lauren griswold

Stepped into a newly created position and pioneered the community relations effort for a minor league baseball team. Defined the mandate, duties, and keys to success, including a Corporate Social Responsibility strategy to increase team relevance within the community. Initiated a series of game day and community events, secured non-profit partners for each event, launched aggressive marketing and PR, and drove ticket sales. SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Established 35 successful, game day events in collaboration with non-profit organizations, including Opening Day Gala, Hot Stove Luncheon, National Anthem Auditions, Mini-Golf Tournament, Wine Tasting, Reading Books in Summer (RBIS), Rookies’ Club, Donation Requests, and Rock Cats Foundation. Broadened the team’s community exposure by scheduling mascot and player appearances in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.

Researched and wrote a thesis on the world water crisis, highlighting opportunities for non-governmental organizations to partner with sports franchises to raise awareness and drive social change. Dedicated two years of research to environmental communication, specifically water sustainability. Selected as a Teaching Assistant for a graduate-level Critical Analysis in Public Relations course. Designed and taught lectures on cross-platform PR campaign development, press release writing, media relations, and other PR topics with an emphasis in Corporate Social Responsibility.

Excelled as the #1 Account Executive for Seattle’s professional baseball team, managing relationships with local businesses to drive millions of dollars in premium sales, including suites, season tickets, and large groups. Launched a group event strategy to increase name recognition, awareness, and interest in the team, and drive new sales. SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Piloted a strategic shift from individual to group sales through legacy game day events, which offset economic pressures and supported revenues by forming long-term relationships with large, lucrative accounts. Credited with conceptualizing and implementing 7 legacy game day events, including Japan Night, Firefighters’ Day, Korean Night, Savvy Girls of Summer, College Night, Irish Night, and Latter Day Saints Night. Won a President’s Award for achieving the top sales in the company in 2009.

Director, Strategic Marketing, Communication & Recruitment at Arizona State University

Specialized as executive communications expert for industry leading PR firm. Created content for internal and external audiences on behalf of executives at Microsoft in the retail stores division for projects including presentation decks, social media channels, scripts, talking points, blog posts, product launches, and articles to strengthen brand image. SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Managed communication strategy, event execution, and media relations for Xbox One midnight launch and Surface 2 launch events, held exclusively at Microsoft retail stores. ; Defined rhythm of communication for executives in order to engage internal and external stakeholders with consistent messaging to build the Microsoft retail stores brand. ; Successfully managed multiple projects from concept to completion including Microsoft Global Exchange (MGX), Annual Store Manager meeting, and Train the Trainer, by anticipating challenges, proposing solutions, offering counsel, overseeing quality, and ensuring deadline and budget adherence.