Krystal-Rose Agu | Marketing and Communications Portfolio

KRYSTAL-ROSE AGU

PORTFOLIO

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

PORTFOLIO KRYSTAL-ROSE AGU

About

Audience-focused marketing and communications leader with an innate storytelling ability.

Krystal-Rose is a communications and marketing leader with more than 9 years of experience creating integrated marketing strategies and communications campaigns to drive brand/cause awareness.

She demonstrates success through reimagining brand identity, innovative storytelling and purpose-driven campaigns. She creates action-oriented roadmaps and develops innovative, engaging stories and content.

As a strategic thinker and thought leader with deep expertise in digital and multichannel marketing, Krystal-Rose has an extraordinary ability to identify and reach diverse target audiences.

Krystal-Rose is passionate about sustainability and equity and how they make communities and the world better.

Krystal-Rose Agu

Marketing Communications

Leader

Multimedia Storyteller

Strategic Communicator

Sustainability Champion

Equity Advocate

RESUME

KRYSTAL-ROSE AGU

Dallas, Texas | krystalrose.agu@gmail.com

Experience

Lead Marketing and Communications Consultant (Pro Bono) February 2024 – Present

REDEEMER CHURCH IRVING – IRVING, TX

Guide collaboration among leadership and volunteers to enhance digital marketing and communication strategies.

• Develop strategic content pillars to guide the organization’s brand messaging.

• Implement cost-effective, long-term content management system for marketing volunteers.

• Create annual marketing calendar with campaign series, events and content schedules.

• Collaboratively led the Easter video social media campaign, which garnered more than 50,000 views on YouTube and contributed to a 50% increase in service attendees.

Director of Marketing and Communications

SLIPSTREAM – DALLAS, TX

Led new marketing and communications department and shaped strategic plan toward decarbonizing the built environment.

• Spearheaded strategic initiative to improve internal systems and use market research to drive impact.

• Developed departmental goals, fostered team collaboration, and streamlined department projects.

• Collaborated across teams to improve employee engagement and equity-centered approaches.

Strategic Communications Manager

November 2021 – October 2022

INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES – DALLAS, TX

Elevated U.S. program work while aligning organizational goals.

• Led digital communications plan for the Oral Storytelling Project podcast series, which gained more than 3,000 video views and 10,000 social media impressions.

• Developed consultant agreements, scopes of work, creative briefs, articles and newsletters.

• Detailed creative projects by developing visual mock-ups for webpages and graphic design projects, strategizing video topics and interviews, and scoping and finalizing scene locations for multimedia projects.

Communications and Marketing Manager

MERCURY GSE – SAGINAW, TX

January 2023 – May 2023

"There’s no assignment I wouldn’t trust Krystal to handle. Her strategic review of our U.S. programs led to the revamp of our entire blog platform and newsletter system resulting in a more streamlined system that hit more eyes on our content, increased newsletter signups and individual donations to the organization.”

Allyson W., Senior Director of Communications and Marketing

March 2021 – October 2021

Led strategy and execution for brand’s multimedia and online presence. Directed the company’s involvement in major trade show.

• Created multimedia content for company’s blog, website, and social media channels. Formed content timelines, conducted team brainstorms, wrote articles, and shot and edited photography and videos.

• Oversaw a $100K project budget covering event booth design, collateral, giveaways, and logistics.

• Collaborated with organizational leaders, web developers, creative agencies, and technicians to develop strategic brand initiatives relevant content for the company's communication channels.

Digital Media Specialist

DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT (DART) – DALLAS, TEXAS

August 2016 – March 2021

Integrated digital tools and storytelling across the company blog, website and mobile app.

• Developed COVID-19 content that helped increase DART’s social media engagement by 88.8% and organic impressions by 355.7%.

• Spearheaded DART’s first organization-wide Black History Month campaign, which garnered more than 7 million TV views and 90,000 social media impressions.

• Formulated analytics reports that evaluated impact of company’s digital content.

RESUME

KRYSTAL-ROSE AGU

Dallas, Texas | krystalrose.agu@gmail.com

Contributing Writer - Regional Reporter

May 2016 – June 2017

THE BLUE BOOK BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION NETWORK – DALLAS, TX

Contracted to write narratives for the publication to make the construction industry more relatable.

