Lavern Thomas

About Lavern Thomas

LaVern provides over ten years of marketing communications know-how consisting of combined professional, educational, and volunteer experience, including an MA in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse focusing on the art of persuasion through digital and traditional content creation and aesthetics, and an MS in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). Her most recent academic degree in IMC complements her background in content creation by equipping her with the ability to analyze, interpret, and communicate consumer data. This marriage of LaVern\'s two post-graduate degrees allows her to employ analytical tools and creative skills necessary for marketing, branding and internal/external communications in today’s big data world. Some notable highlights of LaVern\'s recent professional experiences are as follows:• Stakeholder communication (including stakeholder mapping, planning, and communications execution) and strategic planning for non-profit and profit sectors.• Client-side B2B and B2C experience in planning and executing strategic marketing goals and campaigns.• Completed an intensive 5-week global branding management course in the UK working with top marketing and branding companies.• Served as editor in chief for an academic research journal and led a team of 25 creative and PR staff, copyeditors, and associate editors.• 4+ years experience in conducting consumer qualitative research via ethnographies and other research methods.• Integrated Northwestern’s IMC graduate website with the NU/IMC brand by implementing a cohesive storytelling content structure and restructuring the websites aesthetic positioning. • 2 years of teaching content creation and communications of various genres for multiple media platforms at DePaul University. • Employed social media analytical tools to help develop innovative strategies for enhancing organizational marketability and consumer outreach for various B2B and B2C customers.• 6+ years of budget management experience.

Experience

1. Lead Talent Management Consultant L & d Program Manager

   Allstate

   Sep 2021 — Present · Chicago, IL, US

   LaVern develops and drives lasting improvement in organizational performance and critical talent management functions in partnership with department leadership and Human Resources. LaVern also develops and implements enterprise learning programs to build skills, shift mindsets, and align culture with direction of enterprise strategy.• Delivers and contributes to the design of programs to accelerate development in critical skills within the department and, where appropriate, the enterprise• Establishes and leads community-based learning events which may include conferences, workshops and communities of practice• Implements and contributes to the design of programs to attract, develop and retain department talent• Designs and delivers efficient and effective department onboarding experiences in partnership with department managers• Establishes and maintains partnerships with internal and HR stakeholders• Conducts analyses to evaluate program effectiveness and reach; recommends improvements utilizing insights from analyses• Leverages external resources for benchmarking and innovation

Education

• Northwestern University

  Master’s Degree, Integrated Marketing Communications

  2015

• DePaul University

  Master's Degree, Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse: concentration in Teaching Writing and Language; TESOL Cert.

  2012 — 2014

• DePaul University

  Bachelor of Arts (BA), History