Katrina Ford
Summary
Passionate professional with over 10 years of experience in STEM/STEAM curriculum and program development, excellent grant writing, partnership cultivation, outreach skills, and working with diverse communities. Composed persona known for having excellent drive and creating strategic plans based off community and operational needs. Demonstrated record of success in building successful teams and expanding operations. Expertise in overseeing multiple locations, teams, and simultaneous projects.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Assistant Director for Outreach and Communications
University Of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Lab
Aiken, South Carolina
11.2022 - Current
- Oversaw SREL's science-based outreach and public relations, including staff management, budgeting, content evaluation, and strategic alignment with UGA and state/federal guidelines.
- Regularly created press releases, science articles, newsletters, social media content, and more
- Managed and oversaw alternative funded programs
- Successfully grew newsletter audience from 100 readers to over 800 in over six months.
- Ensured compliance of all outreach and education efforts with university, federal, and state requirements, maintaining top-quality standards.
- Engaged in cross-disciplinary interactions with SREL, UGA colleagues, and the broader academic community.
- Oversaw, revamped, and manged public outreach content development, overseeing and validating materials for general audiences.
- Developed and overhauled three new websites for SREL that nationally linked to and utilized
- Created new marketing and promotional materials to align with overall strategic plan.
Senior Librarian
City of Anaheim
Anaheim, CA
04.2014 - 04.2022
- Special events - development, coordination, and implementation attracting 1400+ people
- Grant writing, management, and fundraising- brought in $500,000+ in last 3-5 years from Federal, State, and community based grants
- Budget - monitoring and managing a $500,000 work unit budget and developing and managing a $360,000 grant budget
- Supervision/Management - managing and scheduling a diverse staff of 10 full-time and part-time employees including, coaching, training, development of tasks, performance reviews, selecting and interviewing of staff (hiring manager), discipline tract (as applicable with management over site) of all staff for work unit
- Partnerships - established and cultivated dozens of unique partnerships with all types of organizations – public, private, governmental, nonprofit, educational
- Created learning opportunities for staff and the adult learners in the area of STEM which was well received by the community
- Award winning programming - development and implementation of the Anaheim Public Library STEAM Adventures program (hands-on science and art) among other programs
- Supervision of multiple programs and locations - Mobile Library Services day-to-day operations for STEAM Adventures and Mobile Library
- Project Management - overseeing and managing multiple simultaneous projects
- National and local boards - Serving on local and national committees and boards
- Extensive experience working with diverse communities
- Fluent in technology and social media - Microsoft Office Suite - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe, Canva, Google Docs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, VR (virtual reality), LMS (learning management systems), 3D printers, and more
- STEAM/STEM Expertise - California State was going to replicate STEAM program across state, curriculum creation, multiple project STEAM/STEM grant projects, lead team for award winning hands-on STEM programs, and much more.
- Dynamic informal educator, trainer, and programmer - bringing engaging and memorable stories, lessons, presentations, trainings to life for staff, adults, and youth
- Oversaw the creation and implementation of several highly successful outreach and programming campaign from 2020 - 2022 for virtual Micro STEAM Adventures with reach and views in the thousands
- Emphasis in environmental science in projects and partnerships including - continued successful partnership with Oak Canyon Nature Center in providing hands-on circulating kits for the community, Republic Services in urban recycling and conservation, and many more.