• Developed five feature, human-interest articles about individuals, organizations and developments in the architecture, engineering and construction industry.

Contract Multimedia Journalist

CITY OF ARLINGTON – ARLINGTON, TX

“Krystal-Rose is innovative, driven and talented. We worked together on a variety of campaigns and projects, and I appreciated her dedication to strategy each time. Krystal approaches each task with the goal of producing the best possible result. She asks the right questions and makes suggestions that showcase how quickly she absorbs and adapts concepts.”

~ Liz T., Senior Graphic Designer

December 2014 – May 2016

Offered contract position after internship to create community stories for the city’s news channels and website.

• Focused on human- and community-interest narratives and public service messaging

• Developed and honed video production skills.

Communications and Marketing Specialist

STUDIO OUTSIDE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS – DALLAS, TX

April 2015 – February 2016

Developed strategic initiative to generate multimedia content for Studio Outside's website, blog and social media

• Created press releases, graphics, brochures, presentations, and proposals highlighting the firm's projects.

• Filmed, photographed and interviewed design professionals to create stories for the firm's blog.

News Reporter

THE SHORTHORN (UT-ARLINGTON STUDENT NEWSPAPER) – ARLINGTON, TX

January 2014 – May 2014

Investigated university and community happenings and developed stories for the digital-first student newspaper.

• Created multimedia stories covering happenings in the UT-Arlington College of Science, School of Architecture, School of Urban and Public Affairs and among campus and UT System administrators.

Skills

Digital marketing, integrative communications, media relations, adaptive learning, artistic vision, strategic planning, research, AP style, leadership, analytics, social media, writing, photography, videography, teamwork

Technology

Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Audition, Adobe Encoder, Acrobat, Canva, Office 365, Campaign Monitor, MailChimp, WordPress, Cision, Muck Rack, Sprout Social, Meltwater, Google Analytics

Continuing Education – June 2023-Present

Google Specialization: Digital Marketing and E-commerce

Google Specialization: Project Management

UC Davis Specialization: Market Research

Certifications

Clinical Medical Assistant: #Q4H7B6S4 – January 2024

Phlebotomist: #Y9R3R9K5 – January 2024

Basic Life Support – October 2023

Volunteering – August 2023-November 2023

Ajilla Foundation – Young women’s leadership facilitator

CliftonStrengths

Maximizer: Optimizes individuals and teams. Restorative: Maps out solutions and root causes. Empathy: Understands people and behaviors. Deliberative: Thorough and conscientious. Futuristic: Leads with creativity and vision.

Education

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON

Triple Major, Cum Laude

May 2014

Bachelor of Arts in Journalism

Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations

Minor in Urban and Public Affairs: Urban Planning and Environment

December 2013

Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies: Art and Design, Urban and Cultural Studies

STORIES

STORY 1

STORY 2

STORY 3

ABOVE AND BEYOND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

West Coast Abatement and Demolition Company Turns Hazardous Zones into Safe Spaces

by Krystal-Rose Agu

n a state where environmental sustainability is paramount, one hazardous substance removal and demolition firm sets a high standard in the way it conducts business in California and throughout the West Coast.

Founded in 1996, Unlimited Environmental Inc. offers asbestos, lead and mold abatement services as well as demolition and soil remediation. As the firm grew into the multi-skilled

practice it is today, it adapted to the evolving focus on environmental stewardship within the industry.

THE DAWNING OF A NEW INDUSTRY

After graduating from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Lee Business School in 1987, Scott Lange’s first job out of college was in the asbestos reduction, or abatement field. At

The team at Unlimited Environmental Inc. Featured in this photo are Larry Hartman, Alex Mendez, Richard Miller, Juan Garcia, Rob Samson, Cynthia Skiff, Carlos Reyes, Jillian Bates, Erika Holden, Scott Lange, Jill Dupleich, Ashlie Hemingway, Rafa Urbina, Rachel Romero, and Christina Kitchell.

that time, knowledge about asbestos and its harmful health effects had begun making its way to the forefront of environmental awareness, and Lange was one of the pioneers at the dawn of this new field.

