Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Allen.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Hannah. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Immediately after graduating college in the Midwest, I relocated to Las Vegas and began my career with Kirvin Doak Communications, as PR coordinator for entertainment, hospitality and tourism clientele. After supporting the grand opening of CityCenter Las Vegas in 2009, I was recruited by Caesars Ent. Las Vegas and joined the in-house PR team to represent 70+ restaurants and ten resort casinos. Over the course of my six years with Caesars, I was granted the opportunity to develop a new Entertainment Marketing department focused solely on production. I was promoted to Corporate Director of Production, and my team worked with television networks and film studios to produce 100+ television shows and movies annually on-location within the Caesars Ent. North American resorts.
Somewhere deep down I had suppressed an urge to leave my career in Las Vegas to pursue my passion for human rights work. A very specific incident caused me to set my ambitions into motion. One morning, I was sitting in my office in Caesars Palace, reading a news story about a country in Africa whose people were starving while their leader lived a lavish lifestyle. Later that same day, that very leader, along with many of his wives, arrived at Caesars Palace for a very expensive vacation. I immediately began to research my next steps.
In 2016, my boyfriend and I resigned from our jobs and embarked on our volunteer sabbatical as English teachers in Bali, Indonesia. While I taught the students lessons on language, the students taught me lessons on humanity, gratitude and compassion.
I relocated to San Diego in February 2017 and committed to fully immersing myself into volunteer opportunities with local non-profit organizations, specifically those combatting human trafficking. My hope was to share my time and work with organizations in need of marketing assistance. Along the way, I’ve been blessed to learn non-profit operations and garner meaningful relationships within the San Diego community.
Through volunteering, I found opportunities to secure independent contract work, providing marketing and communications consulting services to anti-human trafficking, refugee, and educational organizations. I’ve been fortunate to work with Project Concern International, GenerateHope, AlabasterJar Project, RefugeeNet, School for Ministry and others.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It was incredibly difficult to walk away from an executive position in Las Vegas. I loved my job and team and was grateful for the opportunities afforded to me. When I committed to leaving, my promise to myself was not to volunteer for a short while but to solidify relationships and find long-term volunteer opportunities prior to returning to work full-time.
I’ve been financially supporting myself on savings for two years and am grateful I’ve had the time to integrate myself into the non-profit community and learn more about the vulnerable populations in San Diego. It’s been a blessing to have the time to work in the community in this capacity, and I am excited to now pursue full-time employment opportunities while I continue volunteering and consulting.
There are an estimated 8,000+ victims of sex trafficking in San Diego annually. No matter where my career may take me, I’m committed to continuing to work in the anti-trafficking field in some capacity. It is an epidemic in our community, and our voices are vital to demand change.
Hannah Allen – Communications Consultant – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
As a communication consultant, I offer a variety of marketing and PR services to clients. My background is a combination of traditional public relations along with extensive work in event, red carpet and production execution. I now apply that experience to non-profits in need of brand development, marketing strategies, budgeting, social media guidance, communication plans, media outreach, streamlined SOPs, event planning, new program design, and extensive marketing research.
The non-profits I’ve been fortunate enough to work with have incredible missions, and I use my education and experience to help identify their objectives, create manageable strategies, implement new practices, and calculate return on investment. All my strategies are measured by the following three factors: Is this effective? Is this implementable? Is this sustainable?
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
In everything I do personally and professionally, I’ve found my strategy for success starts with four “coms” — common sense, common courtesy, compassion and communication. When those qualities are exercised genuinely and consistently, I find success usually follows.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 702-278-1919
- Email: hannah.e.allen@gmail.com
- Instagram: @VivaHanDiego
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-allen-852b6140/
Image Credit:
Bryan Schnitzer
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