Half-Man, Half-Meme, 100% SE

Do you see random memes on your LinkedIn feed? It’s probably me!

Are you getting phone calls from numbers you don't recognize? Me again :)

I'm only half-joking but when I'm not posting memes or cold calling, I'm doing everything I can to improve my business acumen and lead a life of integrity, optimism, and service. 

I'm passionate about making a positive impact in my personal and professional communities. Ultimately, my personal mission is to help others and hopefully make some people laugh along the way.

Caspian Lewke

MemoryFox

Community Engagement

Farmer Veteran Coalition

Cultivate a new generation of farmers and food leaders by helping veterans pursue careers in agriculture. Spotlight all programs, initiatives, and stories to build community engagement among members, partners, donors, followers. Expand member awareness and participation in programs; propel impact on veteran and agricultural communities. Build donor relationships through a multi-channel approach to increase fundraising capacity.
•	Spearhead marketing campaigns and newsletter communications through idea generation and content creation, including direct messaging, video compilations, and photo collections
•	Interview farmer veterans and write member feature stories. Share through media outlets, website, newsletter, social media, print materials, news releases, donor and grant reports, event promotions, partners.
•	Act as point person for media engagement. Identify farmer veterans to connect with media opportunities and outlets; coordinate interviews. Write and distribute news releases.
•	Develop messaging/materials for grant proposals and reports, donor solicitations, fundraising campaigns, brochures, annual report, events, conference programs, and marketing collateral. Ensure marketing brand standards met organization-wide.
•	Advocate for members’ operations; foster networking, increase visibility, publicize sales 
•	Implement strategies to increase program participation and event attendance. Collaborate with agricultural partners on outreach.
•	Manage content and engagement across website and social media channels, organic and paid
•	Oversee network of state chapter communication leads. Liaison exchange of information, resources, and stories for joint distribution. Assist chapters in the development of communications strategies.
•	Liaison to photographers. Maintain digital media library. 
•	Instituted new event management software and phone app for 2019 national conference. Led a prominent role on the planning committee for 2019-2021 conference gatherings.

Communications Director

School Innovations & Achievement

Provide oversight of general ledger posting accounts and lead on accounts payable operations.
•	Perform month-end reconciliation and financial statement review. Analyze general ledger detail.
•	Generate and enter adjusting journal entries
•	Assist with credit card and bank reconciliations
•	Oversee entry of AP invoices, correcting adjustments, and check runs
•	Prepare audit schedules and assist with general audit requests
•	Track, analyze, and reconcile annual recurring revenue, by category
•	Calculate allocations for insurance distributions and employee expense reimbursements 
•	Compile data and file annual property tax statements, including fixed asset schedules

GL/Staff Accountant

Visit California

Managed operational finances, including heading up weekly payment runs and month-end close, and assisted management team with custom financial projects.
•	Orchestrated payment runs weekly – preparation of payment list and invoice selection, posting of batches, uploading wires and issuing checks, and monitoring of aging report
•	Tracked, posted, and reconciled assessment deposits for all of California tourism
•	Reconciled bank accounts monthly and maintained online banking records
•	Tracked recurring monthly expenses/allowances for financial analysis
•	Coded and reconciled receipts and expenses through Concur program
•	Assisted with audit requests, balance sheet maintenance, and analysis reports

Staff Accountant

Rutherford Wine Company

Performed monthly costing of cased goods, bulk wine, and inventory materials and oversaw 
	all functions related to month-end accounting close.  Acted as liaison between accounting 
	and staff in all other departments to communicate expectations and requirements for close.
•	Costed 200+ brand and private label wines on a monthly basis
•	Tracked bulk wine purchases, sales, and transfers and reconciled subledger to general ledger
•	Prepared and recorded monthly accruals, recurring and one-time journal entries
•	Oversaw reconciliation of inventory and materials, as well as balance sheet accounts
•	Responsible for monthly reconciliation of bank accounts and oversight of daily transactions
•	Developed systems to track and capture detailed retail sales for monthly reconciliation
•	Year end tax preparation, including inventory purchase logs, inventory roll forwards, inventory depreciation calculations, and interfacing with auditors
•	Filed monthly wine taxes and reports, including 702, federal/state excise tax, sales tax, and grape crush report.  Compiled data and submitted annual property tax statements
•	Oversaw accounting staff and daily operations, including support of Interim Controller. Provided direction on general ledger postings, problem-solved difficult entries, and developed and implemented new systems/procedures for more efficient operations
•	Worked with managers in other departments to improve company processes

Inventory Cost Accountant & Accounting Supervisor

Fiddlehead Cellars

Overall responsibility for management of business and company operations, including daily supervisory oversight of the administrative office & staff.  Executive support to owner and communications liaison.