“No one really knew how to do it,” Lange says. “So, I was in at the conception of asbestos abatement and how the industry handled this new service, and that was very intriguing.”

Due to the minimal background in asbestos abatement during those early years, the field lacked an abundance of industry standards. As a result, professionals in the field found themselves creating and using their own ideas and methods for asbestos removal and containment.

“At an early age, I found myself having the same amount of experience as anybody in the business,” Lange says.

As President of Unlimited Environmental, Lange has witnessed his firm change with the times, having offered more specialized work during its early years, including asbestos, lead and mold abatement services. However, as an environmental contractor, Unlimited Environmental needed to be nimble and gain expertise in different environmental fields to stand as a viable company over time. Now, Lange and his team also provide demolition and soil remediation services in conjunction with hazardous waste reduction.

Lange points out that it’s naturally easier for clients to utilize one contractor for environmental services rather than hire three or so different contractors, the latter of which would result in multiple contracts that could potentially delay a project’s completion schedule.

“The more services that we can perform and still be an expert in, the better off we are,” Lange says. “If you’re looking for advancement and more opportunities for growth, and if you’re looking to fulfill your customers’ needs, then you have to diversify your company’s offerings. We found success in doing that.”

A FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENTAL DEMOLITION

Unlimited Environmental’s demolition sector has been an integral part of the company’s growth. Leading that sector is Senior Project Manager Richard Miller, who like many employees at the firm is cross-trained in both demolition and abatement procedures.

Miller’s fascination with demolition began at a young age. When he was about seven years old he often ventured to his father’s demolition company where his father worked with scrap metal. Miller enjoyed climbing on the equipment and observing the machines at work. At the age of 12, his father allowed him to climb into the machines and perform demolition work.

“I loved to tear stuff down,” Miller recalls. “It was something I was always knew I was going to do.”

Miller’s environmental interest in demolition formed when he was about 18 years old, working for his father. Over time, he observed a change in the way demolition was done and began to understand the important roles of the environment and personal safety in demolition work.

After his father passed away in 1998, Miller worked for a large environmental and demolition company before coming to Unlimited Environmental, where he has been for more than seven years.

When people ask Miller what he does for a living, he responds with the term “environmental demolition,” referring to how he and his team stay environmentally conscientious when cleaning up and handling materials during the demolition process.

“It’s not like the old-school way where you just tear things

Groundbreaking ceremony in 2014 for the abatement and demolition of a packing house on Crowther Avenue in Placentia, Calif.

down and move on,” he says. “The environmental impact considerations of demolition are evolving, and will continue to do so.”

ABOVE AND BEYOND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Recently passed laws in California—such as Title 22—highlight the state’s culture of environmental stewardship and govern construction requirements and methods for the safe removal of hazardous substances and demolition waste. As a licensed environmental contractor for asbestos, lead and mold abatement and demolition, Unlimited Environmental works to comply with all of California’s stringent laws pertinent to the company’s line of work.

These requirements include preventing storm water pollutants, protecting against water runoff and providing erosion control during demolition.

In terms of understanding hazardous materials, the company also relies on its knowledge of which materials are deemed acceptable and/or hazardous by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and follows regulations outlining how these substances should be transported to regulated landfills. These regulations and others highlight how the abatement and demolition industry is heavily governed by laws and guidelines that may seem stricter than the average business. Following these laws and guidelines places Unlimited Environmental in “a category of knowledge and expertise that others may not necessarily have,” Lange says.

“It’s not like the old-school way where you just tear things down and move on. The environmental impact considerations of demolition are evolving, and will continue to do so.”

-Richard Miller, Division Manager, Unlimited Environmental Inc.

Unlimited Environmental team members. Pictured here, from left to right: Jeff Brubaker, Senior Estimator; Cynthia Skiff, General Manager; Richard Miller, Division Manager; and Juan Garcia, Operations Manager.

Within the company’s demolition division, almost every job requires about 80 to 90 percent of materials—such as metals, wood, foam products and fiberglass products—to be recycled. Lange says this is not a typical construction industry practice in other parts of the United States, which serves to exemplify one aspect of California’s influence on the industry.

