EXPERIENCE
Priority Marketing (Fort Myers, Florida)
Dates: 2018-present
Assistant Director of Public Relations (2025-present)
Senior Media Relations Manager (2022-25)
Media Relations Manager (2018-22)
Public Relations Specialist (2018)
Responsibilities:
- Copywriting: Draft news releases, guest articles/commentaries, advertorials and other editorial content to educate and inform target audiences.
- Media relations: Build mutually beneficial relationships with members of the media, including print, television, radio and online journalists.
- Public Relations: Establish and strengthen relationships between clients and stakeholders within the community.
- Media training: Prepare clients for interviews by developing key messages and conducting mock interviews.
- Media pitching: Present compelling cases for journalists to cover relevant, timely stories involving clients.
- Awards nominations: Research awards opportunities and draft nominations emphasizing clients’ strengths and assets.
- Media tours: Provide journalists with exclusive opportunities to experience new facilities, innovations and products.
- Crisis communications: Create talking points and forward-looking messaging to emphasize facts and action steps to address an issue.
Miromar Development Corp. (Estero, Florida)
Dates: 2017-18
Public Relations Manager
Responsibilities:
- Managed print and digital marketing, advertising and media relations for Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club, Miromar Outlets, Miromar Design Center and University Village.
- Created compelling, clean copy for distribution through multiple channels: press releases, newspaper and magazine advertisements, marketing brochures, advertorials, newsletters, Eblasts, social media, websites and signage.
- Oversaw photo and video shoots, selecting images that strengthen the Miromar brand and reputation.
- Developed innovative tactics and campaigns to generate leads for residential sales associates and homebuilders.
The News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida)
Dates: 2004-17
Metrics/Audience Analyst (2014-17)
Responsibilities:
- Analyzed daily digital metrics for news-press.com’s desktop website, mobile website and mobile app.
- Built metrics reports to aid decision-making for newsroom, advertising and marketing departments.
- Monitored real-time data to maximize reader engagement on news-press.com and social media channels.
- Enhanced SEO to reach new digital audiences and elevate The News-Press brand beyond Southwest Florida.
Higher Education Reporter (2007-14)
Responsibilities:
- Positioned The News-Press and myself as Southwest Florida’s media authority on higher education by pursuing exclusive, compelling journalism that impacted the region’s 46,000 college students.
- Drove the area’s education agenda by examining issues of critical importance, building roadmaps for a better future and engaging with a diverse community.
K-12 Education Reporter (2004-07)
Responsibilities:
- Spearheaded education coverage of Lee County, the nation’s 33rd-largest school district, focusing on operations, finances and politics through persistent beat reporting.
- Coordinated the work of eight reporters to blanket Southwest Florida schools, providing readers with accurate, timely and exclusive information through news stories, blogs, online polls and live chats.
Naples Daily News (Naples, Florida)
Dates: 1999-2004
K-12 Education Reporter
Responsibilities:
- Produced human interest stories and investigative pieces to enlighten, inform and motivate readers to take action.
- Oversaw an education section and wrote an award-winning column for the twice-weekly Bonita Banner.
Anderson Independent-Mail (Anderson, S.C.)
Dates: 1997-99
Clemson Regional Reporter
Responsibilities:
Guided two-reporter team that supplied written and visual content for Clemson-area zoned edition.
Authored consistent, original stories about Clemson University, public schools and area municipalities.
EDUCATION
Florida Gulf Coast University (Fort Myers, Florida)
Degree: Master of Education in Educational Leadership
Date: May 2003
Thesis: “Education Administration vs. Media: The Adversarial Relationship”
University of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas)
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Journalism
Date: May 1997
Concentrations: English, history and science
Dave Breitenstein 