2004 2012
Origin Story:
Becoming a Storyteller
In 2004, I was hired as a Development Officer at a small nonprofit in Santa Ana, California — Taller San Jose (now Hope Builders). Fresh out of college with a Communications degree, I was both grateful and energized by the opportunity. The organization’s leaders placed their trust in me: a young writer from a rural background finding her footing in the city, eager to contribute and learn.
My daily work included tracking donations, sending acknowledgment letters, managing direct mail campaigns, and writing stories for the quarterly donor newsletter. These stories featured young people who had completed workforce development programs and moved into stable employment or college.
To tell those stories well, I interviewed the youth directly — people who, in hindsight, were not far removed from my own age and life stage. In those conversations, I discovered a natural ability to put interviewees at ease and create space for them to share their experiences honestly: moments of hardship and isolation, turning points that sparked change, and the pride and hope that came with new opportunity.
As I translated their stories for donor communications, I learned how to craft narratives that could move readers to action while preserving dignity, honoring complexity, and ensuring individuals retained ownership of their own experiences. Their stories — more than any messaging strategy — resonated deeply and helped sustain the programs that supported them. Alongside this work, organizational leaders began to trust me with speechwriting and executive communications, expanding my role from storytelling into strategic messaging at an institutional level.
In 2008, I was promoted to Communications Manager. At the same time, the organization was growing from a small nonprofit into a mid-sized one. Leadership also launched a social enterprise initiative to create more sustainable funding and a steady stream of employment opportunities for graduates. My contributions included conducting panel interviews to test messaging, developing a new website, and creating partner and stakeholder materials to help launch the initiative.
I began securing press coverage, serving on corporate responsibility boards, and speaking on panels with other nonprofit professionals. The scale expanded, but the core principles remained the same: clarity, respect, and stewardship of the stories entrusted to me.
I remained with the organization until 2012, when I moved to the Philippines. Many of my former colleagues are still there — a testament to the strength of the leadership and the supportive culture that nurtured both staff and students. Visitors often remarked that the building itself felt safe and welcoming. That sense of dignity and belonging shaped not only the programs, but also the way we communicated about them.
I remain deeply grateful for this formative chapter. Mentors invested time and patience, colleagues modeled commitment and care, and students continually inspired and grounded me.
It was here that I first understood communication as a shared human endeavor rooted in respect, trust, and the belief that every person’s story deserves to be told with dignity.
I invite you to follow this journey, which spans 2004 - 2012, through the following slideshows.
So excited to work in my first office! (2004, Santa Ana, CA)
Workforce Training in Action
These images capture the hands-on learning environments at the heart of the program: construction labs, classrooms, medical training, and career readiness support. My work here focused on translating skill-building into stories of transformation — helping donors, partners, and the public understand how workforce development changes life trajectories.
Donor Communications & Stewardship Materials
Behind every scholarship, training seat, and support service was a communication ecosystem. I developed appeals, reports, newsletters, and impact storytelling designed to honor student dignity while giving funders clear insight into outcomes and responsible use of resources.
Donor Engagement & Relationship Building
These moments show donors and community partners experiencing the program firsthand. My role was to prepare context, guide narratives, and ensure ethical representation so visitors encountered students as individuals with agency — not as statistics.
Leading Annual Fundraising Event Communications
The organization’s annual fundraising gala Light up a Life served as a cornerstone trust-building event where mission, community, and accountability came together. Planning spanned the full year, and I supported communications, coordination, and donor engagement throughout the process.
My role included sponsor communications, invitation design, email marketing, and collaboration with the volunteer committee through meeting preparation and notes. I tracked RSVPs, donations, raffle ticket sales, and in-kind auction contributions ranging from small silent auction packages to high-value live auction items. I prepped student speakers and helped design the evening's program. I also supported press outreach and provided day-of event logistics assistance to ensure smooth execution.
Post-event, I helped manage accurate financial and participation reporting, coordinated follow-up communications and thank-you letters, arranged delivery of auction items, resolved unpaid pledges, and supported volunteer appreciation efforts — reinforcing long-term relationships built on transparency, gratitude, and trust.
Preparing Student Speakers
Students often spoke at donor events and community gatherings. I coached speakers, helped them structure their stories, and supported them in presenting with confidence — ensuring they shared their experiences on their own terms.
Media Engagement & Public Affairs
Earned media helped broaden public understanding of workforce training and second-chance education. I coordinated press visits, prepared talking points, and helped translate program impact into language accessible to wider audiences.
Poetry Project & Student Publication
This project brought student writing into a published collection shared with supporters. I curated submissions, edited the book, and helped organize a reading event — demonstrating how creative expression can be a form of dignity-centered storytelling.
Student Job Fairs & Employer Partnerships
Career fairs connected students directly with employers. My work involved framing workforce outcomes for industry partners and preparing materials that helped students present their skills with confidence.
From Story to Screen
Built and nurtured relationships with local photographers, videographers, and creative agencies to secure pro bono professional coverage of programs. I developed shot lists, provided creative direction, coordinated schedules, and prepared students, staff, and executives for interviews and on-camera participation.
Video and photo projects brought stories to life through close collaboration with creative partners, from scripting and scene planning to guiding how final pieces were shared and archived. The partnership model was mutually beneficial, supporting collaborators’ CSR goals and professional portfolios while expanding high-quality visual storytelling for the organization.
The resulting content was used across donor communications and outreach, including fundraising appeals, newsletters, marketing materials, website content, social media, events, and student recruitment efforts, ensuring consistent, accurate, and respectful representation aligned with the organization’s mission.
Production Day
Video storytelling created a direct connection between students and supporters. I prepared interview participants at every level — students, staff, and organizational leaders — helping shape story arcs while ensuring representation remained respectful, accurate, and grounded in consent.
Working closely with production crews, I coordinated logistics, provided shot lists, helped stage scenes as needed, and ensured participants felt comfortable and confident on camera. By anticipating crew needs and maintaining a calm, organized presence on set, I helped projects run efficiently and smoothly while preserving the dignity and authenticity of the stories being shared.
Supporting the Launch of a Social Enterprise
Toward the end of my time with Taller San Jose Hope Builders, I helped bring a mission-driven construction social enterprise to life, which employed graduates from the training program on real-world build and contract projects. This gave the graduates real-world experience while profits from the projects supported the long-term sustainability of the organization.
I supported communications and positioning that explained the model to partners and funders, helping translate a workforce program into a functioning business with social impact. As the enterprise grew into a broader job placement pathway across programs, I helped ensure participant stories and outcomes were shared with clarity, dignity, and alignment with the organization’s mission.
(The social enterprise has since grown into a fully fledged employment agency, placing graduates from all programs of the organization)
What began here as community storytelling and donor stewardship became the foundation for later work in public affairs and international development — where the scale changed, but the responsibility remained the same.