When performing abatement services, oftentimes Unlimited Environmental works next to occupied office spaces. In an

attempt to go above and beyond safety regulations, the firm uses a third-party company to conduct clearance testing of the air and surrounding work areas. The use of a third party creates greater accountability for the Unlimited Environmental team, limiting favoritism as the third party documents and records whether procedures are properly taken to meet all of the state’s legal requirements, and to prevent the exposure of workers and others to harmful substances.

With 100 employees, this relatively small, family-run business is set apart by many long-time employees who are knowledgeable about the field and care about their work, and is large enough to provide services not only throughout southern California, but also in northern California, Nevada and Arizona. Additionally, its staff regularly undergoes industry training.

Unlimited Environmental’s focus on environmental responsibility will undoubtedly continue to propel its reputation as one of the leading eco- and safety-conscientious companies in the industry.

Autho Bio: Krystal-Rose Agu is a contributing author located in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

Unlimited Environmental crew performs demolition of old Beacon building.

deteriorating “hammerhead” military buildings to open up space for new facilities at California State University-Monterey Bay. University, Monterey Bay.

STORY 4

DESIGNING SOLUTIONS: ARCHITECT STRIVES FOR SOCIAL REPAIR THROUGH EDUCATION

New Charter School in Georgia Focuses on Architecture and Design

by Krystal-Rose Agu

As a child, Tariq Abdullah would sit on the living room floor of his home and ask his older siblings to draw him pictures of a house and a car so he could color them in.

The car reminded him of his uncle, an engineer who owned a Porsche 911 during that time.

Abdullah’s grandmother visited often, and took notice of the pictures he colored. She often asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and, thinking of his uncle, Abdullah gave his usual response: an architectural engineer.

Abdullah grew up in the inner city of Detroit, in the 1980s, a time when crack cocaine and other drugs began infiltrating the city and other major metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. By 1988, crack cocaine had become the greatest drug problem in Detroit; its use was responsible for an increase in violence in many large U.S. cities during that time, including Detroit, according to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s 1985-1990 report on the nation’s cocaine epidemic.

Abdullah’s mother didn’t want her children engaging with the wrong crowds or getting into trouble on the street. In her eyes, inner city public schools often served as

gateways to harmful, self-destructive choices. So, she mostly homeschooled her seven kids, and also sent them to private school when she could afford to do so.

Abdullah’s understanding of the direct correlation between educational environments and opportunities in life was informed, in part, by his mother’s view on the cultural malfunction of certain traditional public school systems.

AN ARCHITECT’S RESPONSE TO A SOCIAL PROBLEM

Abdullah obtained his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM), a private Roman Catholic institution in Detroit, where he learned about the significance of using architecture to address areas in need of social repair. However, remnants of his childhood never left him, and he found a disconnect in solely focusing on environmental sustainability.

“If the city is falling apart, what does a green building do for the people who are being robbed down the street?”

Abdullah says. “I saw neighborhoods and communities that were hurting—they called for social repair more than anything.”

He spent four years working at the Detroit Collaborative Design Center, a Michigan-based, nonprofit architecture and urban design firm dedicated to creating sustainable spaces and communities. Here he explored the social implications of the built environment within communities and

came to understand that at the base of each community are children—as well as the schools and institutions that either build them up or tear them down. He often thought to himself, “How can architects respond to the social dilapidation of communities?” For Abdullah, the solution is to

“ It’s not really teaching them to be architects. It’s about teaching them to design their own futures.”

-Tariq Abdullah, Founder and President, Tarchitects LLC

improve communities by educating people within them, particularly youth. Pulling from his strong architectural and construction management experiences, his ambition to repair and strengthen communities involves creatively introducing architecture and design as a viable career path to K-12 students.

AN EDUCATIONAL SOLUTION

After graduating from UDM in 2008, Abdullah moved to Atlanta, GA., where he started his own architecture firm, Tarchitects LLC. He serves as President, and his firm specializes in architecture, interior design, design-build and urban design—and

Tariq Abdullah has long held the belief that architects can respond to the social dilapidation of communities through education. One of his life’s ambitions is to repair and strengthen communities by introducing architecture and design as an attainable career path to K-12 students.

aims to bridge the gap between architecture and the urban fabric of communities.

