Kristen McShane
Plymouth,MA
Summary
Ms. McShane is an experienced health communication professional dedicated to promoting causes and issues that advance social change and improve people's lives. She's played a crucial role in developing large-scale, multifaceted communication efforts and coordinating initiatives across firms, consultants, and civil service for the past 10 years. Ms. McShane has publicly served at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI), providing a deep understanding of supporting complex health campaigns through the entire spectrum of digital and traditional media. Her expertise includes strategy planning and implementation, content development and management, social media listening, and analytical reporting to inform social marketing strategies and drive data-driven results.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Health Communications Specialist
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
02.2023 - Current
- Work with internal teams and office leadership to identify, develop, and implement NCI’s social media persona to instill a consistent brand/voice, and make enterprise content more personable and relatable to NCI’s followers.
- Produce multi-year digital strategies for the NCI enterprise channels that includes a social media audit, target audience breakdown, and competitor and SWOT analyses.
- Serve as the data and analytics expert for NCI’s 12 divisions, offices, and centers support by providing analytics, measurement, evaluation guidance, and high-level recommendations to help ensure future content strategies and tactics are data informed, which led to a 25% increase in link clicks in 2024.
- Maintain an editorial calendar, copyedit, proofread, and revise over 80 social media content submissions on a monthly basis from NCI's Digital Engagement Workgroup before publishing.
- Design memes and GIFs to communicate cancer research information with current viral trends.
- Created social media content across multiple platforms according to content calendars and promotion schedules.
Senior Associate, Marketing Strategy and Analysis
Publicis Sapient
01.2021 - 01.2023
- Researched and wrote between 40-50 pieces of social media content a week for NCI's social media channels, which led to a 5-10% increase in engagements year over year.
- Developed and provided omni-channel reporting deliverables (e.g., strategic dashboards, performance reports) to client stakeholders on both a regularly scheduled and ad hoc basis.
- Communicated outcomes and recommendations and provided guidance on digital and social media best practices, strategic planning, and creative direction to achieve project goals.
- Integrated with federal NCI staff to understand project goals and objectives, identify key performance indicators (KPIs), and establish targets informed by historical performance or industry benchmarks.
Senior Health Communications Specialist, Digital
ICF Next
01.2019 - 01.2021
- Created and implemented digital outreach strategies across social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube to better reach audiences and partners.
- Regularly wrote social media content and leveraged social media to help Centers for Disease Control and National Cancer Institute staff better engage with stakeholders and priority audiences
- Regularly used data to refine outreach efforts and messaging, including analyzing digital metrics and online engagement, as well as conducting qualitative and quantitative research efforts
- Wrote and edited strategy documents, talking points, editorial calendars, social media metrics and analytics reports, social media measurement plans, and briefing documents in support of client priorities
- Conducted environmental scans and literature reviews to inform strategic planning and campaign message development
- Spearheaded the development of shareable social media graphics, consumer and healthcare provider fact sheets, and other educational materials
Health Communication Specialist
U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
01.2016 - 01.2019
- Managed SAMHSA’s social media channels, where the growth of SAMHSA’s social media followers with an average annual increase of 12% on Twitter and Facebook and 147% on LinkedIn in 2018
- Collaborated with industry experts to lead the planning and messaging development to support agency initiatives, publications, and data releases
- On a monthly basis, led a 10-person SAMHSA Editorial Board workgroup to establish overall goals, blog/social media opportunities and next steps to ensure strategic blog publishing
- Oversaw the SAMHSA Blog microsite by reviewing content organization, tag labeling and blog publishing
- Supported editing the SAMHSA Employee Newsletter and blog content in collaboration with subject matter experts to ensure content was accurate, concise, and relevant to the agency’s mission while adhering to plain language best practices
Health Communication Fellow
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
01.2015 - 01.2016
- Worked collaboratively with campaign team and contractors from concept to launch on creating, implementing, and maintaining national tobacco public health education campaign website and mobile content.
- Assisted in writing a comprehensive bank of social media responses to be used for engaging in a two-way conversation around the deeming rule with our social media audience on Facebook and Twitter (431,000 “Likes” and 30,000 followers, respectively).
- Assisted campaign managers in developing annual plan, monitoring strategic priorities, and identifying current and future content needs across all digital assets; writing and editing digital content, including web and social images, visual and textual content; ensuring effective communications of public health, regulatory research, and programmatic messages; coordinating timely online and social media posting of public health messages; and reviewing social media responses to ensure accuracy in content tone
- Applied audience research results to communication/marketing strategy and message development and dissemination for the third round of creative concepts for The Real Cost campaign
- Provided consultation and technical assistance to internal and external groups (e.g., CTP leadership staff and contractors) about health communication and marketing program, project, and strategy development and implementation, leading to a positive change in at-risk teenagers attitudes and beliefs about the health consequences of smoking cigarettes through The Real Cost campaign
- Translated health, regulatory, scientific, or other technical/complex information into plain language
- Developed and wrote information materials designed to reach national audiences through the news media such as online media, radio, television, and social media.
Education
MA - Health Communication
Emerson College
Boston, MA08.2014
BA - Communication Studies
Stonehill College
North Easton, MA05.2010
Skills
- Strategy implementation
- Copyediting
- Social media management
- Analytics reporting
- Strategic messaging
- Graphics development
- Data-driven decision making
- Program management
- Data management
- Campaign development
Affiliations
- Society for Health Communication
- Social Marketing Association of North America
Awards
- National Institutes of Health Director's Award (Team), National Cancer Act 50th Anniversary commemoration, 2022
- U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Meritorious Service, 2017
- FDA Group Recognition Award, This Free Life Campaign, 2016
- Shorty Award in Best Tumblr Presence, FDA’s The Real Cost Campaign: Reaching youth at risk of experimenting with cigarettes, 2016
Timeline
Health Communications Specialist
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
02.2023 - Current
Senior Associate, Marketing Strategy and Analysis
Publicis Sapient
01.2021 - 01.2023
Senior Health Communications Specialist, Digital
ICF Next
01.2019 - 01.2021
Health Communication Specialist
U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
01.2016 - 01.2019
Health Communication Fellow
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
01.2015 - 01.2016
MA - Health Communication
Emerson College
BA - Communication Studies
Stonehill College
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