Lucy Vernasco
digital strategist & content producer

About

Lucy is a creative communications consultant. She’s an avid reader, trail runner, gardener, and fashion enthusiast.

 

Lucy Vernasco

Strategic communications with a passion for social impact, energy and sustainability & archival fashion

Hi I’m Lucy. I’m a seasoned communications and media relations professional with over 12 years of creative communications and project management experience. Throughout my career, I’ve worked with a diverse group of public and private organizations to strategically communicate to a broad range of audiences and stakeholders. My sweet spots are social impact, philanthropy, technology, sustainability & climate, energy, finance, healthcare, and archival fashion.

As a strategic communications and creative consultant, I’ve built and executed communications and media relations plans, written effective blog, web, and social media copy, managed editorial calendars and social media accounts, and grown relationships with the nation’s top energy and climate reporters. My clients have included Fortune 100 health care companies, the United States Department of Energy, Melinda French Gates’s Pivotal Ventures, an innovative NY-based venture capital firm, advertising agencies, an acquired early-stage startup, and corporate social good teams.

I’m truly excited by sourcing archival designer pieces and promoting sustainable, circular fashion. If you’re a stylist or boutique interested in sourcing and working together, please be in touch.

Most recently, I consulted for the U.S Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office as a Senior Media Relations Consultant. At LPO, I drove the office's public relations and press engagement strategies by building media relations and strategic communications plan, messaging, and Q&A materials for office initiatives, fielding incoming media inquiries, and conducting proactive pitching to top tier media outlets. I also planned and executed media roundtables, built and strengthened relationships with energy, financial, and climate reporters, and advised and staffed LPO Director Jigar Shah in media engagements and events, while working alongside other LPO divisions toward shared goals.

Previously, I led the social media strategy for Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company created by Melinda French Gates, where she built editorial calendars and social strategy plans, as well as worked across teams and managed vendors.

Before that, I worked in Washington, D.C. as a Digital Director for the United States Senate. As Senator Ron Wyden’s Digital Director, the Digital Director for the Senate Finance Committee and Digital Director for Wyden for Senate, I turned complex policies into engaging digital campaigns. In addition, I directed digital strategy for the Joint Economic Committee, served as the Deputy Digital Director for the Hillary for America campaign in Pennsylvania and was an Associate Editor for NextGen Climate's digital team. 

A graduate from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, I am a trained reporter and multimedia producer. My editorial work has appeared in Outside Magazine, Motherboard, The Daily Beast, Bitch Media, Grid Magazine, Bust Magazine and Technical.ly.

Let’s work together.

Experience //

Creative Communications and Public Relations Consultant - Lucy Vernasco Inc. - June 2013 - Present

  • Provide comprehensive services to diverse clients including copywriting, SEO-driven content, public relations, social media management and strategy, editorial calendar planning, video editing and production.

  • Proficiently utilize Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Airtable, Basecamp, Canva, and social media advertising platforms.

  • My clients have included Fortune 100 health care companies, the United States Department of Energy, Melinda French Gates’s Pivotal Ventures, an NYC-based venture capital firm, advertising agencies, an acquired early-stage startup, and a top sportswear company’s social good team

  • A graduate from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, I am a trained reporter and multimedia producer. My editorial work has appeared in Outside Magazine, Motherboard, The Daily Beast, Bitch Media, Grid Magazine, Bust Magazine and Technical.ly.

Senior Consultant - The Department of Energy, Loan Programs Office - September 2022 - April 2024

  • Spearheaded public relations and press engagement strategies, including press releases and media outreach, media roundtables, embargoed stories, and securing relationship-building interviews with reporters at events. Developed communications plans for announcements, events, and reports.   

  • Fielded incoming rapid-response media inquiries and proactively pitched top-tier outlets. Secured coverage in top tier national and trade energy, financial, and climate publications including New York Times, Bloomberg, Politico, E&E News, Cipher, Reuters, TIME, S&P Global, the WSJ, Semafor, Vox, MIT Technology Review, Impact Alpha, Automotive News, Energy Storage News, and more. Pitched, coordinated, and staffed Podcast interviews with national and trade podcasts.

  • Brand building efforts culminated in TIME naming LPO Director Jigar Shah as one of the Top 100 Influential People of 2024.

  • Advised and supported the LPO Director during media engagements, events, and weekly messaging meetings. Raised the profile of LPO senior leadership through media pitching and interviews.

  • Collaborated with LPO portfolio companies and applicants on announcement strategies and crisis response.

  • Collaborated across LPO divisions towards common objectives. Participated in the Climate Jobs and Justice working group. Served as an on-boarding buddy for new LPO team members.

