About Imani
At my core, I’m a results-driven creative who is passionate about enhancing the lives of others. My career ambitions started on the journalism track, but that train took a detour into marketing. One of my first skill-building opportunities was in high school as a junior contributor for Goddess Girl Magazine. The highlight of my tenure at the local, digital publication was when I had the chance to interview Grammy-nominated R&B recording artist and fellow Chicagoan, Jeremih (check it out in my gallery).
As the years passed, I continued to pursue programs for aspiring journalists. The most exciting opportunity of my young writing career was when I was chosen to participate in the highly selective Princeton University Summer Journalism Program. During the ten-day crash course in journalism, I was mentored by renowned writers at the New York Times and The Daily Beast. At the end of the program, my opinion piece was published in the 2010 Princeton Summer Journal.
I sharpened my writing and editing skills in college as the opinion section editor of my campus newspaper, the Stentor. After studying non-fiction writing and visual communications for four months in Europe in my junior year, I returned to the States ready to switch paths. I decided to dip my toes into marketing during my senior year by managing social media and events for the Global Engagement Office on campus. This work was so engaging that I added it to my list of careers to consider after college.
Immediately upon earning my Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication (cum laude!) from Lake Forest College in 2015, I served as the Administrative & Communications Director of a performing arts nonprofit in Chicago. I took ownership of all internal and external communications, keeping staff updated and informing our external partners about current initiatives. After a few years in nonprofit communications, client relations, and operations, I chose to pursue a marketing career moving forward. In 2019, I graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) with a Master of Science degree in Marketing (magna cum laude!) and started my social media and content marketing career. My first marketing role post-grad school was at the UIC College of Pharmacy as the Associate Director of Social Media. After departing from UIC, I served as the Social Media Specialist at ISACA, leading their organic social media strategy and spearheading their member engagement newsletter. Early last year, I joined Argonne National Laboratory full time to develop and manage their science/technology social media content.
Even with full-time employment, my enthusiasm to build my portfolio led me to various freelance projects over the years – providing social media content strategy, copywriting, and visual asset creation for numerous clients. As a passionate creative, I'm always open to new opportunities to grow my expertise as a digital content producer in emerging tech, entertainment, beauty, fashion, fine arts, and consumer goods. I'm open to roles in a wide range of industries!
Starting June 2025, I will be accepting clients who are seeking freelance social media content strategy and management services. To learn more about my services, check out Blacklight Branding.
If you would like to connect or work with me, feel free to reach out via email at imaniewatson@gmail.com!