The demand for culturally relevant and inclusive children's books is more pressing than ever, as it's essential for children to encounter stories that mirror their own backgrounds and experiences. Diverse representation in children's literature is paramount, ensuring that all children, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religious affiliations, or cultural heritage, can find stories that resonate with their identities.

At Urban Teachers, educators graduate from the program with a steadfast dedication to principles of equity, excellence, and inclusivity. In my capacity, my primary objective was to elevate brand storytelling endeavors, fostering a deeper and more meaningful connection between audiences and the organization's mission of promoting diversity and inclusivity in education.

I spearheaded a collaborative initiative at Urban Teachers in which I partnered with faculty and cross-functional teams to curate a collection of 14 diverse and inclusive holiday children's books. The aim was to create a compelling social media campaign, strategically timed during the holiday season when online engagement traditionally decreases.

Working closely with internal teams across Baltimore, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, we identified enthusiastic members from UT's teaching cohorts to participate in reading the books aloud on video. This not only provided an opportunity to showcase program participants on official social media channels but also led to a significant uptick in brand awareness and engagement across platforms. By employing SEO, rich keywords, and targeted hashtags, we optimized the visibility of these videos. Moreover, these video readings humanized the UT brand for external audiences while staying true to the organization's overarching mission.

To ensure the successful execution of this nationwide campaign, I prioritized clear and effective communication among all teams involved. This included the concise articulation of project requirements, deliverables, and deadlines. I streamlined the process of ordering books, which were then directly dispatched to the city sites for distribution.

Robust project management practices were implemented, complemented by the establishment of shared video repositories that facilitated seamless file transfers. I played a pivotal role in creating a video template and meticulously editing all content. Our chosen platform, YouTube, was instrumental in hosting the videos, which were meticulously scheduled for release.

To further enhance project organization and communication, I harnessed the power of Asana as a central hub for tracking all project details and facilitating ongoing discussions. Each video was strategically rolled out daily across Urban Teachers' various social media platforms, optimized to maximize engagement and impact.