Digital Communications - Pivotal Ventures - July 2019 - June 2022

Pivotal Ventures is an investment and incubation company created by Melinda French Gates. We partner with organizations and individuals who share our urgency for social progress in the United States.

  • Led Pivotal Ventures’s social media strategy and oversaw project management for the channels. Directed external vendors and built digital campaigns. Managed and curated content for social media accounts.

  • Crafted compelling copy and internal briefs, and managed editorial calendars. Ensured strict adherence to brand guidelines in all content.

  • Consulted with programmatic leaders and internal stakeholders to develop creative campaigns to support initiatives and rollouts for Pivotal’s pillars, including women in public office, women’s power and influence, advancing women and girls of color, empowering women and tech innovation.

  • Presented innovative ideas and analyses to internal stakeholders.

  • Brought on by Pivotal Ventures as an independent consultant from July 2019 - April 2020 to advise on the Equality Can’t Wait digital campaign.

Digital Director - U.S. Senate Senator Ron Wyden October 2017 - February 2019

  • Managed social media channels for Senator Ron Wyden and the Senate Finance Committee. Produced dynamic multimedia content. Ghostwrote as Senator Wyden and covered a wide array of legislative topics. Coordinated with legislative teams and outside organizations. Executed digital strategies and provided guidance to other Senate offices on tax legislation.

  • Spearheaded a successful website redesign project.

  • Advised the Senator, Chief of Staff, and State Director on cutting-edge digital strategy and communications.

  • Accompanied and documented the Senator on state trips through photography, social media, and video production.

  • My efforts helped Senator Wyden win the 2018 Congressional Management Foundation's Democracy Award for Innovation.

Digital Director - Wyden for Senate October 2017 - February 2019

  • In this role, I wrote and edited fundraising emails, manage campaign social media accounts, produce and edit video and photo content.

Digital Director – U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee February 2017 – October 2017

  • As Democratic Staff Digital Director, my responsibilities included graphic design, social media management, content creation, podcast and video editing/production, website re-design and developing digital strategy to communicate messaging and research from economic reports to industries, congressional offices and working Americans. 

  • Winner of Best Video by a Committee in the Senate Democrats Digital Contest

Deputy Digital Director – Hillary for America (PA) June 2016 – November 2016

  • Produced audio, video, written and social content to encourage voter registration, organizing and education on issues affecting Pennsylvanians. I traveled to all geographic areas of Pennsylvania, interviewed elected officials, delegates, local activists and supporters. I delegated tasks while managing interns.

  • While serving as the regional GOTV Director, I managed logistics for Get Out the Vote in Delaware County, which included recruiting and building relationships with staging location hosts. Trained organizers and volunteers on using digital tools

Associate Editor – NextGen Climate (CA) October 2015 – June 2016

  • In my role, I curated and created blog and social content and worked on digital strategy for a political organization promoting clean energy and youth voter outreach. While based at the San Francisco Headquarters, I traveled to New Hampshire to produce content for the 2016 primary election. Winner of the 2015 Halloween Costume Contest for my "Data - Miner" costume.

LinkedIn Editor - Contract  June 2015 – October 2015

  • As an Editor for LinkedIn's publishing team based in New York City, I evaluated and edited member content, reached out to LinkedIn members to publish on the platform, assisted with social media, monitored news and participated in brainstorming at weekly editorial meetings with editorial staff members located all over the world. 

Recruiting and Admin Intern - Yahoo! August 2013 - November 2014

  • As one of the Champaign, Illinois location's only non-tech employees, I served as communicator between candidates, management, and engineers, wrote newsletter and recruiting emails, attended recruiting events, organized resumes and scheduled interviews. I followed entire recruiting process, from resume collection to onsite interview and later meeting new employees. I also sang in the Yahoo band, Work in Progress.

New Media Intern - Bitch Media - June 2014 - August 2014

  • As Bitch Media's New Media Intern, I wrote and photographed content for Bitch Media's Tumblr and Instagram profiles, produced blog posts about media, technology, and feminism and transcribed and assisted with podcast development. I was managed by Sarah Mirk, Bitch's incredible former Online Editor. My piece "Seven Studies That Prove Mansplaining Exists" was one of the most-read posts of 2014 and has been mentioned in Bustle and Attn:. 

Education //

Northwestern University, Medill (2014 – 2015) Masters of Science, Journalism

Reporting Concentration, Health and Science, Social Justice Initiative Scholarship Recipient, Medill Justice Project Member

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2012 – 2014) Bachelor’s of Liberal Arts, Rhetoric 3.86 GPA

Gender and Women’s Studies Minor