California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA)

Communications Manager
May 2020 - Present

CSWA is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting sustainable winegrowing practices through education, outreach, certification and partnerships. In my role, I design and develop educational resources (e.g., handouts, case studies, reports, email campaigns, websites and interactive web tools). I craft communications that engage CSWA's audiences, including certification participants. Additionally, I spearhead full-fledged digital campaigns, oversee all creative for CSWA, support event management and act as the in-house photographer.

Key Achievements:

Develop visuals and communications and support PR pitching with a 700% increase in attendance compared to a similar event held 2019.
Improved a key awards program website, leading to an increase in applications and improved function
Conceived and produced two interactive educational platforms in-house, maximizing efficient resource allocation within a confined budget.
Secured an ongoing column in a leading wine trade publication, effectively bolstering media presence at zero cost.
Implemented a monthly email newsletter and quarterly communication with a 50%+ open rate.

View samples of my work with CSWA below.

Communications Planning /
Email Content

Content I manage, with examples:

The Somm Journal "Inside Sip on California Wine":

6X yearly column I secured at no-cost for CSWA/Wine Institute with an earned-media value of $20k annually.
Example (page 86)

Discover California Wine Blog:

I contribute to a monthly sustainability-focused blurb for Wine Institute's (our parent organization) consumer-facing blog. View here.

Examples of Mailchimp communications — with average open rates of 53%+.

Content-rich quarterly email newsletter started in 2023 that I designed and manage for Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW).

Example

CSWA's Sustainable Winegrowing Highlights monthly email newsletter, launched in 2022 that I designed and create:

Example

CCSW webinar and workshop reminder emails:

Example

3rd U.S. Sustainable Winegrowing Summit email communications:
The Summit (funded partially by CDFA grants) is co-hosted by CSWA and partners in Oregon, New York, Washington and California and was first held in-person in 2019. In 2021 we hosted the second Summit virtually, and in May 2024, we hosted the third hybrid Summit. I created all design work for the 2021 and 2024 Summits.

Gain insights on my involvement in the U.S. Sustainable Winegrowing grant and see visual samples here.

CSWA Year in Review
An end-of-year annual email campaign recapping CSWA's achievements.

2023

News Release Examples:

CSWA Photography

I serve as in-house photographer for CSWA and photo document the recognition ceremonies of our annual California Green Medal Awards winners, workshops /events and venture on regular photo missions to capture fresh imagery of sustainability related images for our communications.

View a mix of my photography for CSWA across awards ceremonies, landscapes, vineyard tours and events.