Avra Group Consulting

At Avra Group Consulting, we like solving difficult problems. 

Whether your challenge is related to issues management, developing content to tell a corporate story, training executives for media settings, or driving down your cloud costs, the team at Avra delivers insight and guidance across our portfolio of offerings.

Founder and CEO

Gilda's Club Kansas City

Member of the board of directors and the finance committee; specialize in contributing to the Gilda’s Club KC site development and video assets.

Board Member

Hallmark Cards

I led the professionals associated with PR/media relations, government relations and corporate social responsibility and philanthropy at Hallmark.

Vice president of external relations

American Century Investments

I led a team of nearly two dozen professionals in the corporate communications department covering internal/external comms; PR and media relations; social media channels; video production and our corporate website, americancentury.com.

Vice President of Corporate Communications

Adknowledge

Integrated marketing role at Adknowledge, a leading digital marketing technology company with offices on four continents. I managed all aspects of the company’s communications efforts—both internal and external—with an emphasis on AdParlor, the Adknowledge social media platform. 

My responsibilities included planning the editorial calendar for the AdParlor blog, as well as management and/or direction of team members tasked with writing and creating artwork for pieces. Working with data from Google Analytics and HubSpot, I determined which content was resonating with the audience, and how those creative assets drove site visits and time spent on pages. 

I worked closely with the company CEO to highlight him, other company representatives, and our capabilities in top-tier media outlets. This included the creation of high-level messaging for the Fall, 2015 purchase of an Asia-based acquisition target that expanded Adknowledge Asia throughout the continent.

Routinely collaborated with C-level executives, including the chief legal officer, on projects that require careful handling of sensitive issues.

Director of Marketing and Communications

As the editor of the company blog, I managed a team of writers that provided insightful content to our site, which resulted in thousands of weekly visits. Those blogs were frequent points of focus on our social media sites—Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn—which I managed and populated each day.

In 2014, I led the internal communications campaign to generate employee opinions of the company on Glassdoor, a careers website. It resulted in Adknowledge being named one of the 25 best places to work that year, and the CEO being lauded as one of the best in the country.

Heading up our public and media relations efforts, I placed Adknowledge in top-tier publications and TV outlets, including Bloomberg News, Bloomberg TV, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal.

With my television background, video production is second nature. I quickly and efficiently turned interviews with company executives into entertaining, informative segments for the Adknowledge YouTube channel. This resulted in thousands of views that lifted the company's brand and highlighted executives' thought leadership for the worldwide YouTube audience.

In January 2015, I managed the messaging for a joint venture between Adknowledge and Axiata, a leading Asian telecommunications company. This included not only building the talking points, but also management of the public relations firm contracted to handle media outreach across Asia. On the day of the launch, I hosted of a panel discussion in Singapore that highlighted both companies' CEOs.

From an internal communications standpoint, I transformed the weekly company newsletter into a truly news-based publication that highlighted team member successes, while keeping an eye on fun, morale-building activities that took place in Adknowledge offices around the globe.

Corporate Communications Manager

Consultant

Worked with cardiac testing company that specialized in high school athletes. I secured television news coverage from three stations and a feature article in the Kansas City "Star" for the rollout of the service to the K.C. market.

Communications Consultant

The Mutual Fund Store

I served as the corporate media liaison and conceived, pitched and managed satellite media tours of local TV stations as well as segments on cable business channels. That exposure bolstered the company's image and reach; it was valuable earned media that touched millions of viewers nationwide. 

I was also responsible for briefing/coaching company executives in advance of media interviews. 

I oversaw the nationally-broadcast radio program, The Mutual Fund Show, and served as a substitute host. I also served as project manager on quarterly radio advertising across 70+ stations nationwide. 

During my time with the company, I managed anywhere from one to five direct and indirect reports.

Director of Media and Public Relations

WDAF-TV

I was an anchor on the top rated Fox 4 morning news.  A year after my arrival, the ratings were up 20 percent.  In addition, I specialized in environmental reporting as one of News Corp's at-large Fox-e correspondents.

News anchor/reporter

WJBK-TV

I was a reporter at the Fox owned-and-operated station in Detroit, with anchoring and investigative reporting opportunities and a focus on automotive stories.  I covered a wide variety of subjects, including the North American International Auto Show and 2006's Super Bowl week.

News reporter/fill-in anchor

Deep down, I’m a words guy.

Whether spoken, written, or applied in video form, they’re the building blocks of any message. 

In each of my three distinct careers—first as a journalist, then a corporate communications leader, and now an entrepreneur—the right words and the ability to craft a refined narrative distinguished me from my competition. 

What’s your story? 

If you’re unsure, we probably ought to talk. 


Specialties: PR and media relations strategy; corporate communication; crisis and issues management; on-camera performance coaching; content production; building high-performance teams.

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