CONVENTION COMMUNICATIONS
NABJ
Convention
Communications
Partner and Visual Communications Manager for the 2023 NABJ Convention in Birmingham, returning in 2024 as Partner Communications and Internal Client Manager for the Chicago convention with expanded scope and elevated responsibility. Two conventions, one continuous trust.
STRATEGY DESIGN
BRAND MANAGEMENT
PARTNER COMMUNICATIONS
ASSET GOVERNANCE
2
CONVENTIONS
7K+
ATTENDEES
75+
PARTNERS
400+
ASSETS
LIVE CONVENTION PHOTOGRAPH
"Direct all visual communications and partner brand assets for one of the largest annual conventions in Black media journalism, then come back the next year with a bigger title and broader scope."
The National Association of Black Journalists engaged Samiria for two consecutive annual conventions. In 2023 she served as Partner and Visual Communications Manager for the NABJ Convention and Career Fair in Birmingham, Alabama, a contract that ran June through November including a post-convention extension. NABJ brought her back for the 2024 Chicago convention as Partner Communications and Internal Client Manager, an elevated title with expanded responsibilities across risk management, quality assurance, internal client relations, and cross-functional team coordination.
Brand consistency
at convention scale
01 - Creative Strategy
THE SCOPE
Multiple partners, one cohesive mission
Convention partners each brought their own assets, specifications, and timelines. The role required ensuring every piece of partner communications met NABJ brand requirements across print, digital, social, and the convention app simultaneously, without losing consistency or missing placement deadlines.
THE APPROACH
System-first, execution-second
Rather than managing partner assets reactively, the work was organized around a structured system in Asana that tracked every deliverable, deadline, and platform placement. This created visibility across the team and ensured that partner commitments were honored without a single item falling through the cracks during the pressure of a live national event.
Before, during,
and after
02 - The work
PRE-CONVENTION
01
Partner asset coordination and scheduling
Coordinated the planning, review, and execution of partner assets for placement across print, digital, social, and convention app platforms. Managed submission timelines, scheduled posts on behalf of partners, and verified each asset was completed and placed correctly.
ON-SITE
03
Full-time communications staff, Birmingham and Chicago
Served as full-time on-site communications staff for both the 2023 Birmingham convention and the 2024 Chicago convention. Managed real-time partner deliverables, supported convention operations, and maintained brand consistency across all live event touchpoints across two consecutive years.
VISUAL DIRECTION
02
Brand asset development for social and email
Oversaw the development and creation of visual communications and brand assets for social media and email marketing. Ensured all creative output aligned with NABJ's brand standards while meeting the varied specifications of convention partners across formats and channels.
POST-CONVENTION
04
Analytics reporting and partner system restructure
Delivered real-time and post-event analytics and tracking reports on all partner communications deliverables. Extended engagement included restructuring the partner guidance system into a tiered framework and updating specifications for future partner communications deliverables.
Why it was
managed this way
03 - Creative Direction
01
Managing partner assets as a brand system
Partner assets at a national convention aren't just placements; they're expressions of the NABJ brand by proxy. Every partner submission was reviewed against brand specifications and protocols before placement, ensuring that the visual integrity of the convention was held across dozens of different partner identities and creative styles.
02
Building the partner system for the next team
The post-convention extension was focused on infrastructure work. Restructuring the partner guidance into a tiered framework meant future communications teams would inherit a system, not just a folder of past assets. That's the difference between completing a project and building something that lasts.
03
Real-time tracking during a live national event
During the convention, there was no room for a missed placement or an off-brand asset going live on the wrong platform. Managing deliverables in Asana with a live schedule meant that every asset could be checked, confirmed, and accounted for in real time, even under the pressure of a multi-day national event.
04
Analytics as a creative accountability tool
Post-event analytics reporting was more than just a numbers exercise. Tracking performance on partner communications deliverables created a feedback loop that informed what worked, what partners valued, and how the visual communications strategy could be improved for future conventions.
05
From managing assets to managing the system
The 2024 Chicago engagement added formal risk management and quality assurance responsibilities that weren't part of the Birmingham contract. This meant proactively identifying threats to partner delivery timelines, implementing feedback loops to improve asset quality, and serving as the primary point of contact between the Partner Concierge and all platform managers. The role became less about managing assets and more about managing the system that managed assets.
Brought back
with more responsibility
04 - Outcomes
Rehired and promoted
NABJ brought Samiria back for a second convention with an elevated title and expanded scope. The clearest possible signal that the Birmingham work delivered.
Multi-platform delivery
Partner assets successfully placed across print, digital, social, and app platforms for both the Birmingham and Chicago conventions, with comprehensive documentation and analytics reporting delivered post-event each year.
Tiered partner system
Restructured the partner communications framework into a tiered, partner-level system post-Birmingham, giving the NABJ communications team a scalable foundation that carried into the Chicago engagement.
MY ROLE
Partner and Visual Communications Manager (2023) elevated to Partner Communications and Internal Client Manager (2024).
CREATIVE DIRECTION
ANALYTICS REPORTING
BRAND MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM DESIGN
PARTNER COMMUNICATIONS
RISK MANAGEMENT
Tools: Asana · Canva · Photoshop · EventPilot