Alexa Elizabeth Fornoff Wahl is an empathetic leader, thoughtful strategist, and storytelling enthusiast.
Hi, I’m Alexa.
Thank you for stopping by.
After hours
I’m an eager reader and love to adventure outdoors with my family and dog. We usually end up at a fishing hole, in a mud puddle, or collecting “treasures” like rocks and leaves and sticks.
Also, I’m on a quest to find the best slice of pizza in Saint Louis. It’s a work in progress. So far, Pizzeria da Gloria stracciatella is my number one.
Here’s what I do. ↓
Senior director of brand
MASA
June 2023 – present
Steer the organization through a modernized brand refresh with aggressive milestones. Collaborate with global business stakeholders to align needs and goals where previously siloed. Develop a framework for how the brand looks, sounds, and feels, and introduce a Brand Playbook for internal and external use. Manage a team of contract workers for visual design, web design, product marketing, customer experience, and content. Serve as the divisional change leader to influence and introduce new systems for employee management and organizational culture. Develop a needs-based, data-driven global content strategy in collaboration with the customer support team to alleviate call pressure. Align on meaningful, business-driving performance measures and present to operational leadership team biweekly.
Director of brand and content marketing
May 2022 – June 2023
Director of content marketing
September 2021 – May 2022
Senior content marketing manager
June 2021 – September 2021
Ease
Lead the brand and content development arm for this mid-stage insurtech startup, focusing heavily on data-driven decision-making and a quick path to ROI throughout the customer lifecycle. Generate executive buy-in around narrative storytelling, and influence strategy for events, demand generation, customer education, and sales enablement. Own performance and strategy for earned and owned channels. Lead website redesign and reimagining, with focus on SEO and conversion rate optimization. Realize nearly 53% YOY growth in organic visitors and 84% YOY growth in traffic to site post-launch. Develop strategy to bring in and engage new audiences, including B2C. Manage four remote direct reports, assisting with both day-to-day responsibilities and professional growth opportunities. Provide a throughline of focus in a transitive and shifting landscape.
Director of content strategy
Spinutech, LLC
March 2020 – June 2021
Helm all things content and brand, including content planning and strategy, content marketing, SEO content creation and optimization, web development projects, user journey mapping, persona development, nurture campaigns, and creative ideation for national B2B, B2C, and D2C clients at this all-digital agency. Manage and grow a team of 10 remote strategists through an acquisition and collaborated cross-discipline to develop a cohesive, data-driven content program unique to each client. Develop customized pitch narratives for new business meetings. Test, test, test. And then iterate. And test again.
Communications manager
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield
April 2017 – March 2020
Develop and lead strategy for B2B content marketing, pharmacy product marketing, and specialty benefits product marketing. Work cross-functionally with business stakeholders and senior leadership during planning, creation, execution, and measurement of integrated campaigns. Lead executive editorial board meetings, which bring together leaders from business areas to discuss topic ideas. Operate within industry regulations when developing content and collateral, and help define voice, personas, and best practices within these guidelines.
Communications & outreach
Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship
May 2016 - April 2017
Manage and implement communication strategies for water quality and land stewardship divisions, including social media, content creation, design, and public relations. Balance input, feedback, and approval from both private- and public-sector stakeholders. Create a cohesive, branded message surrounding top-level, complex issues like water quality and soil conservation. Develop department brand standards to visually unite various new and ongoing projects throughout the state.
Shop editor
Meredith Corporation
August 2012 – May 2016
Plan, develop, and manage editorial ecommerce content ideation and creation, SEO projects, influencer outreach initiatives, and package and execute native content components. Develop, test, and deploy more than a dozen weekly newsletters. Serve as the liaison between development team based in Los Angeles and management teams in Des Moines and New York. Hold weekly meetings with dev teams to create business requirements for product creation, design CMS enhancements, and conceive plans to meet very aggressive business goals. Attend conferences and summits as a representative of the commerce initiative for Meredith. Present at the annual Style Maker conference in New York. Manage a nimble team of content creators and freelancers, and keep up-to-date records of contracts, invoices, and content production to allow the various stakeholders an at-a-glance look at our current content generation, revenue, and other KPIs.
Assistant editor
Meredith Corporation
June 2009 – August 2012
Pitch, write, and market-edit several front-of-book department stories, including product features and user-generated content section. Manage and produce online content, video, social media channels, and monthly newsletters. Coproduce Meredith’s first print-on-demand product, the ReadyMade 100, with McNally Jackson. Conceptualize special sections for each issue. Manage eight department budgets, and schedule, collaborate, and art-direct photo shoots. Coproduce quick apps for BHG.com and Paint Anything mobile app.
Collegiate leadership consultant
Gamma Phi Beta International Sorority
May 2008 - June 2009
Serve as a traveling consultant focusing on leadership development, recruitment, team building, officer training, and public relations. Conduct workshops and retreats for groups of 1-300 in these areas and develop corresponding materials.
Education
University of Missouri
School of Journalism
2004-2008
Bachelor of Journalism, Magna Cum Laude
Honors: Mystical Seven, Mizzou ‘39, Mortar Board, Dean’s List, Honors College
