USPTO

•	Reporting to the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, leads an 18-person team in internal comms, web, AV, and brand; fosters an inclusive, collaborative, empowered culture.
•	Advised executive team on crisis communications during IT outage affecting 8,000+ employees (60%)
•	Co-Founded Plain Language Advisory Council to improve employee experience and comms outcomes.
•	Implemented a hiring strategy that minimized turnover and aimed to grow the team by 50% over 2 years.
•	Coach and mentor to 5+ first-time supervisors to support excellence in their roles.

Communications Division Manager (VP of Communications)

•	Reporting to the Division Manager (VP of Comms), established a new, 6-person team to align internal communications with business objectives.
•	Piloted a storytelling strategy that doubled intranet pageviews, improving operational outcomes.
•	Established an Internal Web Advisory Council to improve governance and share best practices.
•	Supervised marketing efforts for 2 employee engagement surveys, exceeding response benchmarks by 20%+.
•	Implemented new web tools (e.g., Qualtrics) to measure intranet page views, click rates, and other key metrics.
•	Oversaw operation and ongoing modernization of the USPTO’s intranet environment (Drupal CMS).

Internal Communications Branch Chief (Senior Director)

•	Reporting to the Communications Division Manager (VP of Comms), led a 7-person team conducting comms planning, press relations, storytelling, and internal communications.
•	Cut internal broadcast email volume by 40% through improved channel selection and audience segmenting.
•	Deployed broadcast email CMS, to improve message tracking and effectiveness through detailed metrics.
•	Oversaw editing and production for the USPTO’s award-winning Journeys of Innovation series. 
•	Led employee crisis communications during an on-campus emergency lockdown.

Strategic Communications Branch Chief (Senior Director)

Lodestar Coaching LLC

(Very) part-time entrepreneurial venture that helps me sharpen my leadership skills, while helping others do the same. 

Over the years, I developed four leadership pillars, which I now apply to my coaching practice: reduce noise, increase clarity, build trust, and save time.

Coaching isn’t…

Mentoring, instruction, counseling, therapy, or spiritual guidance.  In coaching we focus on the what, not the why, to get you closer to your goals. Your coach doesn’t give advice, recommend actions, or even share their own personal experience to help you deal with situations. Rather, by asking the right questions, a coach holds up a mirror to your own thoughts, feelings, and actions to help you identify tangible goals and navigate your way towards them.

Owner

Alsco

It was a thrill to work and lead others in an industry that touches hundreds of thousands of consumers in their daily lives by providing hygienic, attractive, and quality products to a wide range of businesses. As the Assistant General Manager (AGM), my primary responsibilities and accomplishments included:  
• Overseeing daily operations at a $26 million revenue branch with 200+ employees across four departments.
• Conducting market analyses and creating plans to meet established KPI goals, using strategic tools and frameworks such as Objectives and Key Results (OKR), OODA, RACI, etc.
• Supporting critical decision-making amid COVID-19 obstacles.
• Leveraged strategy and communications expertise to guide workforce changes in a dynamic and rapidly changing economic environment.
• Managing growth and negotiating changing customer partnerships resulting from the pandemic.
• Leading a strategic sales project to increase revenue per pound of delivered product by >20% over 5 months.
• Proactively communicating with customers to anticipate needs and strengthen long-term relationships. 
• Facilitating a weekly leadership development program for the branch’s 10+ managers.

Assistant General Manager

United States Marine Corps Reserve

-Public Affairs Chief (program manager):	Jan 2016-2020
Office of Marine Corps Communications, Arlington, VA: Facilitate community leader outreach and event coordination for the Marine Corps Executive Forum, an annual experiential program for 100+ public and private sector executives focused on Marine Corps capabilities, culture, and history. 

-Civil Affairs Team Chief (supervisor): 	Aug 2014-Jan 2016
2nd Civil Affairs Group- Washington, DC: Supervised and mentored 10 Marines, overseeing requisite training in competencies including: project management, strategic planning, public speaking, rapport building, team building, negotiating, conflict resolution, and information management. 	

-Instructor and Assistant Communications Chief (program supervisor)	May-Jul 2013
Engagement Team- Burundi, Africa: Utilized interpreters to provide hands on mentorship and training to over 100 Burundian soldiers on highly technical communications equipment/techniques, basic military skills, and leadership. 

-Command Center Watch Sergeant/Watch Chief (supervisor):	Oct 2012-May 2013
Headquarters Marine Forces Africa/Europe - Stuttgart, Germany: Tracked personnel, operations, and exercises spanning two continents; Compiled all exercises, operations and activity reports into over 140 daily updates and presentations to senior staff; Revised and maintained multiple physical security protocols. 

-Platoon Sergeant (personnel supervisor):	   Jan 2011- Sep 2012
Communications Company- Allentown, PA: Oversaw technical and tactical training, professional development, and performance management of over 20 Enlisted Marines exercising competences in complex communications equipment, motorized transportation, logistics, and administration.

Staff Sergeant

Managing communications while helping drive continuous improvement at the USPTO's Office of the Chief Communications Officer was a fun and rewarding challenge. I was privileged to play a role in improving the effectiveness of the teams responsible for connecting people to the USPTO's services and communicating the information that helped us achieve our mission. From building communications strategies for agency-wide change initiatives to writing speeches and leading our internal continuous improvement team, I felt I was able to make an impact every day. 

