Hello, there! I’m Lorna. I’m a nonprofit specialist with over 15 years of marketing and outreach experience.

I work with organizations in the arts, education, environment, and gender equity — helping them translate their mission, values, and vision into communications that turn supporters into advocates.

What I do

    • Long-Form & Editorial Content
      Blog articles, feature writing, newsletters, program descriptions, thought leadership content, and grant support writing

    • Campaign & Outreach Copy
      Email campaigns, fundraising calls to action, event promotional copy, press releases, social media captions

    • Editorial Management
      Newsletter editing and production, content submissions management, social content editing, and editorial workflow oversight

    • Brand Voice & Messaging
      Organizational messaging frameworks, mission statement refinement, brand style guides, and editorial standards documentation

    • Print & Digital Collateral
      Annual and impact reports, appeal letters, brochures, posters, event materials, interactive PDFs, instructional documents, eLearning content

    • Social Media & Web Graphics
      Campaign graphics, branded templates, email headers, illustrated social content, animations, motion graphics

    • Brand Identity
      Style guide creation and refinement, visual brand development across print and digital platforms, template creation

    • Tools
      Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Procreate, After Effects, Canva, LearnWorlds, and Thinkific

    • Infographics & Impact Graphics
      Donor-facing data graphics, program outcome visualizations, environmental and scientific illustrations, statistical infographics for print, web, and presentations

    • Report Design
      Data storytelling within annual reports, grant reports, and impact reports — translating numbers and outcomes into clear, compelling narratives for funders and stakeholders

    • Presentation Assets
      Slide deck graphics, charts, diagrams, and versatile asset suites designed for reuse across outreach materials

    • Tools
      Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign

    • Content Strategy & Planning
      Multi-platform content strategy spanning social media, web, email, podcast, and print; editorial calendar development; audience segmentation; campaign concepting

    • Community Building & Engagement
      Social media community management, values-driven storytelling, email list growth, and volunteer team supervision

    • Web & Digital Communications
      Website content management using Drupal, WordPress, and Squarespace; blog strategy and implementation

    • Program & Event Development
      Lecture series concepting and launch (Transmit Culture, Portland State University — ongoing); press release production resulting in local media coverage; sponsorship outreach and fundraising; event coordination and on-site logistics

    • Platforms
      WordPress, Squarespace, Drupal, Hootsuite, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Mailchimp, Asana, Basecamp, Google Workspace, Audition, Riverside

View Portfolio

Clients & Employers

  • Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette

    National nonprofit organization in the health sector.

  • Young Musicians and Artists

    Nonprofit organization in the arts sector.

  • NWEA

    Nonprofit organization in the education sector.

  • Morro Bay National Estuary Program

    Nonprofit organization in the environmental advocacy sector.

  • Ooligan Press

    Portland University publishing house.

  • Overcup Press

    Independent publishing house.

  • Readers 2 Leaders

    Nonprofit in the education sector.

Testimonials

  • “Every time we work with her, I marvel at the way she creates beautiful, technically correct infographic illustrations that make complex scientific concepts easy to understand. She exceeds our expectations with every project.”

    —Rachel Pass, Communications and Outreach Coordinator, Morro Bay Estuary Program

  • "Lorna is a pleasure to work with, and she turns out first-rate products!”

    —Per Henningsgaard, Director of Publishing, Portland State University

  • “Before working with Lorna Nakell, I had a strong sense of her artistic talents, but I didn't yet appreciate the breadth of her skills, talents, and her deep understanding of audience, production, and collaboration. Lorna is a gem.”

    —Dennis Stoval, Director of Publishing (retired), Portland State University

  • "Lorna was not only easy to work with, but showed great intuition with book cover design. She listened to requests and specifications carefully and designed a stunning cover."

    —Mary Locke, Marketing Manager for I Am Not A Poet

  • "Lorna is a great designer. Her creativity and elegance really shine through in everything she does. She's a master of the publishing process, from start to finish. She can also make beautiful illustrations and custom graphics to add that special flair. With whatever she works on, Lorna always finds a way to surpass your expectations."

    —Peyto Yellin, Project Manager, Akasha Services

Certifications

Let’s chat

Feel free to reach out if you want to learn more about my capabilities or share a project you’re working on. I’ll review your message and get back to you within 48 hours.