versions.

OpenNeuro

Stanford University's Center for Reproducible Neuroscience wanted to create a free and open system to allow researchers to share, reproduce and analyze fMRI data. I managed the product development and build of OpenNeuro, a browser-based application built in ReactJS, which talks to an existing data management backend and a University of Texas-based supercomputer. OpenNeuro allows scientists worldwide to validate, share and reuse large, standardized neuroimaging datasets, helping facilitate advancements in the field of neuroscience research.

Winning Mark Mobile

What started as a mobile voter guide for progressive voters in the general election, morphed into a political advocacy platform for Portlanders. Using push notifications, news feeds and robust user data, the app allowed our clients to communicate with their union and coalition members about the most important political issues during the election cycle. I led the newly formed mobile team in the planning and development of the Android and iOS versions of the platform, including a customized admin dashboard.

Teacher Incentive Fund, U.S. Department of Education

The TIF Community website was outdated and no longer served the needs of the grantees or the TIF program. I led a team that worked with the Department of Education to rebuild a modern, responsive Drupal site with publicly accessible content, as well as a grantee and staff dashboard that lives behind authentication. The site includes an automated ticketing system for technical assistance with custom email notifications; reporting, tracking and archiving tools; and a robust dashboard for users to find exactly what they need.

Red Sweater Project

As the first ever volunteer communications and media manager, I moved to rural Tanzania for six months to develop a communications strategy for Red Sweater Project, a nonprofit that operates a school for low-income high schoolers. In an ongoing process that was in need of direction, I stepped in to facilitate the development and deployment of their new website. I built a social media and communications plan and created original content and photography for the blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I also collaborated with prior volunteers and photographers to build a photo library for the organization, which is now utilizing a new suite of tools and strategy to increase awareness and funding opportunities.

Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania

As the Portland-based volunteer communications director, I brought IEFT's online presence into the modern age. Managing digital communications, web content updates, social media accounts, promotional video production and day-to-day contact with the team in Tanzania, I helped grow both general awareness and a strong fundraising base, creating opportunities for more children to attend secondary school and change the trajectory of their lives.

Writing and Editing

A journalism graduate from the University of Oregon, I'm experienced with web, print and mobile content as well as proofreading and proposal development. I've been a contributing author for the Roomlia app, the Red Sweater Project blog and the Winning Mark blog and have been published in Oregon Quarterly, Bend Living and Bend Living Home magazines. I worked as an associate editor for Flux Magazine and Makeup Artist Magazine and a contributing editor for a number of websites, including The Journalism Accelerator, MergerTech and Makeup411.com. I also kept a personal blog about my experience in Tanzania, which you can read here. Please feel free to contact me for additional writing samples.

What Others Think

Wondering what people I work with think of me? Here are just a few.


"Kelsey sees and understands the big picture. She appreciates the implications and consequences of certain business decisions, as well as the nuances of managing people. She never hesitates to work alongside everyone to tackle the problems at hand, deriving solutions or alternate plans for current or future engagements. She is engaging, empathetic and a great person to work with."
-Dan Mitten, Former Executive Vice President
Squishymedia

"Kelsey was instrumental in developing systems and a team of people that really moved our client service and production systems to the next level. Clients often went out of their way to tell me how good she was."
—Jeff Lennan, Co-Founder
Winning Mark

"It's hard enough to find someone who can manage projects seamlessly but finding someone who can also provide strategy and advocate for clients from a conceptual level is even harder - yet Kelsey manages to make it look easy."
—Shelly Graham, Sr. Developer & UX Designer
Koopman Ostbo Marketing Communications

"Kelsey is a truly motivating force to have on any project... tackling every challenge with dedication, creativity and veracity."
-Nicole Staudinger, Marketing Director
Social Starts

"Kelsey has totally changed the way we manage and develop projects. Her true strength is found in her willingness to understand a project, communicate complex information and gather the right tools/people to facilitate a successful outcome."
—Greg Noack, Former Sr. Front End Developer
Squishymedia

"Kelsey’s approach is direct and impactful with no time wasted on buzzwords and industry gimmicks. She will not disappoint anyone looking for an expert wordsmith or an insightful strategic leader!"
—Ryan Bone, Owner
The CreativeBone

Get in Touch

Please get in touch if you want to talk about collaborating or just to say hello!