Quinn Baron

About me

My experience is in project management, communications, writing, social media, web design, and video production. I’m interested in making things run efficiently, designing strategies, and engaging workforces.

Experience

The University of Chicago Law School

Assistant Director of Digital Communications

June 2023 – present | Chicago, Ill.
  • Spearheaded content creation and management processes for CMS users, conducting comprehensive training for 50+ staff in accessibility and usability best practices, unlocking time efficiencies.
  • Organized editorial calendar and devised content strategy aligned with brand narrative, reinforcing the Law School’s reputation and mission.
  • Creatively directed and oversaw all social media channels, successfully upholding brand narrative, evidenced by ~10-44% follower growth across accounts.
  • Coordinated with reporters and members of the media for visits to the Law School; remained abreast of news trends and interests, identifying relevant areas of faculty expertise.
  • Coordinated cross-functional project with associate deans, IT, and student affairs team to launch new student communications platform, enhancing student engagement and information flow.
  • Established and led two-person student employee team, boosting department capacity and service offerings.

Manager of Digital Communications

May 2021 – June 2023 | Chicago, Ill.
  • Implemented Siteimprove© analyses to achieve international accessibility guidelines and 40% improvement in quality assurance of website content.
  • Supervised web and hosting vendors migration, reducing issue response time by 75% and enhancing development capacity with no additional cost.
  • Concurrently launched four web-first academic journals sites; improving legal academic scholarship findability and readability, meeting 83% user needs identified during comprehensive requirement gathering.

Project Manager

Center for Digital Innovation in Learning, Boston College

June 2020 – May 2021 | Chicago, Ill.
  • Successfully launched 90 Canvas© courses on time, with increasing efficiencies across three terms.
  • Adapted project plans to uniquely suit 75 faculty members and 11 support teams (learning designers, media producers, librarians, LMS developers) in creating best practice online courses.
  • Competitively selected as retained project manager for duration of online course migration.

GW Libraries and Academic Innovation

Project Manager

September 2019 – July 2020 | Chicago, Ill.
  • Managed launch of ISIS Files Repository, a collaboration with the New York Times to digitize 1,700+ documents, introducing workflow and project improvements to meet all project requirements on time.
  • Created accessibility strategy and led agile sprints and best practice training for non-technical staff to meet international accessibility guidelines in under 6 months.

Senior Communications Associate

March 2017 – September 2019 | Washington, D.C.
  • Received student, provost and university president recognition for leadership role in six-month agile design and launch of two pioneering websites.
  • Developed and executed change management plans and multi-channel communication campaign, ensuring positive reception during major upgrade to library catalog system.
  • Provided strategic communications support (talking points, event briefings, ghostwriting) to Chief Academic Technology Officer and Dean of Libraries, including handling confidential matters.
  • Devised and maintained strategies for improving department technology, managing usability testing and coordinating web development team priorities.
  • Planned and led programming during university Privacy Week.
  • Wrote content and provided editorial support for annual publication distributed to 13,000+ donors and alumni.
  • Enhanced web content development workflows by developing and deploying new training to 100+ staff, enabling independent and self-managed content updates.

Academic Technologies at the George Washington University

Web & Multimedia Specialist

August 2015 – March 2017 | Washington, D.C.
  • Negotiated communication partnership with Provost’s Office, securing new funding for Academic Technologies department for multiple years and renewals.
  • Prepared materials (weekly media monitoring briefing, thought leadership social media posts, internal memos) for department leadership; managed social media presence resulted in 3x follower increase over three years.
  • Designed and produced university collateral promotion, training, and student orientation, including digital signs, posters, brochures, newsletters and more than video assets.
  • Organized 50+ internal and intradepartmental communications projects through project lifecycle, maintaining alignment for 3-6 person teams and receiving top performance recognition.

Web Communications Assistant

October 2011 – August 2015 | Washington, D.C.

As a student employee in the Academic Technologies department:

  • Created documentation for faculty on how to use the AV systems in managed classrooms and served as a voice for the customer to the AV engineers designing the systems; recognized by Association for Computing Machinery for digital method of delivering guides.
  • Designed graphic user interfaces for control panels to replace a variety of interfaces, developing a unified design and streamlining support.
  • Developed and executed communications and marketing campaigns for the launch of a new program, including kiosk designs and building and designing a website.
  • Managed Twitter accounts for department and senior leader, increasing followers by nearly 300% over 3 years.

Communications Consultant

STEP, LLC | May 2017 – present

Leadership advisory.

  • Created logo and branding
  • Designed and built WordPress website for client

AlignedWorks | May 2017 – August 2018

Incubator linking social good ventures with investors of time, skill, and capital.

  • Counseled executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and subject matter experts regarding product development, communication plans, and messaging priorities.

Breadcoin | November 2017 – July 2018

Non-profit providing start-up capital to food vendors in exchange for tokens redeemed by food-insecure populations.

  • Formed strategic partnerships and manage influencers to drive engagement.

Intelligent Water | June 2017 – September 2017

Development start-up providing remote monitoring of water pump performance.

  • Ideated and delivered branding, including logo design for venture.
  • Designed and built WordPress website, allowing executives to attract investment.

SPIN Global | October 2015 – June 2017

Disaster management and emergency preparedness consultancy.

  • Designed, built, and maintained WordPress website to win new work and launch proprietary tool in industry.

Research Intern

North Head | May 2013 – July 2014 | Beijing, China

  • Developed press releases and targeted client assessments for high-level audiences.

Office Assistant

Olson Memorial Clinic | August 2007 – August 2011

  • Conducted computer systems transfer and staff training.
  • Assisted customer relations.
  • Managed confidential records.

Education

The George Washington University

Washington, DC

May 2014

Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs, Concentration in East Asia; Minor in Journalism.

University Honors Program
Thesis: Mapping a technological revolution: How social media impacts social disturbances

Peking University

Beijing, China

Spring 2013

China Studies Institute