Abdullah’s wife, Tiffany Green-Abdullah, Manager of Learning Programs Development at Georgia State University, shares her husband’s passion for making a

positive difference in communities. Since 2005, the couple has been active in exposing K-12 students to architecture and design concepts and careers. They have accomplished this through an award-winning K-12 architecture workshop series, afterschool programs, and by joining forces with other organizations that share similar interests, such as the Atlanta chapters of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), and the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

In 2010, the Abdullahs developed plans to start a new charter school, Tarchitects Community Academy for Architecture and Design (TCAAD), to serve the educationally underserved children in Georgia; the attendance zone will be comprised of the whole of DeKalb County and the city of Atlanta. The educational format is designed to provide students with exposure to architecture and design in an environment that promotes creativity and critical thinking—and develops future community leaders.

Last summer, TCAAD was selected as one of six charter school petitioners to be a part of the first cohort of New Schools for Georgia, a nonprofit corporation and charter school incubator sponsored by the Georgia Charter School Association. Approval processes are still underway, starting with the K-6 portion of the school.

Tariq Abdullah, President of Tarchitects LLC

For over a decade, Tariq Abdullah and his wife, Tiffany Green-Abdullah, have actively engaged local K-12 students in architecture workshops and afterschool programs.

High school students build pieces of structures to imagine what a real-world “peace house” would look like, part of a Project World Peace workshop put together by the Abdullahs in 2010, which incorporated award-winning curriculum produced by the American Architectural Foundation. Through an exhibition of skills learned at the workshop, participants begin to experience each other’s thoughts and views on world peace while learning about architecture through a didactic experience.

TCAAD’s leadership has also started a campaign to raise funds needed to fully implement the school’s design curriculum. “We plan to use 2016 and 2017 to fund a smooth opening of the school, with hopes to open the K-6 portion in time for the 2018-2019 school year,” says Abdullah. As the school receives more funding, there are plans to add a grade each year up until the 12th grade, he adds.

Also, in July this year, the concept for the high school portion of the school was named as a finalist in a $50 million contest called XQ: The Super School Project. Sponsored by the nonprofit XQ Institute, the competition aims to reimagine high schools across the U.S. and is funded by Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple’s Founder and CEO, Steve Jobs. TCAAD was selected as one of the top 50 finalists (out of 1,700 contenders) due to the charter school’s innovative curriculum centered on architecture and design for learners in kindergarten through 12th grade—the first of its kind in the nation.

HELPING STUDENTS DESIGN THEIR FUTURES

TCAAD’s education program aims to involve architecture in each content area, which includes math, reading, science and social studies. Students’ learning outcomes will

reflect common core and Georgia Performance Standards set forth by the Georgia Dept. of Education, as well as a fundamental understanding of architecture.

“It’s not really teaching them to be architects,” Abdullah says about the school and its curriculum. “It’s about teaching them to design their own futures.”

In addition to architecture, the design component of the educational curriculum will include creative media, film and music. The school’s three learning studios—architecture, engineering, and creative media and design—are intended to create a dynamic discovery environment for thinking, designing and developing objects and projects. For example, in the architecture studio, kindergarteners could start to develop an architecture vocabulary using an alphabet word wall. In the creative media and design studio, learners can create visual reproductions of concepts to reinforce verbal and written instruction, or write and record narratives about life as an architect or engineer. Students in the makerspace engineering studio could create 3D replicas of well-known structures designed by noteworthy architects.

As a charter school, TCAAD will have the flexibility to create learning standards that build skills in creativity,

STORY 5

CAMPAIGNS

Campaigns

DART Black History Month

Krystal-Rose spearheaded Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s first agency-wide Black History Month campaign in 2019. She collaborated with interepartmental teams to unify objectives within the organizations’s communications, marketing and operations departments. The campaign included a televised station event that generated more than 7 million views and human-interest stories and multimedia content on DART’s blog and social media channels that generated more than 90,000 impressions and 3,800 social engagements.

The campaign included in-depth research, collaborations with local organizations, employee communications and seven company events.

Responsibilities

• Lead a more-than-50-person departmental strategic brainstorm.

• Developed communication plan and timeline of deliverables.

• Shot photography and collaborated with in-house photographer on a photo series.

• Planned and executed digital advertising.

