Summary

Overview

Work History

Education

Websites

Accomplishments

Timeline

Carena Ridgeway

San Francisco Bay Area

Summary

Results-oriented data-driven marketing professional with a strong track record in developing both technical and non-technical community programs. Expertise includes expanding product adoption through strategic organic and paid social media initiatives. Recognized for delivering measurable outcomes that enhance brand presence and engagement.

Overview

years of professional experience

Work History

Senior Manager, Community, Social Media, and Influencers

you.com

05.2023 - 07.2024

Spearheaded comprehensive marketing strategies, including virtual events and cultural campaigns, which drove significant growth in global and local markets, and enhanced brand reliability
Managed a $200,000 monthly paid advertising budget for marketing programs, optimizing content to reduce cost per acquisition.
Lead a cross-functional team of four marketing specialists achieving a 32% increase in product engagement while streamlining project workflows
Owned and rehabilitated a 30,000+ user community by creating education programs showcasing artificial intelligence use cases, focused on fostering diverse innovations.
Built the first-ever global AI chatbot ambassador program, resulting in two new support languages, 87 new user referrals, and community-organized events within 90 days
Co-created a customer success program that increased retention by 25% within two months, resolving over 80 customer support tickets weekly to enhance user efficiency.
Curated a user-testing program that reduced testing costs by 60% while providing actionable feedback for sustainable feature releases.
Conducted A/B testing on email campaigns, resulting in a 24% improvement in open rates

Outreach and Engagement Manager

Black Funders Network of the Bay Area

04.2021 - 10.2022

Moderated an exclusive online community of over 140 Bay Area philanthropic leaders and founders
Implemented new paid membership rollout plan bringing in a year worth of subscriptions and donations in three months through email marketing, events, and forums
Managed day-to-day operations of the network: operational procedures, social media, partnerships, strategy and comms
Sourced 5 new corporate and organizational partnerships in a month with a combined annual revenue of over $8 million
Planned and executed monthly high profile webinars and events featuring speakers such as the President of the Ford Foundation and CA Supreme Court judges
Curator of monthly themed newsletters, social media assets, and activities increasing CTRs by 20% and membership signups by 12%

Community Lead

Koji

01.2022 - 09.2022

Managed user community of 20,000+ small-business accounts bringing in dozens of new apps each month for users to test and increase revenue in preparation for sale of company
Created an ambassador program using lifecycle marketing practices identifying over 70 notable business creators with a reach of 12.4 million people
Established community safety guidelines and facilitated daily de-escalation efforts between users
Planned and hosted 4 in-person community meetups for users in Northern and Southern California within low budgetary limits increasing feature usage by 12% in two months
Authored user stories for various marketing campaigns, including push notifications, email campaigns, and both B2B and D2C programs
Implemented a community-oriented onboarding framework to decrease the time between users signing up and making their first sale; decreased from 4 months to 1 month
Developed a comprehensive budget based on projected revenue and expenses for multiple growth and retention initiatives

Community Manager

Observable HQ

11.2021 - 09.2022

Managed a community of over 200,000 online data visualization and engineering members
Curator of Ambassador V2 Program; manage relationships with over 50 global ambassadors; oversaw marketing process, ambassador application, vetting, onboarding, and evaluation
Tracked community initiative and impact trends related to market research through operational documentation and CRM softwares
Increased community engagement in events by 30% by conducting office hours and one-on-ones in alignment with new releases
Implemented an editorial calendar, office hours, and a Slack channel, resulting in 15,000 new users within three months, all engaged in at least one community program

Outreach Coordinator (SEO)

Stone Press (Crazy Egg, Neil Patel)

01.2021 - 11.2021

Managed a three-person SEO outreach team for a B2B company specializing in SaaS partnerships
Generated over 500 prospects weekly for link building, contributing to $15,000 in revenue per team member each month
Demonstrated proficiency in data entry and record keeping, consistently meeting daily and weekly quotas and deadlines
Create SEO campaigns with a personalized marketing approach resulting in 14 link placements per month on average
Maximized online profits through the use of tools such as Ahrefs for site and market trend analysis
Sent over 1,000 marketing outreach emails weekly

Office Administrator/HR Manager

Real Capital Analytics

01.2018 - 01.2019

Facilitated the onboarding of new employees, developing a comprehensive orientation program
Streamlined office operations by implementing a new filing system, reducing document retrieval time by 30% and enhancing overall productivity
Coordinated cross functional meetings and events quarterly and annually, optimizing global scheduling efficiency
Optimized office supply inventory and procurement to reduce costs while maintaining quality items to balance budget inefficiencies through bulk orders
Planned and hosted quarterly team luncheons, holiday parties, and a year-end gala with a budget of $15,000 in Silicon Valley
Ensured compliance with applicable laws regarding employment practices.

Community Engagement Manager and Executive Asst.

Youth Spirit Artworks

10.2014 - 09.2018

Created and conducted bi-monthly community-based events and programs for 100 underprivileged youth and families
Conducted community-based research on small businesses and their impact resulting in 200+ attendees at bi-monthly events and over $100,000 in donations
Created plans for recruiting youth aspirants and families for social welfare programs, scholarships, jobs, and allied non profit partnerships resulting in 45% placement
Formulated events for Youth Spirit Artworks as well as other over eight other non-profit entities focusing on racial, political and economic disparities in the area
Analyzed proposed legislation, regulations or rule changes to determine impact of services.