•	Managing internal and organizational change communications efforts for our 13,000+ employees. 
•	Directing the identification and development of internal continuous improvement projects.
•	Standardizing project planning, product templates, and editorial calendars.
•	Guiding the development of office standard operating procedures.
•	Developed and led communications strategies for at lease 3 major internal policy changes.
•	Maintained a 6% increase of employee survey response rates over FY16 benchmarks.
•	More than doubled the readership of the USPTO Director's Blog over a six-month period. 
•	Oversaw coordination of at least 4 all hands meetings reaching 4000+ employees each.
•	Championed an effort to establish an office mission and vision through a team-building workshop.
•	Earned the highest possible employee performance rating throughout entire tenure.

Internal Communications Lead / Staff Writer (Senior Manager)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

In this role I was primarily responsible for collaboration and coordination with stakeholders to ensure timely and accurate communication flow to and from the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs. This coordination required developing and maintaining relationships with staff offices, White House Staff, and counterparts in other Cabinet and Subcabinet Federal Agencies. I regularly prepared correspondence for the signature of the Secretary, to include drafting personalized letters to VA employees, Veterans, and other stakeholders. Additionally, I assisted with managing the Secretary's short and long-term schedule.

•	Assisted with drafting and editing department-wide communications plans and products 
•	Produced communications products targeted at audiences of over 300,000 stakeholders
•	Drafted Secretary’s weekly “Note to the President” and the “Cabinet Report to the White House”
•	Wrote and edited personalized letters to veterans and VA employees on behalf of the Secretary 
•	Collaborated with staff offices to develop guidance for department-wide coordination efforts 
•	Leveraged department-wide network of relationships to solve problems and produce results
•	Maintained weekly data call and updates to the OSVA Strategic Engagement tracker
•	Monitored and responded to internal and external correspondence

Staff Assistant to the Secretary 

As the Strategic Communications Officer, I developed presentations and speeches for the Assistant Secretary and other senior leaders. I also executed an internal communications strategy focused on enhancing employee engagement. As we faced multiple key position vacancies, I provided support to the Director of Operations, and OPP’s six business lines. This included working as a Staff Assistant to the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, and often standing in for multiple advisory duties previously held by the Executive Assistant. Other accomplishments are listed below:

•	Developed 35+ communications products for the Assistant Secretary and other senior officials
•	Directed a 17 member interagency team to identify trends impacting VA over the next 20 years 
•	Aided in the design of workshops used to construct the VA Strategic Plan
•	Implemented a technology solution to cut office travel request processing time by 75%
•	Trained 50+ employees on using a new automated travel request system
•	Improved circulation process for 100+ weekly staff updates, increasing efficiency by 50% 
•	Coordinated employee development sessions and grew attendance by over 85% in one year
•	Planned and developed content for employee town hall style meetings
•	Provided counsel to senior leaders on implications of ongoing organizational change efforts
•	Served on a special project team to explore applications of a “Lean” work environment

Strategic Communications Officer (Internal Comms)

Forfeiture Support Associates/ US Marshals Service

Office of Workers’ Compensation Program (OWCP)	
•	Managed claims from 45 USMS Field Offices representing over 2500 employees
•	Streamlined and standardized incoming claims management process
•	Liaised between Department of Labor (DOL) and USMS for claims management

Office of Merit Promotions                                       	
•	Coordinated interviews and edited, posted, and filed promotion vacancy announcements 
•	Graded over 100 Deputy U.S. Marshals’ submissions for promotion consideration 
•	Managed correspondence and records regarding all promotion eligible Deputy US Marshals

Human Resources Analyst

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals

•	Oversaw a hospital-wide process improvement project to increase pharmacy service efficiency
•	Maintained 50+ Pyxis® automated medication-dispensing machines and responded to technical and medication supply needs of hospital units based on current and projected patient orders
•	Performed other duties and responsibilities pertaining to the role of Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy Technician

I'm Jon, a seasoned communications leader and Marine Corps veteran.

I'm also a husband, father, deep sea fisherman, teller of dad jokes, and mediocre beard grower. 

My career has spanned a lot of industries, roles, and strange situations, from training soldiers in east Africa to riding the back of a recycling truck. 

In other words, I'm good at connecting dots, because I've had a lot of dots. 

In the end I specialize in internal comms, supporting change, and leading teams. 

I even have a couple of those expensive pieces of paper to prove it.

I'm fueled by a passion for helping others reach their full purpose and potential and a genuine curiosity about the world. 

I love challenges, continuous learning, and uncovering new perspectives to solve complex issues. 

My personal mission is to do good by helping others do well. 

I aim to achieve that mission using four communications-turned-leadership guiding principles:

Reduce Noise, Increase Clarity, Build Trust, Save (People) Time

These principles came to me over time based on experiences in tense military situations, mundane, grind-it-out projects, and everything in between. 

They aren't perfect and they don't replace hard work and proper planning. 
But they're a heck of a compass when you're lost in the woods. 

Well, that's it, for now. If you're still with me, awesome, let’s connect.

I want to keep learning from others here and start conversations.

I hope you do, too.

Taplio

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