• Collaborated with internal graphics team to print and distribute posters and station banners.

• Wrote human-interest stories.

• Collaborated on media relations efforts.

• Organized a televised music station event.

Increased brand regard.

Encouraged more people to ride.

Connected with core rider base.

United internal departments.

Campaigns

Campaigns

VIDEOGRAPHY

Collaborative Work

Partnership for Resilient Communities

Climate leaders of color from across the U.S. work to create sustainable change in their communities. Video production by Malcolm J. Studios. Project leadership, scope of work, contract agreements, storyline sequences and intrview questions by Krystal-Rose Agu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC-zP78fFZM

Department of Energy Interview

Tony Reames, Ph.D., senior advisor on energy justice at the U.S. Department of Energy discusses how leaders must use an equitable approach to address climate change. Video production by Malcolm J. Studios. Project leadership, scope and interviews by Krystal-Rose Agu. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yvBGezOFvM0okkryxc7nOb9o27gaFca Q/view

Holocaust Survivor Encourages Good Upstander

Holocaust survivor, Max Glauben, encourage people to ride DART to the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum to learn about becoming an upstander for doing good. Video production by Cole Depsey and Lupe Hernandez. Project leadership, scope and interviews by Krystal-Rose Agu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc-9o_1VRbo

Mateo and the Rocket Train

Project celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month and National Comic Book Day. Illustration by Gustavo Zapata, script by Johnny Elbow, motion graphics and video production by Lupe Hernandez, concept by KrystalRose Agu and Linda Web-Manon, project leadershiip by Krystal-Rose Agu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Roc-2NVRoA

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography

Original photography captured in Downtown Dallas for the 2020 DART2Vote campaign.

Photography

Original photography capturing DART riders and scenes from one of DART’s rail operations centers.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media

As the digital media specialist at Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Krystal-Rose developed content for DART’s digital communcations channels. She and her team saw DART’s digital content reach wider audiences in 2020 due to their efforts to inform and keep riders safe during the coronavirus pandemic. From Fourth Quarter 2019 to Fourth Quarter 2020, DART’s social media channels saw engagement increase by 88.8% and organic impressions increase by 355.7%.

2020 Initiatives

• DART’s coronavirus response

• DARTzoom social media campaign.

• DART Front-line employee profile series.

• Black History Month campaign.

• Booker T. Washington alumni video

• Ask DART campaign.

• Feature on Holocaust survivor

• DART’s public hearing covering the October bus service changes

• “Where King Walked” feature.

• DART2Vote initiative.

• Hispanic Heritage Month campaign.

Inform and educate riders.

Keep riders safe.

Increase brand regard.

Social Media

DARTzoom – A New Bus Network

In the spring of 2020, Krystal-Rose collaborated with DART’s communications team, DART system planners and with transit leaders to promote and host a Facebook Live event to inform and engage riders about DART's plan to redesign its bus network.

Responsibilities

• Researched integration capabilities of Zoom and Microsoft Teams with Facebook Live.

• Developed communication plan and timeline of deliverables.

• Created and published promotional content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, the DART Daily blog and DART.org.

• Shot photography and developed graphics using Canva and Photoshop.

• Developed panel discussion question for participants.

• Monitored live chat discussions.

•

Social Media

DART2Vote

In the fall of 2020, Krystal-Rose led the digital promotion of the DART2Vote initiative. The campaign encouraged riders to ride DART free to vote in the general 2020 presidential election. The digital promotion included blog articles, social media reminders for riders to register to vote, a photography series, and tips on how to best ride DART to the polls.

Responsibilities

• Developed communication plan and timeline.

• Created and published content for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, the DART Daily blog, DART.org, and DART’s GoPass app.

• Organized photoshoots at different DART stations.

• Shot and edited photography.

• Wrote copy for articles and social media posts.

• Developed graphics using Canva and Photoshop.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

our approach about us projects contact news blog ranches & houses public gardens environmental & camps parks & public spaces corporate & campus retail & mixed use urban living

Blue Cross Blue Shield

New Parkland Hospital

High Cotton

Dallas Museum of Art

North Entrance

Dallas Museum of Art

Sculpture Garden

One Arts Plaza

New Parkland Hospital Dallas, Texas

In a joint partnership, Studio Outside and Ten Eyck Landscape Architects fused nature back into Dallas' urban core with the restorative and adaptive landscape at the new Parkland hospital.