Marketing Director, Business Manager, and Educator
Investigating Godz Creation
Anaheim, CA
09.2005 - 06.2013
- Created hands-on STEM and STEAM curriculum and content
- Presented and facilitated daily STEM and STEAM learning experiences as an informal educator to diverse audiences
- Developed new products and handled social media campaigns
- Outreach to diverse populations in the community and at the state level at conventions and workshops
- Implemented the first website and social media for company
Elementary School Teacher
Calvary Chapel Anaheim Christian School
Anaheim, CA
08.2011 - 06.2012
- Taught a self-contained classroom of 5th/6th graders
- Incorporated hands-on learning activities to generate excitement and engagement to reach multiple learning types with a focus on environmental sciences
Attractions and Stores
Disneyland Resort
Anaheim, CA
04.2005 - 08.2011
- Provided amazing customer service for guests around the world
- Handled thousands of dollars in cash daily
- Launched star speeders, drove a53' yellow submarines, and was a tour guide for the "Happiest Cruise that Ever Sailed"
- Worked regularly in guest services to provide support during parades, shows, and more
Education
Masters of Public Administration - Public Administration
Columbia Southern University
Orange Beach, AL 03.2017 - 2019.07
Masters of Library And Information Services -
San Jose State University
San Jose, CA 02.2013 - 2015.12
BA And Teaching Credential - Liberal Studies (Elementary Education/Science)
Biola University
La Mirada, CA 08.2005 - 2010.05
Skills
Get the job done mindset
Selected Grants
- Shared Vision Grant (July 2020 - April 2022)- STEAM Adventures - Four different components - 1) 300+ hands-on circulating STEAM circulating kits with curriculum development on over 50 different topics with over 2,000 checkouts and 300+ active online users; 2) Dozens of Micro Adventures premiered on Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram on Thursdays from April 2020 - December 2021 with 300,000+ views and users reached for series; 3) Exploration on Wheels - STEAM van visiting the community Monday -Thursday providing free hands-on educational experiences for children and youth specifically targeting underserved elementary and teens users; 4) Expedition STEAM - providing on demand hands-on virtual learning experiences for groups of children specifically targeting teachers and afterschool programs.
- Virtual Youth Programming Grant (July 2021 - August 2021) - Developed and implemented a learning management system partnering with the local high school to work with teen interns to film and develop STEAM content.
- NASA @ My Library (2017-2020) - an integrated hands-on program partnering with the Space Science Institute and NASA, providing in person and virtual based programming for adults and youth.
- Helping Hands - Tech in a Tub! (2019) - provided library and school librarians access to emerging technology such as drones, robotics, and coding kits; each kit was developed around Next Generation Science Standards and contained reusable materials and instructions for how to conduct the program.
- Helping Hands - Art on the Go! (2018) - provided library programmers access to in-house created art curriculum designed for youth and children to be exposed classical and contemporary artists and art forms utilizing a variety of mediums.
- Helping Hands - STEAM on the Go! (2017) - created circulating programming kits for the Anaheim Public Library staff to be able to conduct experiments around a variety of topics.
- Summer STEAM Saturdays (2016) - A series of 7 difference large scale special events which took hands-on art, science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math to high density and low income neighborhoods throughout the City of Anaheim on different Saturdays and shut down streets to include additional partners on site promoting STEAM and community resources with an average attendance between 200-350 people per event.
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Awards and Leadership Opportunities
Leadership
- Anaheim Arts Council - Board member - 2017
- Association of Bookmobiles and Outreach Services (ABOS) - Board Member at Large - 2018-2020
- Anaheim STEAM Co-Op - founder and board member - 2019-2022
Awards
- American Library Association's Outreach and Diversity Fair - "Bringing STEAM to the Community" - 3rd Place - 2016
- Anaheim Community Services - H.O.R.N. Award - 2019
- Penguin Random House Award for Innovation - "STEAM Adventures" - Honorable Mention - 2020
- California State Library Program Model for Stronger Together Grant - "STEAM Adventures" - 2021
Timeline
Assistant Director for Outreach and Communications
University Of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Lab
11.2022 - Current
Masters of Public Administration - Public Administration
Columbia Southern University
03.2017 - 2019.07
Senior Librarian
City of Anaheim
04.2014 - 04.2022
Masters of Library And Information Services -
San Jose State University
02.2013 - 2015.12
Elementary School Teacher
Calvary Chapel Anaheim Christian School
08.2011 - 06.2012
Marketing Director, Business Manager, and Educator
Investigating Godz Creation
09.2005 - 06.2013
BA And Teaching Credential - Liberal Studies (Elementary Education/Science)
Biola University
08.2005 - 2010.05
Attractions and Stores
Disneyland Resort
04.2005 - 08.2011
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