Laurie is a bit of a jigsaw junkie during the winter months. When it comes to helping ROI's clients, she helps them see how everyday actions fit into the big picture, too.
Laurie Ahlf
Laurie Ahlf likes helping people solve problems, and knows that effective communication is critical to doing that. "I'm good at helping people figure out the best combination of words and images to engage their audience to get the results they need," said Laurie.
As a consultant, Laurie brings a strong visual sense to her work, as well as an extraordinary commitment to accuracy. Both flow from her early work as a graphic designer, when fixing a typo was a very laborious and expensive process. Today, she says that getting a message right is even more important. "If you send something out to a hundred thousand people, there's no taking it back," she said.
Laurie has successfully managed many types of projects for a variety of clients in both the public and private sectors, including strategic planning, public outreach campaigns, marketing and advertising, writing TV and radio scripts, producing videos, designing collateral and developing websites.
As the founder of Design Styles Communications - a boutique design and marketing firm - Laurie spent almost a decade assisting clients that included Parsons, Brinkerhoff, Quade and Douglas, Ogilvy Public Relations, the UC Davis/Fresno Master Gardeners Program, the California Rice Commission and a statewide nonprofit groundwater management association.
In addition to her independent consulting, Laurie has worked at the University of California San Francisco as a marketing coordinator for its Healthy Transportation Network, and as an Account Manager at SureWest Communications, a telephone, Internet, digital TV and wireless company. Later, she served as a Senior Public Information Officer for Pacific Municipal Consultants, a planning, environmental and municipal services agency in Sacramento. Much of Laurie's work involved issues that included public outreach on water conservation, climate change, transportation and public health. She joined the ROI team in 2010.
"I'm an optimist and an idealist," Laurie said. "Honesty, integrity, and transparency are very important to me. Ideas should be conveyed clearly, and that's how I try to help clients communicate."