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Founder, Marshall Fire Resource Guide

Olivia McKeen is good at turning tragedy into alacrity.听

When her family lost their Louisville home to the Marshall Fire, McKeen鈥攍ike many others鈥攚as in shock, but she quickly pivoted to how she could help others affected by the disaster.听

鈥淚 was able to get out safely, my parents got out, our pets got out,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e even got some of our stuff out. And that was certainly not the case for everyone.鈥澨�

Enter the Marshall Fire Resource Guide, a comprehensive website for those who lost their homes as well as people seeking to support displaced families. It鈥檚 the result of a group project McKeen led in her digital marketing course to develop and market a website.听

A focus on user experience

The idea came from a Slack channel for fire victims, which had a lot of information, but was poorly organized. 鈥淎nd a lot of older people who lost their homes don鈥檛 know how to use Slack or Facebook, but they鈥檙e comfortable with a website,鈥� McKeen said.听

Those audience considerations helped drive the site鈥檚 design aesthetic, which is equal parts professional and accessible. Even its logo and the shade of blue she used were chosen 鈥渂ecause it鈥檚 a calming color,鈥� she said.听

McKeen is no stranger to digital marketing鈥攕he started doing internships in the industry in high school, as a way to explore her interest in the discipline鈥攁nd is currently interning with startup Sol Vae, founded by Bridget Thorpe (OpsMgmt, E鈥檚hip鈥�09). That opportunity came about after Thorpe spoke at a networking event at Leeds.

鈥淩ight now, it鈥檚 just the two of us, which is exciting,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like getting to be the head of marketing, with a lot of freedom to try new things and see what works.鈥澨�

She鈥檚 also very involved on campus, including membership in Delta Sigma Pi, Women in Business, the Dean鈥檚 Student Cabinet and Kappa Alpha Theta.听

Developing the website was equal parts group and passion project鈥攁nd she continues to update it with news and resources鈥攂ut McKeen is now in talks with Boulder County about a takeover of the site, to further broaden its reach.听

The project has helped McKeen think about a career doing digital marketing for a nonprofit.听

鈥淚 wanted to come out of Leeds with a meaningful degree and a meaningful job,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 would love to use my degree do something that helps people.鈥�

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