Case Studies

For Stronger Schools: Grassroots Candidates, a Landslide Win
In 2026, I ran communications for For Stronger Schools, a four-member slate running for the Jersey City Board of Education. From July through Election Day, I handled social media, web, print, press and video, and advised on strategy behind the scenes. All four candidates won.

4 for 4.

Danielle Walker, Jessica Taube and Chloe Williams won the three 3-year seats, each with more than double the votes of the next-closest candidate. Gina Verdibello won the 1-year seat with 51% of the vote. 

Gothamist called it a sweep by “a quartet of political outsiders.”

Schools, not politics.

I built on the slate’s original branding. I moved the colors from navy and dark red to a more upbeat cornflower blue and cherry red to evoke a classroom feel.
I switched from a serif font to Poppins for a fresher, more accessible look.
I also gave the tree seal a more symbolic graphic and added a distinctive outlined font for the candidates’ names.

A full website redesign.
Forstrongerschoolsjc.com

I rebuilt the website in Squarespace, starting from the previous candidates’ page and giving it a bolder, punchier layout. Voters could meet all four candidates, read the platform organized around five clear pillars, and use a ballot guide to find the team on Election Day. A Get Involved section with a volunteer calendar, voter registration, and door knocking and phone banking sign-ups turned supporters into volunteers.

Clean, compelling graphics. Direct, human messaging.

School board races ask voters to care about things like facilities master plans, literacy baselines and special education programming. I translated those complex school issues into plain language, using a simple system of color, type, and imagery that made them easy to understand and easy to share.

That meant pairing every problem with a solution. “How will we fix it?” graphics laid out the plan for aging school buildings step by step, with public timelines and a long-term facilities plan. Carousels on safe schools and special education explained what restorative practices and strong IEP programs actually look like, and a folding-chair motif gave the school climate series a visual identity of its own.

I also wrote for specific audiences. An open letter to teachers and school staff spoke directly to the people who keep schools running, and a ballot graphic made it easy for voters to find all four candidates in Column G. Across every piece, the colors, typography and tone stayed consistent, so voters recognized the campaign at a glance and trusted what they read.

Useful voter information.

The ballot was confusing, so I made walkthroughs that showed voters exactly where to find our candidates in Column G. 

Early-voting and Election Day graphics gave them the dates. Every piece ended on the same message: vote all four.

Recognizable collateral that tied into the online presence.

I designed the campaign’s print materials as one system: palm cards and mailers, postcards, lawn signs and T-shirts. 

Each piece used the same seal, colors and ballot numbers (1G, 2G, 3G and 10G), so voters recognized the team whether they got a mailer, passed a yard sign or met a candidate at a festival.

Every piece did a job. Palm cards put the four candidates, their ballot numbers and term lengths in front of voters, with the platform, early voting dates and Election Day on the back. 

The mailer back laid out “What We’ll Do First” in four clear priorities. 

Lawn signs carried the team photo and the tagline “Strong Schools, Smart Spending, Real Transparency,” and the T-shirts put the seal on the front and the ballot numbers on the back, so volunteers became walking reminders of how to vote.

QR codes on the collateral connected everything to the website and our social accounts.

Candidates and volunteers could ask people at events and on doors to scan and follow on the spot, which turned every conversation into a way to grow our audience. 

I prepared all of it print ready, with bleeds, postal layouts and the required “paid for by” disclaimers.

Neighbors vouching for neighbors.

I designed endorsement graphics for elected officials and community leaders, and testimonial graphics for parents in their own words, so trusted local voices carried the message.

Press coverage built momentum.

I handled media relations from the slate’s announcement through election night. I built relationships with local reporters and pitched stories. I drafted the press releases and op-eds, including the Hudson County View op-ed, and prepped the candidates with talking points for interviews and public appearances. I also ran crisis communications, responding quickly and factually when misleading attacks about the campaign spread on social media.

Working closely with our campaign manager, I crafted the messaging that carried through every piece of coverage: stronger schools, smart spending, and real transparency. Coverage ran from the July announcement through post-election stories in Jersey City Times, Gothamist and NorthJersey.com.

Building an audience

When I took over in July, our social following was small compared to other school board slates. We launched an awareness push through the candidates’ networks and the press, and the audience jumped right away.

From there, I built growth into everything we printed. Palm cards, mailers, and postcards carried QR codes, so candidates could ask people to scan and follow on the spot at events and while door-knocking. Every conversation became a chance to grow the audience.

What I did: 

• Social media strategy and content
• Audience engagement
• Press and earned media
• Print design
• Video production
• Brand refresh
• Website overhaul
• Crisis communications. 
• Behind-the-scenes strategy advising