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About Me

I am a passionate and creative marketing and communications professional dedicated to helping organizations grow their brand, both online and offline. I have worked in government, nonprofit, and healthcare communications for the past 16 years, and also have extensive experience as a journalist, blogger, and healthcare advocate.

I first became interested in healthcare when a loved one was diagnosed with cancer while I was in college, but it truly became my passion while working for former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd during the legislative debate that resulted in the passage of the Affordable Care Act. I am currently a Manager on the Reputation Marketing team at NewYork-Presbyterian where I work to tell the stories and enhance the reputations of the hospital system and its world-renowned physicians.

Prior to joining NYP, I worked as the Associate Director, Corporate Communications for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. I first joined the organization in June 2015 as its integrated media specialist after volunteering with the organization for six years. In this role, I provided strategic external communication support throughout the organization, worked to help build the profile of our senior executives, cultivated and maintained relationships with key celebrities and influencers, supported proactive and reactive media related to our public policy programs, and led the internal communications efforts designed to engage employees and volunteers across the organization and country.

My previous jobs include Senior Press Officer at American Jewish World Service (AJWS), Director of Media Communications at Save the Sound, and Deputy Press Secretary for former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd. I hold a bachelor’s degree in political communications (independent designed major) from Binghamton University (SUNY) and I am a member of the National Association of Science Writers. 

