Welcome to Brazen Careerist!

About Me

As an entrepreneurial self-starter, Valerie Rigsbee has been designing and doing front-end web development for over 10 years. She is proficient in xhtml, css, seo, revenue earning channels, social media, photoshop, flash, dreamweaver and indesign. Unlike many in the industry, she is truly a slashee – an artist who knows how to code and a programmer who knows good design. Samples of her work can be viewed at 554design.com.

She also owns and operates broadwaymusicalhome.com, a site that sees 15-30,000 unique visitors day, has over 5,100 Twitter followers and over 1,700 Facebook fans. The site’s companion blog has seen almost 56,000 visitors since its launch last summer and is under consideration for admittance into the Independent Theatre Bloggers Association.

Valerie is also an actress/singer/dancer in the Twin Cities, and has worked with Theatre in the Round, Theatre Pro Rata, Sandbox Theatre, Working Shadow Theater Company, Scrimshaw Productions, Theatre Unbound, ThE BRiNK and Bedlam Theatre, among others. News, media and a complete acting resume.

Work History

• The Broadway Musical Home
• Webmaster/Designer/Developer
• July 1999 to Present

• Complete everything involved in running this successful .com business, which now sees between 15-30,000 unique visitors a day, is search engine optimized and a revenue-earning enterprise which has attracted over 5,000 Twitter followers. Currently in the midst of a massive redesign focused on feedback and interaction and under consideration for admittance into the Independent Theatre Bloggers Association.

• 554 Design
• Designer/Owner/Operator
• September 1999 to Present

• Founder of 554 Design, a small web design studio focused on delivering bold, clean, hand-coded websites that increase customer awareness and loyalty. Working solo or collaborating with other designers and programmers, I’ve created web sites, Flash projects, email campaigns and more for companies in industries ranging from yoga to recruiting to theater to insurance to education to consulting, Samples: 554design.com

• IHC Health Solutions
• Web Media Specialist
• Febuary 2008 to November 2009

• Evaluated their current site and needs to create thinkihc.com. The changes made increased site traffic by 33.97%. Created additional sites (thinkihc.com/marketing/sites.html), movies and games to try to make insurance seem a little more fun (thinkihc.com/marketing/flash.html), training presentations to make selling insurance seem a little easier (thinkihc.com/training.html) and managed all email design and distribution.

• Rake Publishing
• Advertising and Marketing Account Manager
• July 2007 to January 2008

• Initiated and fostered relationships with clients in a variety of industries, helping them to find the best online, print, event and promotional marketing solutions for their businesses’ needs.

• Park Square Theatre
• Interdepartmental Intern
• May 2005 to August 2005

• Under the head of marketing, education, and audience services, wrote a press release and part of a show card, an article and Q & A for a production study guide, a letter to hotel concierges and restaurants in the area soliciting references to their clients, compiled survey data and presented conclusions based on it for increasing customer satisfaction, updated press calendars for the year and sent out subscription mailings.

• Guthrie Theater
• Development Intern
• May 2005 to August 2005

• Assisted with fundraising, donor recognition and cultivation events, compiled survey data, researched potential donors, managed filing system and supported other development activities.

Education

• Scripps College
• BA, Theatre, Psychology
• 2003 - 2007

• Graduated cum laude with departmental honors