Hello there!
I’m Melanie Johnson
(she/they)
I’m a freelance, jack-of-all-trades digital creative. My current focus is on web design work, but I am also a content creator and editor. I partner with non-profits and minority-owned small businesses across the wider DMV metro area to help improve their online presence and optimize their communications with clients and users. I believe digital access is a democratizing force that can be harnessed to educate on and further the work of social justice causes. To that end I specialize in working with folks that need additional help with digital literacy as well as those that come from or serve marginalized communities.
Learning and educating is my passion. My long-term goal is to write and produce nonfiction content, like documentaries and magazine-style journalism.
Interested in my resume?
Portfolio
Second Day Social Impact Fellowship with BUILD.org
An educational non-profit that creates entrepreneurship-based curriculum and digital education products for schools serving marginalized communities across the country.
As a part of the National Communications team at BUILD, I am responsible for developing and implementing marketing and social media strategies aimed at increasing engagement and donor recruitment. In my role, I both copywrite and create collateral, including presentations, infographics, and multichannel social media posts. Additionally, I manage and update content on our website through Elementor for WordPress, ensuring that the site remains relevant and engaging for visitors. I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to major campaigns, such as our BUILD The Future and Giving Tuesday efforts. One of my achievements so far has been co-leading the design and pitch of a presentation deck to our CEO, and I look forward to more opportunities to use my skills to amplify their work
Utilizing WordPress, Elementor, HubSpot, and Canva.
I created the campaign logo for the BUILD The Future Campaign using Canva and Canva Affinity Photo 2.
Who Will Let The Dogs Out? – Webmaster
Awareness-raising watchdog group that visits and reports on shelter conditions nationwide.
After working with WWLDO for a year as the Newsletter editor, I have become the webmaster for WWLDO’s website! Projects I have completed so far include significantly updating the site’s security and reducing spam traffic, site performance optimization utilizing Google Site Kit and reducing junk storage by by more than 6 GB via installing various plug-ins and performing general maintenance. I’ve also coded and formatted several new pages, and updated the look of existing ones. Ongoing projects include further storage optimization and the creation of a dynamic events calendar.
Created on WordPress
Who Will Let The Dogs Out? – Newsletter
Awareness-raising watchdog group that visits and reports on shelter conditions nationwide.
In addition to being Copy and Format Editor of WWLDO’s newsletter, I also fully implemented its email marketing. I introduced my clients to email sending services and automation, run their email campaigns, and set-up all automations. I worked with previous webmaster IMGE to seamlessly collect subscribers and to implement DNS and DMARC policy updates to meet current email deliverability standards. The result? A newsletter with a 2% above industry average click rate and <.05% bounce rate.
Utilizing both Constant Contact and MailPoet
DC Math Hub
Nonprofit raising awareness, doing research and providing resources on public math education
As a contract web developer for EmpowerK12, I developed a site for their DC Math Hub initiative from the ground up. From wireframe to mock-up to the final product, I worked closely with EK12 every step of the way to create a product that perfectly represented their mission and branding. I integrated third-party apps they already used and developed a subscriber database alongside their team. Additionally, I used my knowledge of MailChimp to help their assist their team in setting up automations to optimize user experience.
Created on Squarespace 7.1
The Dorm
A boutique outpatient youth mental health provider focusing on wholistic treatment options with offices in NYC and DC.
Contract web developer – site maintenance, HTML email coding, SEO revisions
Wilson Music Fund
A scholarship for graduates of Oxford High School in Oxford, MI pursuing a degree in music.
Contract web developer – site creation and launch