I’m a seasoned digital media professional with over 18 years of experience managing and growing social media for The Grand Island Independent, serving a community of 50,000. I launched the newspaper’s first social media program in 2007 and went on to manage 40+ accounts across newsroom, classifieds, and circulation teams, growing engagement and driving new revenue.
Alongside this work, I’ve consulted for local businesses and nonprofits, providing strategic guidance on social media marketing and delivering training that helped teams use digital tools effectively. My expertise includes content creation, video and audio production (Premiere, Audition, Avid, Photoshop), and CMS platforms like TownNews/BLOX.
I specialize in building strong digital strategies, creating multimedia content, and training teams to use social media and storytelling to foster meaningful audience connections. With over two decades in digital communications, I bring a proven track record of driving engagement, streamlining operations, and strengthening community presence.
Social Media samples:
The Grand Island Independent:
* TheIndependent.com – A mid-size Midwestern newspaper in Nebraska that I maintained and published daily news and breaking news for an online community of over 40,000.
* @theindependent (X)- I created this account in 2007 when I saw that X (known as Twitter at the time) would become useful for posting breaking news.
* facebook.com/GIIndependent/ – Not long after, I created the Facebook page for the newspaper.
* instagram.com/theindependent/ – This is The Independent’s first Instagram page, curated by me. When I left the paper, they transitioned to a different username.
Mum’s the Word:
@mumsthewordca on Facebook and Instagram.
Writing samples:
* Maggie Mobley, The Independent’s first publisher – Moved this feature piece to Medium. Written for The Independent online.
* SWAT training in Grand Island – I wrote many stories for our website over the years, and covered them on social media. Unfortunately, The Independent is a paywalled site as are most newspapers.
* Column: The Daily Cool – One of my regular columns I wrote daily for online content.
Stephanie In the Media:
* Omaha World Herald, 2020: A site to behold: Gitwisters.com provides well-rounded look into ‘The Real Night of the Twisters’
* Poynter: Publishers turn to digital business services to offset declining ad revenue
* Inland Press: Newspapers interact with readers through Twitter