Narrative-changing campaigns.

Corporate partnership announcements in the EV space had a playbook — and it was getting stale. Coverage was technical, trade-heavy, and spoke to an audience that was already convinced. The Mercedes-Benz and Starbucks partnership was too good a story to let that happen again.

Develop and lead a full announcement strategy for Mercedes-Benz Charging Network’s landmark retail partnership with Starbucks to reach mainstream consumer audiences, earn top-tier coverage, and reframe how media talk about EV charging altogether.

The insight that drove everything: charging your car is as easy as the familiar daily ritual of grabbing a cup of coffee. That reframe turned a charging infrastructure story into a relatable lifestyle story.

I led all media relations to secure 5 CEO interviews ahead of launch and place an additional 10 pieces of coverage under embargo. This included coordination across Mercedes-Benz and Starbucks communications teams, message and creative campaign development, and executive interview prep.

EV charging had a mass market problem. The category was speaking to early adopters and failing to reach the larger audience asking a simpler question: can I actually do this? Technical specs, infrastructure announcements, and trade coverage weren't going to answer that.

Break Mercedes-Benz Charging Network out of the automotive and energy press echo chamber and into the cultural conversation — reaching mainstream lifestyle consumers and give them a reason to believe that EV road trips were not just possible, but genuinely enjoyable.

I started with an idea rather than a pitch: what if a famously opinionated journalist — not an automotive reporter — actually lived the experience? I pitched Chris Black at GQ on the concept: drive from Atlanta to Miami, charge at the Mercedes-Benz Network along the way, and arrive for a weekend at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miami for the cultural moment of the year. 

The tension was built in. Would the car make it? Would the charging experience hold up? Would someone known for having high standards and higher opinions come away convinced? I set up the road trip end-to-end, secured the vehicle, paddock passes, and let the experience speak.

In an already nascent market, no viable path existed to sell power generated from a future offshore wind project in California. The regulatory mechanism simply didn't exist. Without it, the entire market was locked — for RWE and for the industry.

The mandate from executive leadership was direct: unlock the California offshore wind market this year. That meant getting AB 1373 – the catalyst to kickstart the industry – passed through a targeted communications and public affairs campaign.

I started with immersion, mapping the political landscape and stakeholder ecosystem to understand the players. The strategy that emerged had four distinct layers: executive speaking opportunities in Sacramento; an op-ed in CalMatters authored by the State Building Trades president; a targeted paid ad campaign; and traditional media relations to shape how the story was being told in real time. To maximize impact, I pulled the industry trade organization into the effort for a coordinated coalition approach.

Everyone knows Mercedes-Benz the automaker. Almost no one knows Mercedes-Benz the charging network — or understands why an OEM owned charging network needs to exist at all. The category had a credibility gap, and no one was filling it.

Build an executive visibility program for the Mercedes-Benz Charging Network CEO establishing him as the authoritative, human voice on the future of EV charging in North America.

I started with the messaging foundation, defining who Mercedes-Benz Charging Network is, how we fit into the market, what makes us different, and where we have unique points of view on the conversations happening in the industry. What emerged was a story about confidence more than infrastructure alone — you can do this, you can own new technology without fear, you can still have the freedom of the road. And Mercedes has your back with 140 years of mobility business experience as your partner on that journey. 

I took the story both wide and deep into media (podcast placements on SiriusXM and InsideEVs, speaking slots at Tech Brew, Newsweek, and EV Charging Expo) and directly into the EV community — making the CEO available for a live podcast with EV creator audiences. Real drivers. Real questions. No filter.

EV charging had an image problem. Drivers associated it with inconvenience, uncertainty, and friction. Traditional advertising alone wasn't changing that perception because it didn't come from people who actually live with an EV. MB HPC needed to reach drivers where they were already getting their information: from creators they trusted.

Design and execute Mercedes-Benz Charging Network’s first influencer program building awareness of the network, driving location discovery, and educating drivers on the charging experience across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The program needed to feel native to the platforms and credible to EV communities.

The strategic insight driving everything: authenticity can’t be manufactured. I built the program around real EV-owning creators in lifestyle, parenting, tech, and travel verticals — people who were already living the story we wanted to tell. The brief wasn't "promote our stations." It was "show what charging actually looks like in your life."

For paid amplification, targeted ads layered behind the strongest organic content extended reach into key EV markets that aligned with the Network footprint including Texas, Florida, and Georgia.

TotalEnergies had just acquired EnBW North America following a successful federal offshore wind lease auction in the New York Bight. The company inherited both an opportunity and a challenge: entering a new market as one of the world's largest energy developers, with communities already skeptical of offshore development.

Lead the go-to-market brand strategy for the U.S. offshore wind project. The goal wasn't visibility. It was trust. The project needed to enter local communities not as a global energy giant, but as a neighborhood developer: one committed to economic development, local jobs, and lasting positive impact.

I started with the strategic reframe that shaped everything downstream: this brand needed to feel local and own a clear throughline to its role in the community. I ran a comprehensive RFP process to identify the right creative agency, selected North Street Creative, and led the engagement end-to-end. This included facilitating multiple rounds of interviews with leadership and team members to surface the values and intentions that would inform the visual identity.

Together we refined a naming shortlist and settled on Attentive Energy – true to the team’s intention in the market and reflective of the company’s posture throughout its engagement. Next, developing the full visual identity including to bring the band to life: logo, logomark, brand guidelines, and website development. Each building on the initiative’s forward-thinking and community-minded ethos. The distinct yet overlapping shapes represent convergence and collaboration, forward motion, and wind flow. As a final step, I owned message development and copy writing for the website.