Using the ecosystem and plantings of the Texas Blackland Prairie, the design team created a resilient landscape that promotes healing and celebrates the beauty of Dallas' ecoregion.

Wildflowers, native grasses and other robust plants compose the hospital grounds and offer patients, visitors and hospital employees a lush and tranquil environment. The landscape architects created an iconic setting for the hospital and region. Along with its LEED Gold® certification, Parkland received the Distinguished Greenscape Project of the Year award from the STAR North Texas and the North Texas Corporate Recycling Association.

At the heart of Parkland's landscape is the 2-acre Wellness Park that welcomes visitors to the main entrance. Inside the Wellness Park, a spiral path of native stone contrasts the orthogonal geometry found elsewhere on site and takes pedestrians on a journey to a place of solitude at the spiral's core. There, they encounter the soothing sounds of a brimming water feature that mirrors the surrounding landscape.

With the hospital's new location, its proximity to the nearby DART station gives people an accessible rout to the hospital. Meanwhile, the landscape's public open spaces nurture friendliness and interaction and provide comfortable places for people to unwind. The Wellness Trail, the hospital's natural trail system, along with an employee garden, a chapel garden and other outdoor spaces, organically establish a strong east-to-west framework that connects the entire campus.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT

Krystal-Rose Agu 555-555-5555 kagu@directionshome.org

Year-Long Campaign Calls Citizens to Help End Homelessness By 2018

FORT WORTH, Texas (Feb. 21, 2013) -- Directions Home announces the launch of a 12-month public engagement campaign designed to help make homelessness rare, short term and non-recurring in Fort Worth by 2018. The program begins with a launch event on April 20 from noon – 5 p.m. at the Central Library in downtown Fort Worth.

“Twenty-six percent of the homeless population in Fort Worth are children and 50 percent of homeless adults have disabling conditions,” said Otis Thornton, Homeless Program Director for the city of Fort Worth. “Helping them find a place to call home actually costs taxpayers less than responding with emergency services.”

To further tackle the issue of homelessness in Fort Worth, Directions Home plans to host initiative series of events and activities that will engage local residents in homeless-ending actions.

The campaign launches with the kick-off called Be the Key. It will feature family-friendly activities, including an opportunity to help construct a Texas-sized key that will go on display in Sundance Square. Attendees are also invited to participate in arts and crafts, storybook readings, film screenings and an expo where they can learn about volunteer opportunities at local homeless-serving nonprofit agencies.

Guest appearances are scheduled to feature both the mayors of Fort Worth and Arlington.

This year-long program will also feature three other high profile events: Directions Home a Geocache Event; Clean for a Cause; and Team Home Run.

Directions Home

Directions Home a Geocache Event is scheduled for May 24 on National Scavenger Hunt Day. Residents will be invited to follow a set of geographic coordinates throughout the city. Each checkpoint will feature a letter from an individual who has experienced homelessness.

At the final destination, participants will be asked to sign the I Will Be the Key Pledge, in which they agree to be involved in a homelessness-ending activity this year.

Clean for a Cause is scheduled for National Garage Sale Day on Aug. 11. Directions Home will provide residents with tips, map routes and materials to host community-wide garage sales. Hosts can donate proceeds from their sales to a homelessserving agency. The campaign also includes Team Home Run, in which citizens are invited to serve as Running Ambassadors alongside formerly homeless or sheltered individuals at local charity runs.

The community engagement campaign will also host an opportunity for residents to purchase artwork created through an art therapy program for homeless individuals, a speakers bureau, neighborhood block parties, a new logo, a website and a PSA.

Directions Home:

Directions Home is a 10-year plan to make homelessness rare, short-term and non-recurring in Fort Worth by 2018. A collaboration of private and social service agencies created the effort in 2008. This plan was adopted by the Fort Worth City Council and endorsed by the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. It promotes a particular model of addressing homelessness known as Housing First. The Directions Home plan is achieved through measures that include increasing the supply of permanent supportive housing, mitigating the negative community impacts of homelessness, providing education and advocating for change.

ART DESIGN