  • NewYork-Presbyterian
    Manager, Reputation Marketing (1/2023-present) Manage the curation and creation of content showcasing the innovations of the physicians at NewYork-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Columbia. Develop content calendar and production tracker to track all written content being created, streamline interview process with physicians, and increased bench of external writers by 133%. Serve as in-house writer for NYP Advances, interview high profile physicians, and author 26% of total articles published in 2023 across core adult and pediatric specialties. Collaborate with members of the public relations, social media, and editorial teams to ensure comprehensive coverage of major institution achievements and milestones, including the first infant partial heart transplant in the world and the first total artificial heart implant in a pediatric patient in the Northeast. Manage content creation for reputation marketing for social media. Align content with institutional tentpoles that highlight our physicians’ groundbreaking research and complex clinical cases. Utilize monthly social metrics to inform future content and improve content strategy based on performance.
  • Crohn's & Colitis Foundation
    Associate Director, Corporate Communications (6/2022 – 12/2022) Associate Director, Marketing & Communications (1/2021-6/2022) Manager, Public Affairs & Social Media (9/2016-1/2021) Integrated Media Specialist (6/2015-9/2016) Oversaw integrated marketing and communications for the national organization, with a focus on brand narrative, research, patient-facing education and support programs, and public policy initiatives. Created overarching organizational content theme -- IBDVisible. Used the theme as a unification point across all communications channels and audiences. Served as the organizational media contact, proactively pitched media stories, and responded to media inquiries. Acted as daily contact with the online patient community and managed relationships with key opinion leaders and social media influencers, including healthcare providers, patient bloggers, elected officials, professional athletes, and other celebrities. Managed junior staff and interns working on external and internal communications initiatives. Acted as the ghostwriter for CEO and other senior leaders. Managed editorial calendar for internal communications and authored staff newsletters, coordinated all staff calls, and other internal communications from the leadership team. Wrote and edited content for a variety of audiences and mediums, including press materials, social media, blogs, direct mail, newsletters, website, and educational brochures. Developed and enforced use of organizational editorial style guide and serve as Foundation-wide copy editor. Oversaw the development and creation of the first organizational blog, and served as primary author and editor of posts. Managed Foundation-wide story bank and story gathering process to create a centralized, diverse database of stories from IBD patients, caregivers, providers, and volunteers for use across all departments and programs. Developed and implemented two annual awareness campaigns, reaching over 36 million people over seven years. Managed relationship with external vendor for campaign creation and execution. Served as marketing lead for non- branded ad hoc awareness campaigns with industry partners. Identified patient stories to feature in fundraising appeals and donor cultivation packages. Planned complementary social fundraising campaigns to coincide with fundraising appeals and matches. Executed innovative digital fundraising activities to generate new revenue, including spearheading new tee-shirt sale campaigns generating $16,000 over four months. Led digital marketing efforts for events and conferences, including annual national research conference, managing live social media coverage and translation of clinical abstracts and other research updates into patient-friendly materials. Provided support to lead generation efforts for peer-to-peer fundraising programs. Developed and managed national social media strategy, growing following on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn by 49% combined. Built social strategy and develop content cross-functionally across research, education, peer-to-peer fundraising programs, direct response, and advocacy to ensure parity and that strategic plan objectives are met.
  • Rebecca H. Kaplan PR
    Founder & Communications Consultant (7/2014-present) Provide strategic communications guidance to a variety of organizations, including NAMI Connecticut, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, Jewish Family Service of North Jersey, Athletes Brand, and Bellhops. Drafted press releases and other media materials, offered guidance for pitching stories, developed press lists, and ghostwrote articles, blog posts, and other external organizational materials. Provided B2C guidance to start-up, helping put pro-athlete designed products in front of 20 million people.
  • American Jewish World Service
    Senior Press Officer (5/2013-7/2014) Oversaw media relations for all parts of the organization. Processed and responded to incoming media inquiries in a timely fashion. Secured media placements in national, international and Jewish media outlets. Prepared pre-interview memos, briefed C-level executives prior to interviews and staff executives at both in-person and on-the-phone interviews. Organized interviews with international staff and grantees. Managed relationship with external public relations consultants. Provided rapid media response to international crises impacting grantees in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Secured more than 1,500 national and international press hits in 13 months, including pieces in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Jewish Daily Forward, increasing media coverage of the organization by 45 percent. Developed and implemented international digital campaigns for #BringOurGirlsBack and #FixFoodAid, reaching over 3 million people.
  • Save the Sound
    Director of Media Communications (1/2011-5/2013) Managed government relations, marketing, and communications functions for the “go-to” environmental organization in Connecticut. Directed political action activities, media relations, corporate positioning, coalition building and organizing, and social media usage. Served as liaison between Congressional offices and worked with staff on federal issues. Prepared outreach materials and talking points for partner organizations for coalition activities. Drafted all press materials and book interviews and editorial board meetings for staff members. Doubled the organization’s media presence, securing over 600 press hits over two years, and increased CFE social media presence by 247.1 percent and Save the Sound presence by 192.7 percent. Created first-ever organizational blog on a Wordpress platform, generating over 9,700 views of the blog in the first eight months. Developed a successful media and political strategy for a large-scale, bi-state initiative, SoundVision, executing six press events in New York and Connecticut with high-level elected officials and state and federal representatives in a one-month period. Secured over 150 press hits from the events, including the endorsement of SoundVision from the editorial boards of the Hartford Courant, Connecticut Post, New Haven Register, and Norwalk Hour.
  • Office of U.S. Senator Chris Dodd
