Jennifer Leone

To support, as well as advocate for women who are experiencing unplanned, and/or crisis pregnancies. Passionate about assisting women carve out authentic life paths for themselves to realize both personal and professional goals.

• JAMBAM INVENTIONS, INC., Seattle, WA, Portland, OR, 01/01/09, present, Co-Founder, CEO, Inventor, Formed corporation dedicated to offering a simple yet useful consumer product, the Pillid, (www.thepillid.com), which is sold in 20+ countries. Secured start-up financing, oversaw product development and refinements, manufacturing, packaging, shipping, and legal compliance. Conceived and implemented promotional strategies delivering via social media, blog, and website. Accountable for all purchasing, taxes, forecasting, payables/receivables, and public relations., Researched injection molding and materials, assessed manufacturing plants in the United States and China, earned trademarks and patent in 2012., Negotiated 2013 partnership with Nalgene, awarding distribution rights to company. In collaboration with Nalgene, monitor production, shipping, brand integrity, and marketing., Closed first high-quantity sale in June 2013, and tripled volume within nine months.
• PHOTOGRAPHER, WRITER, Chicago, IL, Denver, Seattle, Philadelphia, Portland, 01/01/95, present, Photographer, Specialize in portraits, particularly of families, newborns, children, pregnancy, birth and adoption. Work with models to create portfolios for modeling agencies. Enjoy styling, art direction, editorial and conceptual work. Photos have been featured in retail settings, on YouTube, social, websites and print media.
• PHOTOGRAPHER, WRITER, Chicago, IL, Denver, Seattle, Philadelphia, Portland, 01/01/95, present, Writer, Conceived four books for children, editing in process. Topics include adoption, chronic illness, and divorce. Currently seeking illustrator, as well as writing memoir about personal adoption story.
• THE CRADLE, Evanston, IL, 01/01/94, 01/01/95, Manager of Community Relations, Built and expanded public relations department for long-established adoption agency offering support to expectant women considering abortion, adoption and/or parenting. Formed relationships with prospective adoptive parents, adopted children/adults, and adoption specialists. Worked with social workers to support women in crisis pregnancy situations. Having started as a volunteer, took on responsibility for donor relations, outreach to professionals in pregnancy counseling and child welfare, print/broadcast media and the public. Wrote newsletters and brochures, planned and delivered presentations to teenagers from a pro-choice perspective. Supported prospective adoptive parents coping with fear about birth mothers' making changes in plans after birth. Negotiated publicity. Served as the "face" of the organization in many settings. Helped staff, adoptees, adoptive families, and birth parents prepare for interviews with media., Secured print media coverage in the Chicago Tribune (July 1994 and February 1995), The Chicago SunTimes (August 1994) and the African American Reader (April 1995), Secured total of 100+ media placements in radio, television, and print media, Published a personal op-ed in the Chicago Sun-Times in May 1995, Wrote and produced three 20 minute videos for adoptive parents, high school and college students facing unplanned pregnancy, as well as adoptees, Trained agency president, top-level staff, and line staff in navigating and working with media, Created and oversaw crisis communications plan for agency, and launched plan during high-profile adoption case, covered on all media platforms. Trained President off the cuff before every interview during legal battle between adoptive and birth parents.
• TFA COMMUNICATIONS, Chicago, IL, 01/01/93, 01/01/94, Public Relations Specialist, Set up PR department specializing in the high-tech industry. Created local and national media resource lists. Coordinated trade show publicity, secured print and electronic media, wrote speeches for executives, collaborated with advertising teams, organized media tours and provided media training., Developed and implemented national PR campaign for LPC, a Pitney Bowes software company. This included message creation, recruiting/hiring a PR staffer, and executing initiatives.
• SHRAGO & ASSOCIATES, INC. (Branch of S&S Public Relations), Chicago, IL, 01/01/92, 01/01/94, Senior Account Executive/Account Executive, Created national PR campaigns for clients in many industries, developed media lists, generated press releases and fact sheets, wrote cover letters and biographies, coordinated trade show publicity, communicated frequently with clients. Collaborated with account teams. Promoted to Senior AE position, generated leads, scheduled and made sales calls, negotiated agreements and managed accounts, mostly for franchises. Secured story placements in print and electronic media.

• Very conscientious with exceptional problem solving skills… fearless… seeks input from others… kind and caring with an exacting eye for details.
• A natural leader with inspiring communications and motivation ability… especially adept at leveraging the strengths of her team… an adventurous spirit, who learns from every experience, and grows from feedback.
• The most tenacious and inspiring person I have ever met… her level of organization is unmatched… puts laser focus into everything she does… a high level of kindness accompanies her strong work ethic. She was born a leader.