Hi, I’m Cheryl, and I’m a communications professional. I work with organizations to find out what messages they want to convey, and I help them develop game plans to get these messages to the audiences they want. This requires understanding the mission and values of organizations, but also the same of their audiences. My work requires a degree of authenticity and empathy in order to be successful, as well as being able to really listen to what people have to say.

 

I graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Business (now the Gies College of Business) with a BS in Finance in 2004. This laid the ground work for my understanding of how businesses work as a whole, but also specifically the components that make up financial decisions for organizations.

 

After my undergraduate studies, I started work as a retail management trainee for Menards, a big-box hardware store in the Midwest. Through their management trainee program, I worked in various departments of a retail store, including the sales floor, front end (cashiers and accounts payable), and receiving departments. This experience showed me how businesses work in the real world, but it also enhanced my skills in customer service and relating with people. At the end of the program, I then assisted in managing departments throughout the store. I constructed floor displays, calculated sales goals, and oversaw as many as 20+ employees with differing job functions.

 

After Menards, I moved on to McMaster-Carr, an industrial supply company. I started in the Purchasing Department expediting purchase orders. I also worked on a project that analyzed data on purchase orders that were expedited by our department and the effect that our intervention had on actual delivery dates.

 

I then began working in the Merchandising Department as a Content Developer (now a part of the Publishing Department), a role that I’ve held on-and-off for the majority of my time at McMaster-Carr. The job function has differed slightly as technologies and plans have changed, but primarily, I worked on the company's website. I’ve structured tables and specification searches, developed copy, and implemented and tested web functionality. My other work experience at McMaster-Carr includes proofreading specifications and copy and being a part of the Product Change Division (the Merchandising Department’s crisis management team). I later moved into Human Resources as a Recruiter to find candidates for open positions, as well as to strengthen the company's hiring initatives for diversity and inclusion.

 

I decided to continue my education and graduated with an MS in Communication at Northwestern University. I also participated in Northwestern’s NEXT program, where I had the opportunity to extern at the XFL headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

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I currently handle administrative and HR-related work for Liquid Gold Consulting, and I freelance in adminstrative work and notary services.

 

Outside of work, I spend my time raising two girls and working on my physical fitness, primarily through running and strength training. I ran in the Chicago Marathon twice (2015, 2022) and plan to again in the future.