Brain Trust: Case Studies on Website Refreshes — A Client Panel

If you've gone through a comprehensive website redesign 4-5 years ago, chances are you are considering modernizing your site. Or, perhaps your organization has updated its visual brand identity and would like the website to match. If your previous comprehensive process included testing, strategy, user research, governance, and more, you may just need a website refresh, which is a way to update the look and feel without blowing up or burning down the entire site and starting from scratch.

This Brain Trust will include three OHO partners who have recently gone through a website refresh and will share their experiences and why they didn't need to start from scratch.

• Blythedale Children's Hospital
• Hebrew SeniorLife
• Simmons University

Terri Robinson is the Senior Director of Communications and Content at Hebrew SeniorLife, a Harvard Medical School-affiliated senior services organization in Boston with seven locations and more than 2.400 employees. She leads a team focused on creating, sharing, and optimizing engaging communications in support of Hebrew SeniorLife’s business, marketing, philanthropic, and employee engagement goals. Terri oversees strategic, internal, and development communications; brand management; and content strategy, including social media and internal and external websites.

Prior to joining Hebrew SeniorLife in 2012, Terri working in marketing, communications, and branding in health care, nonprofit, and agency settings for brands including Planned Parenthood, PNC Financial Services, and Procter & Gamble. Volunteer experience includes serving on the boards of several social justice-related nonprofit organizations. Terri earned her Bachelor of Science in communication with a concentration in public relations from Boston University.

Connie Cornell is the Vice President of Strategic Communications at Blythedale Children's Hospital. In her current role, she oversees the Hospital's Marketing and Communications department, including public relations, social media and media relations.

Her career at Blythedale has spanned 28 years, serving first as Director of Public Relations for nearly a decade, and working as a communications consultant prior to being named Director of Strategic Communications in 2013. Previous to Blythedale, she served as a writer, editor and photographer for several publications, and earned first-place awards for feature-writing and photography from the New York State Press Association.

Ms. Cornell received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Marketing and Art History from SUNY Plattsburgh, and completed a certificate program in Professional Fundraising and Development at Marymount College.

Deb Garrity has 20 years experience in developing and evolving websites and driving digital communications for marketing teams. As the manager of a small but mighty team she is a nimble multi-tasker, often acting as project manager, developer, and content producer for various web-related projects. Deb prides herself on her ability to provide strategic guidance and support in the development and procurement of web properties and digital-first solutions. Over the course of her career Deb has managed numerous website redesign projects, from complete tear down/start from scratch implementations to brand and design refreshes.