How I work

Not an agency. Not a hire.

You work directly with me — one senior communications leader who does both the thinking and the writing. Nothing is handed to a junior account team, because there isn’t one.

What that actually means

An agency sells you a team and bills you for its overhead. A full‑time director costs you a salary, benefits and a search process, and small utilities rarely have the volume to keep one busy.

The fractional model sits between the two. You get senior judgment when you need it, at a fraction of a salary line, from someone who has already made the mistakes on somebody else’s budget.

You are not buying hours. You are buying the decision that gets made in the first ten minutes.

The four steps

Assess, align, execute, advise.

01 — Assess

Audit your current communications platform

A comprehensive review of your existing communications channels, tools and workflows.
Evaluation of brand voice, message consistency and audience alignment across every touchpoint.
Analysis of whatever performance data exists, to identify what is working and where the gaps are.
Interviews with key internal stakeholders to understand perceptions, obstacles and goals.
A written audit report with clear, prioritized, actionable recommendations.

02 — Align

Clarify messaging, priorities and the annual plan

Core messaging refined for clarity, consistency and differentiation.
Communications strategy aligned to your operational goals and board priorities.
Key audiences defined, with messaging tailored to each — members, ratepayers, council, regulators, staff, press.
A focused communications roadmap for the year ahead.
A strategic plan with measurable objectives and agreed success metrics.

03 — Execute

Implementation, starting with immediate needs

The high‑priority items first, to create momentum and visible early wins.
Key assets developed and deployed: messaging frameworks, campaigns, content, crisis playbooks.
Processes streamlined and tools introduced to improve efficiency at your scale.
Collaboration with internal teams and outside partners so execution is seamless.
Progress monitored and tactics adjusted in real time.

04 — Advise

Ongoing strategic support and counsel

Continuous guidance to leadership on communications decisions.
A trusted advisor during critical moments — launches, organizational change, crises.
Messaging and strategy refined as the organization evolves.
Regular performance reviews and insight to drive improvement.
Team development, so your internal capability grows rather than depends on me.

Engagement models

Three shapes, and an honest conversation about which.

Monthly retainer

Ongoing embedded leadership, typically one to three days a month. Best when you need a communications function rather than a communications project.

Good for: Organizations with recurring public‑facing risk and no internal lead.

Defined project

Fixed scope, fixed fee, clear end date. An audit, a crisis plan, a rate case narrative, a messaging architecture, a brand refresh.

Good for: A specific need, a board‑approved budget, or a first engagement.

On‑call crisis support

A standing retainer for availability, with the plan already written and the system already understood before anything happens.

Good for: Utilities whose main exposure is the day nobody scheduled.

Fees depend on scope and scale, and a co‑op of eight thousand members is not quoted the same as a joint agency. Ask me directly — I would rather tell you early that the budget will not work than spend both our time discovering it later.