Case Studies
Strategy only matters if it delivers. These are a few examples of what that looks like in practice: coalitions held together under sustained political pressure, messages that reached new audiences, and organizations built to last. Every project is different. The standard is always the same.
Case Study 1: Coalition Communications Under Fire Trust. Respect. Access. Coalition, 2025 Texas Legislative Session
When the Texas legislature took up legislation that would have dramatically expanded criminal penalties around abortion access, I led communications and press strategy for the state's primary reproductive rights coalition across multiple legislative sessions. The work required coordinating messaging across dozens of organizations while centering the voices of abortion funds and storytellers, the communities with the most at stake and the least institutional power.
The goals were both coverage and shifting the terms of the debate in real time. The original bills would have reactivated a pre-Roe statute criminalizing abortion assistance and handed the state Attorney General sweeping new power to pursue people who help others access abortion pills by mail. The legislation that passed was still damaging. It was also materially less harmful than what was introduced. That gap is the result of sustained, coordinated communications pressure at one of the most hostile moments in Texas reproductive rights history.
Case Study 2: From Listening Session to Univision Bilingual Messaging Strategy
Effective bilingual communications is more than just translation. It's about building messages from the ground up with the communities you're trying to reach. I ran listening sessions with staff who run programs that directly help monolingual Spanish-speakers to develop messaging that reflected their actual concerns and language, not institutional talking points.
The result: coverage on Univision, one of the largest Spanish-language media networks in the country. The listening sessions also surfaced internal insights that helped the intake team work more efficiently, a direct line from community input to organizational impact.
Case Study 3: Building a Communications Department from Scratch Texas Equal Access Fund
When I joined TEA Fund, there was no communications infrastructure. No brand standards, no chain of command, no systems for consistent external messaging. I built it from the ground up.
The results over time:
Instagram following grew from 2,500 to nearly 18,000
Email open rates increased from 6% to 24-29%, well above nonprofit industry averages
Email list grew from 16,000 to 48,000 subscribers
Developed a full branding guide to ensure consistency across all communications
Created an internal communications structure that eliminated rogue messaging and built organizational accountability
TEA Fund is now the flagship abortion fund in Texas. The communications infrastructure I built is part of why.