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Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have as communicators. It is also one of our most important responsibilities. I started thinking seriously about storytelling while working at the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Part of my job was to visit one of our food distribution programs or pantry partners each month and interview the people who worked there and the people who came to receive food. I have a background in journalism, so interviewing people was not new to me.

It's August. Many of us are soaking up the last weeks of summer, squeezing in vacations, getting kids ready for school, or simply enjoying a slower pace before autumn arrives. But if you work in nonprofit communications, you know this season means something else. Planning season. At my last job, my department lovingly referred to this time of the year as "popcorn season." The pace was so fast, and new tasks would pop up like corn kernels on a hot stove. Popcorn season was hec

When you work in marketing, you spend a lot of time thinking about other people's websites. You think about their audiences. You think about what information people need. You think about the journey from the homepage to the contact form, from a social media post to a landing page, from a question to an answer.

If you'd asked me a year ago where I'd be today, I don't think I would have guessed "running my own marketing business." Like many of life's biggest adventures, this one didn't begin with a carefully crafted business plan. It began with a leap of faith.