About
April Thompson is a writer, editor and small business consultant. For more than a decade, April has worked with a variety of clients, to include businesses, publications, nonprofits, and individuals, covering a range of topics from travel to global, environmental and community issues. Listen to her interviewed on lessons from her career in marketing for MarketingSherpa!
CONSULTING EXPERIENCE
1996 – present
Freelance Writer and Small Business Consultant
- Worked exclusively as a freelance writer and editor for more than 10 years, authoring articles appearing in dozens of books and magazines to include as Asian Geographic, the San Francisco Bay Guardian and The Christian Science Monitor.
- Hired as a communications consultant for organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
- Consulted for a variety of business clients, to include a fair trade sports company, a fair trade retail store, and a travel agency, to bolster their sales and marketing efforts. Scope of work included developing pipeline of leads, conducting sales calls, organizing in-store promotions, developing community partnership activities, creating marketing materials, representing clients at special events, and conducting customer surveys.
- Introduced line of fair trade products from Guinea and Brazil, handling everything from packaging to marketing, sales and distribution.
Farmer-to-Farmer Program, Dakar, Senegal, September 2018
Winrock
- SAssessed postharvest quality issues in Senegal and worked with F2F field staff to draft a country strategy for future volunteer technical assistance.
Farmer-to-Farmer Program, Mzuzu, Malawi, February 2012
CNFA
- Provided technical assistance to a small but growing fresh organic produce business, working with the business owner to improve his business, for example developing inventory tracking, reorganizing the storefront and identifying new markets.
African Cashew Initiative,Cotonou, Benin, August – December 2012
TechnoServe
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Developed a new brand for a holding company uniting three cashew processing factories; organized launch of Benin Gold brand.
WINTER 2006
Modern Architects for Rural India, Consultant, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Wrote and designed a 40-page profile for this grassroots organization’s work in education, natural resources, agriculture, health, economic development and good governance.
SUMMER 2006
TechnoServe, Consultant, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Conducted pilot research on the impact of fair trade on Tanzania’s tea-producing communities and a feasibility study on the fair trade certification for tea farming cooperatives.
2004 – 2005
Mano River Women’s Peace Network, Consultant, Conakry, Guinea
- Developed a bi-lingual website and newsletter, co-produced a documentary, evaluated field offices, designed projects, and secured five grants for this recipient of the UN Human Rights prize.
Spring 2004
Winrock International, Consultant, Labé, Guinea
- Researched, wrote, designed, and photographed a bilingual 60-page magazine, translated documents, and trained local staff in communications for this USAID-funded natural resources project.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
April 2019-present
Blue Drop, Washington, DC
- Senior Director, Bloom
Oversee, plan and implement marketing and sales activities for Bloom, DC Water’s recycled class A biosolids soil amendment produced at Blue Plains, the world’s largest advanced wastewater treatment plant.
February 2017-March 2019
QED Group, Washington, DC
- Knowledge Management Portfolio Manager, Knowledge Driven Agricultural Development (KDAD) project, USAID Bureau of Food Security
Managed KDAD’s knowledge management team, responsible for capturing, sharing, and adopting best practices around agriculture and food security, implementing activities including in-person and online events, evidence and learning exchanges, web content management, and other knowledge capture and dissemination activities.- Played a key role in site refresh of Agrilinks, developing new content management and audience engagement strategies leading to a record number of pageviews and subscribers during my tenure.
- Created, curated and managed content on an array of topics related to the US Global Food Security Strategy, including resilience, post-harvest loss, irrigation, and the enabling environment for ag market systems in partnership with the Feed the Future Innovation Labs, implementing partners and USAID technical experts.
2008 – 2012
GoodWeave USA, Director of Marketing & Communications, Washington, DC
- Reached 60 million consumers through a multifaceted campaign to end child labor and promote sales of child-labor-free rugs through advertising, website, social media, events, PR, and strategic partnerships.
- Executed an organizational rebranding, including a new certification label.
- Oversaw marketing campaign to promote certified rug sales in Macy’s.
- Launched photo exhibition co-sponsored by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
- Cultivated business partnerships and negotiated sales and marketing opportunities in collaboration with member network of 90 rug companies.
- Developed in-store collateral and sales tools for a network of 1,000 retailers.
- Secured more than $500,000 in pro-bono advertising annually and earned features on CNN International, MSNBC, Voice of America and other high-profile media outlets.
- Created a carbon-offsetting program for rug company partners.
- Managed a dynamic team of staff, interns, vendors and consultants.
April 2008 – December 2008
Global AIDS Alliance, Development Associate, Washington, DC
- Researched and cultivated pipeline of institutional funding leads.
- Wrote content for proposals and organizational communications.
- Developed an online photo auction for World Day Against AIDS.
2003
UN World Food Programme, Communications Officer, Conakry, Guinea
- Wrote, edited and designed bi-lingual publications, managed staff, and organized diplomatic missions and special events.
1995 – 1996
American Society on Aging, Associate Editor, San Francisco, CA
1994 – 1995
Affordable Housing Finance, Assistant Editor, San Francisco, CA
1993
Saybrook Institute, Research Assistant, San Francisco, CA
Education
American University, School of International Service (SIS) and Kogod School of Business, Washington, DC
Masters of Business Administration and Masters in International Development, December 2007
- Graduated in two and a half years with a 3.9 GPA.
- Received scholarships from the American Association of University Women, Datatel and SIS.
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, May 1993
- Graduated in three years with 3.8 GPA.
- Inducted into Golden Key and Psi Chi national honor societies.
Languages
- French (fluent)
- Portuguese (conversational)
- Basic vocabulary in Arabic & Spanish
April is, without a doubt, one of my most cherished writers. Her articles are always insightful, well balanced, and engaging; I can always count on her to go the extra mile and to deliver nothing but top-notch writing. I am truly honoured to count her as part of my team.