If you want to skip this mostly narrative stuff and just find out about my professional skills and experience, go here.
About Me
I have a diverse education and diverse professional experience. Some might say I am a woman of many interests. Some might call me a career spazz. I just call myself an entrepreneur. Here’s my “elevator speech”:
I’m a communications hound, marrying the best in PR, marketing, media and interactive for a variety of industries. I am a trained and experienced urban planner with an expertise in community and economic development. I’m a writer. I’ve always been a writer and I will never stop being a writer. I’m also a business owner and entrepreneur. I love helping businesses grow. When you put it all together, it somehow all works.
I’ve worked in communications since I was 18. I started in the music world, before moving on to radio before branching out to provide different forms of integrated and high-level communications for government entities, non-profits and private businesses, including high-tech companies. I’ve also worked in urban planning and community/economic development for over a decade, and have two degrees in the subjects. Most recently, I’ve been working with architecture, design, and urban planning firms, restaurants and wineries, as well as other specialty food and beverage segments. I really love my work.
I’ve been a project and program manager, account manager, policy coordinator, community development liaison, research analyst and interactive director. These days, I run my own firm, the imaginatively named Lizzy Caston Communications. Here’s a link to more about the work I do, including some project samples.
Oh, and I’m also a published professional writer. Writing is my passion. You can read all about my writing here.
My Education
I originally studied food sciences and have an Associate of Arts and Sciences in the subject from Seattle Central Community College. I later switched majors, getting a degree in Urban Planning/Community Development from this fine program at Portland State University, and stayed on to get my Masters Degree in Urban and Regional Planning with an emphasis in information planning. I’ve also taken coursework in cross discipline communications, project management, writing and journalism.
What’s my Story?
My birth name is Elizabeth Anne Caston, but most people call me Lizzy. I was born in an old streetcar suburb in Cleveland, Ohio to a pair of multi-generational Southerners from North Carolina. That would be “Sutherners” with a capital S. All y’all from below the Mason Dixon know what that means. It means I can make a pecan pie in my sleep, can whip up a batch of pimento cheese in a jiffy, and know the difference between grits and that fancy Italian polenta stuff.
Although I am an avid world traveler and have lived a bunch of different places, Portland, Oregon is currently my home base. I’m very active in many online and offline communities and am involved in several non-profits and other groups. For hobbies I like to garden, and I am an avid reader and passionate home cook.
Outside of that, you may very well run into me in airports just about anywhere, but these days most probably in Paris, The Basque Country of Spain, New York, San Francisco, Northern California, or the newest love of my life: New Orleans.