CAMPAIGNS & BRANDING

#BeAWelcomer | Welcome.US x Soze

Audience Honor (Storytelling) — The Shorty Awards

The Challenge

In 2023, more than 110 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide. In the US, we felt the impact of this crisis acutely following the fall of Kabul, the war in Ukraine, and instability in Latin America and the Caribbean. Many Americans saw the headlines — families fleeing, seeking safety — and wanted to help, but didn’t know how.

Welcome.US set out to change that: transforming empathy into action by making private sponsorship of newcomers accessible, visible, and part of a shared national identity.

My Role

As lead copywriter and content strategist with Soze, I shaped the voice, messaging, and storytelling for the #BeAWelcomer campaign, building narratives that moved people from awareness to sponsorship. My work spanned scripting, ad copy, social captions, OOH messaging, landing page content, and interview-driven story features. Every word was crafted to inspire participation while honoring the dignity and agency of the people whose stories we told.

Strategy and Content

We put storytelling at the heart of the movement, spotlighting US sponsors and newcomers from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Haiti. I worked closely with senior leadership and the production team to translate these conversations into powerful, human-centered content:

Short-form headlines, ads, and captions optimized for paid and organic social, designed to drive click-through to sponsorship resources.

OOH copy for ads in public spaces, along with immersive “story houses” at national events, pairing concise, evocative headlines with QR-driven calls to action.

PSA scripting for “United in Welcome,” broadcast nationally and shared by Barack Obama to 3.4M viewers.

Long-form stories for web and email, weaving sponsor and newcomer voices into cohesive, emotional arcs.

Results

500K+ newcomers arrived through new private sponsorship pathways — 5× the annual average for U.S. government refugee resettlement alone.
Sponsors now active in all 50 states and 11K+ zip codes.
#BeAWelcomer campaign reached 80M+ people to date.
Uniting in Welcome PSA shared organically by Barack Obama (3.4M views).
380K+ monthly visits to sponsorship info and stories.
Uniting in Welcome PSA aired nationwide on Comcast 239K+ times in 2023.
Earned a Shorty Award in Storytelling (Audience Honor).