Senior-Level Strategy
Hands-On Execution

How I Can Help

Brand and messaging strategy · Messaging frameworks · Brand guidelines · Audience segementation · Executive positioning

Turn competing priorities
into focused plans and
coordinated action.

Get clear on what matters and
how to communicate it.

Marketing strategy ·
Campaign planning · Editorial Calendars · communications planning · Enrollment marketng · Audience Journeys · project and process management

campaigns · Landing Pages · Newsletters · Executive Communications · board presentations · toolkits · Digital advertising · High-priority projects

Sometimes you need a fresh perspective. Sometimes you need a clear plan. Sometimes you need experienced capacity to get the work done.

Orchard Street brings senior-level thinking, strategic coaching, and hands-on support to help organizations and leaders move important work forward.

Clarity

Momentum

Impact

Get work moving, across the finish line, and delivering results.

A Quick Intro

I founded Orchard Street Strategies after nearly two decades working across marketing and communications in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors.

Most recently, I served as Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the KIPP Foundation, supporting the nation's largest network of public charter schools. During my 15+ years at KIPP, I saw initiatives from every angle, from initial research and strategy to execution, launch, evaluation, and reinvention. That experience taught me what it takes not just to get good ideas off the ground, but to adapt, improve, and sustain them over time.

My experience, including earlier roles in sales and brand management at Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, spans digital marketing, creative campaigns, national rebrands, executive communications, and navigating organizational change. Across it all, I've learned that even the best strategy only matters if it leads to meaningful outcomes.

Today, I work alongside leaders and teams to understand the challenge, find a better path forward, and help do the work to get there.

Susan Ciccone, CEO and Founder

Engagements & Results

The Client
The KIPP Foundation is a national nonprofit that sets standards of excellence, builds capacity, and drives accountability across the nation's largest network of public charter schools.

The Engagement
Partnered with leaders and teammates across KIPP Foundation and its national network to provide strategic counsel and hands-on support for high-priority initiatives. Work ranged from executive communications and organizational messaging to developing and launching core brand principles.

The Impact

• Provided strategic continuity and experienced capacity to advance high-profile work during periods of organizational change.

• Launched brand identity assets ahead of schedule and achieved 86% network adoption within the first two months after launch. The new assets articulated shared beliefs and behaviors, requiring an inclusive development process that ensured stakeholder understanding and alignment.

• Strengthened executive communications by advancing monthly messaging, meeting engagement benchmarks, and exceeding communication-frequency targets.

• Equipped teams with ready-to-use materials that reinforced consistent messaging and helped move organizational priorities forward.

The Client Perspective

“Susan is a solutions-oriented thought partner who brings deep knowledge of KIPP’s brand and history, along with a clear understanding of our audiences.

Throughout our work together at KIPP Foundation, she has played a critical role in advancing high-profile projects, developing practical, effective assets, and providing strategic counsel.

She pairs thoughtful insights with a focus on getting things done.”

Carly Lindauer
VP, Marketing and Communications
KIPP Foundation

Every organization has different challenges. Here are examples of how I've partnered with leaders and teams to bring clarity, build momentum, and deliver meaningful results.

STRATEGIC COUNSEL & HIGH-PROFILE PROJECT EXECUTION

The Client
NYU Gallatin is an interdisciplinary liberal arts college within New York University (NYU).

The Engagement
Partnered with NYU Gallatin's enrollment leadership to develop and implement a practical marketing plan to strengthen prospective student outreach and improve enrollment outcomes.

The Impact:

• Developed an actionable enrollment marketing plan that established clear priorities, defined target audiences, and guided recruitment activities.

• Established baselines and measurable goals to help the team evaluate outreach effectiveness and track progress.

• Strengthened marketing execution through weekly coaching, communications development, and practical guidance on recruitment materials.

• Built internal capacity and independence by creating tools, resources, and processes the team could continue using beyond the engagement.

The Client Perspective

“​Susan partnered with the dean’s office and enrollment director to develop a focused student enrollment marketing plan, set clear baselines and measurable goals, and then provided weekly coaching to keep the work moving forward. She also rolled up her sleeves, helping strengthen communications and collateral to make our outreach more effective.

What made Susan especially valuable was that she didn’t just do the work for us; she built our capacity to carry it forward. By the end of our engagement, we had a clear strategy, stronger materials, and the tools to execute independently.

In the best possible way, she worked herself out of a job."

Jessica Pavone
Chief of Staff
NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study
At the time of engagement

ENROLLMENT MARKETING STRATEGY & COACHING

The Client
TECH CORPS is a national nonprofit that expands access to technology education through hands-on, career-connected learning experiences for K–12 students and educators.

The Engagement
Partnered with TECH CORPS' CEO and executive leadership to sharpen brand positioning, clarify priority audiences, and bring greater focus and consistency to the organization's marketing and communications.

Combined strategic counsel with hands-on execution to advance priorities ranging from editorial planning and campaign development to executive communications and board engagement for year-end giving.

The Impact

• Strengthened brand consistency and streamlined execution by developing shared brand and messaging guidelines that give teams a clear communications foundation.

• Expanded the CEO's communications capacity by developing LinkedIn content, monthly newsletters, internal messages, and speaking materials, including a presentation that led to an invitation to participate in another industry panel.

• Advanced priority campaigns by translating strategy into messaging, content, and promotional materials supporting student recruitment, educator engagement, and fundraising initiatives.

BRAND STRATEGY & COMMUNICATIONS

The Client Perspective

“Susan’s experience with education-focused nonprofits was clear from the start. She understood our constituents and the K-12 education landscape without a steep learning curve, and that has been incredibly valuable.

In a short time, she helped us gain real brand clarity: we know who we’re talking to and what matters to them. She has created easy-to-repeat messaging aligned with our organizational goals and built a quality-focused communications strategy.

I look forward to continuing our partnership for years to come.”

Lisa M. Chambers
Chief Executive Officer
TECH CORPS

Let's Get to Work.

Have a challenge to solve, an idea to advance, or a project that needs experienced support?

Let's talk about what's possible.