Communications, Marketing & Promotions Development 
•	Built content for monthly newsletters 
•	Launched a multi-part Holiday offering that grew in sales 400% over 4 years
•	Rebranded company message/mission and integrated a complete website redesign
•	Championed a multi-faceted nationwide annual promotion via restaurants, retail, and online 
•	Collaborated with owner to create press releases and media copy, liaison to journalists
•	Oversaw management of social media platforms and Tasting Room offerings
•	Expanded growth of Wine Club by 40%, distributor licensing from 15 to 30 states
•	Lead on website development and analytics. Designed marketing materials and label concepts.

Human Resources 
•	Organized off-site activities and retreats. Coordinated logistics for tasting events and seminars.
•	Instituted a “wellness program” for employees
•	Hired and trained new employees, and conducted annual reviews
•	Prepared semimonthly payroll and quarterly/annual payroll reports

Customer Relations Management
•	Facilitated customer sales and diffused difficult situations through phone & email communications
•	Coached employees on successful customer correspondence techniques

Sales Forecasting & Inventory Management 
•	Assessed monthly sales 
•	Collaborated to formulate projections for annual product allocations
•	Evaluated market demand to determine production figures and pricing

Accounting & Taxes
•	Calculated and assembled comprehensive production cost analysis for products
•	Produced annual tax materials and worked closely with CPA
•	Prepared detailed state and federal monthly, quarterly, and annual wine reports
•	Recorded and reconciled annual capital expenditures/fixed assets	
•	Oversaw Accounts Payable & Receivable operations, semimonthly preparation of financials

Office & Business Manager

UC Davis Men’s Volleyball

Provided instruction of fundamental individual and team volleyball skills.  Organized and managed team practices, implemented drills, and coached season matches and tournaments, both in-state and on the national level.

Assistant Coach

UC Davis Women’s Volleyball Club Team

Planned, organized, and executed practices, scheduled season matches and oversaw multiple regional tournaments, including those hosted at UC Davis. Organized and hosted annual two-day tournament of 15+ teams from the West Coast.  Managed team budget, including oversight of all fundraising events.

President

increased ticket sales and in-game attendance by developing and leading promotional and marketing incentives for sports programs and events including basketball, football, and volleyball.  Directed groups of student volunteers. Worked to put on the Ninth Annual Aggie Auction, the largest student-run auction in the Nation, which raised approximately $500,000 for UC Davis athletics.

Intern

Community storytelling for nonprofits I Grow engagement & show mission impact

What I Do For You
I give you ideas for collecting more stories to show your mission impact, elevate your community voices, and fundraise more money. Want to chat about your own storytelling goals? www.MemoryFox.io/Natalie. Creative brainstorms are my favorite. 


More About Me & My Roots
MemoryFox I Happiness Collector I Enneagram 3w2

I’m an avid book collector, love energizing music that makes me want to dance, and believe walk-up songs shouldn’t be reserved just for baseball players. 

Growing up in the heart of tech-based Silicon Valley, my love affair with agriculture, local food, and farm-to-fork movements was sparked by my collegiate relocation to the farmland community of Davis, California. As a UC Davis Aggie studying Communications and Spanish – including a study abroad in Salamanca, Spain that enlightened me on how wild Spaniards go for “Hit the Road Jack” – I landed in the wine industry to start my career. I became immersed in all things viticulture and enology. I helped grow a small boutique Santa Barbara winery while learning the nuances of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. I moved into cost accounting for a Napa-based winery. Eventually, crunching numbers was not fulfilling. I craved mission-driven work. 

Stories of agriculture become a passion when I landed in nonprofit with the military-to-agriculture movement. Telling the stories of veterans now farmers – those who served our country once defending it and now a second time in feeding it – was the most meaningful work of my career. Now I get to share the nonprofit tool that would have been a game changer for me.

When I’m not immersed in storytelling, I am volunteering with the local library friends to recirculate literature within my community. Or I’m pondering my next themed gathering.

I love exploring national parks and aspire to visit all 50 state capitols. Yet I’m equally content snuggled on the couch next to my kitties – Champ, Gracie (Goose) and Maverick.

I believe in the importance of team communication and in being kind to others. I believe in building honest relationships. I hope to steward the title a friend gave me - the “people broker"; I thrive on the energy from introducing connections to each other and engaging in meaningful conversation.

I'm always up for a meaningful chat and welcome a good laugh, so let's connect and share our favorite jokes. It's extra rewarding to share this journey called life together.

At the end of the day I hope to make an impact on lives and feel good about the work I do; if I could do that then I would have an incredibly rewarding career.

taplio

The Battle

Caspian Lewke

Natalie Monroe 🦊

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