    Deputy Press Secretary (1/2010-1/2011) Press Assistant (1/2009-1/2010) Planned and staffed all in-state events for the Senator and print, radio, and television interviews and editorial board meetings. Drafted all press and briefing materials for the Senator. Prepped the Senator before events and provided him with advice on state issues. Successfully planned, advanced, and staffed more than 100 events for the Senator, including three with U.S. Cabinet Secretaries, two with Vice President Joe Biden, and one with President Obama. Organized a weeklong valedictory tour of the state with stops highlighting his work on healthcare, consumer protection, banking, education, and veteran’s affairs. Designed an electronic timeline of the Senator’s public service career for use during valedictory events. The timeline was used by state and national media outlets, including the Hartford Courant and New Haven Register.
  • Volunteer Work
    Member, Marketing & Development Board Committee, Mental Health America, 2023-present Board Member, Athletes vs. Crohn's, 2017​ Communications Committee Member, Greater New York City Chapter, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, 2014-2015 Communications Committee Member, Fairfield/Westchester Chapter, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, 2014-2015 Board Member, Connecticut Chapter, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, 2012-2013 Fundraiser, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, 2010-present Vice President, Greater Hartford Young Democrats, 2009-2010 Campus Organizer, Obama for America, 2008
  • NewYork-Presbyterian
    Manager, Reputation Marketing (1/2023-present) Manage the curation and creation of content showcasing the innovations of the physicians at NewYork-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Columbia. Develop content calendar and production tracker to track all written content being created, streamline interview process with physicians, and increased bench of external writers by 133%. Serve as in-house writer for NYP Advances, interview high profile physicians, and author 26% of total articles published in 2023 across core adult and pediatric specialties. Collaborate with members of the public relations, social media, and editorial teams to ensure comprehensive coverage of major institution achievements and milestones, including the first infant partial heart transplant in the world and the first total artificial heart implant in a pediatric patient in the Northeast. Manage content creation for reputation marketing for social media. Align content with institutional tentpoles that highlight our physicians’ groundbreaking research and complex clinical cases. Utilize monthly social metrics to inform future content and improve content strategy based on performance.
  • Crohn's & Colitis Foundation
    Associate Director, Corporate Communications (6/2022 – 12/2022) Associate Director, Marketing & Communications (1/2021-6/2022) Manager, Public Affairs & Social Media (9/2016-1/2021) Integrated Media Specialist (6/2015-9/2016) Oversaw integrated marketing and communications for the national organization, with a focus on brand narrative, research, patient-facing education and support programs, and public policy initiatives. Created overarching organizational content theme -- IBDVisible. Used the theme as a unification point across all communications channels and audiences. Served as the organizational media contact, proactively pitched media stories, and responded to media inquiries. Acted as daily contact with the online patient community and managed relationships with key opinion leaders and social media influencers, including healthcare providers, patient bloggers, elected officials, professional athletes, and other celebrities. Managed junior staff and interns working on external and internal communications initiatives. Acted as the ghostwriter for CEO and other senior leaders. Managed editorial calendar for internal communications and authored staff newsletters, coordinated all staff calls, and other internal communications from the leadership team. Wrote and edited content for a variety of audiences and mediums, including press materials, social media, blogs, direct mail, newsletters, website, and educational brochures. Developed and enforced use of organizational editorial style guide and serve as Foundation-wide copy editor. Oversaw the development and creation of the first organizational blog, and served as primary author and editor of posts. Managed Foundation-wide story bank and story gathering process to create a centralized, diverse database of stories from IBD patients, caregivers, providers, and volunteers for use across all departments and programs. Developed and implemented two annual awareness campaigns, reaching over 36 million people over seven years. Managed relationship with external vendor for campaign creation and execution. Served as marketing lead for non- branded ad hoc awareness campaigns with industry partners. Identified patient stories to feature in fundraising appeals and donor cultivation packages. Planned complementary social fundraising campaigns to coincide with fundraising appeals and matches. Executed innovative digital fundraising activities to generate new revenue, including spearheading new tee-shirt sale campaigns generating $16,000 over four months. Led digital marketing efforts for events and conferences, including annual national research conference, managing live social media coverage and translation of clinical abstracts and other research updates into patient-friendly materials. Provided support to lead generation efforts for peer-to-peer fundraising programs. Developed and managed national social media strategy, growing following on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn by 49% combined. Built social strategy and develop content cross-functionally across research, education, peer-to-peer fundraising programs, direct response, and advocacy to ensure parity and that strategic plan objectives are met.
  • Rebecca H. Kaplan PR
    Founder & Communications Consultant (7/2014-present) Provide strategic communications guidance to a variety of organizations, including NAMI Connecticut, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, Jewish Family Service of North Jersey, Athletes Brand, and Bellhops. Drafted press releases and other media materials, offered guidance for pitching stories, developed press lists, and ghostwrote articles, blog posts, and other external organizational materials. Provided B2C guidance to start-up, helping put pro-athlete designed products in front of 20 million people.
  • American Jewish World Service
    Senior Press Officer (5/2013-7/2014) Oversaw media relations for all parts of the organization. Processed and responded to incoming media inquiries in a timely fashion. Secured media placements in national, international and Jewish media outlets. Prepared pre-interview memos, briefed C-level executives prior to interviews and staff executives at both in-person and on-the-phone interviews. Organized interviews with international staff and grantees. Managed relationship with external public relations consultants. Provided rapid media response to international crises impacting grantees in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Secured more than 1,500 national and international press hits in 13 months, including pieces in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Jewish Daily Forward, increasing media coverage of the organization by 45 percent. Developed and implemented international digital campaigns for #BringOurGirlsBack and #FixFoodAid, reaching over 3 million people.
  • Save the Sound
    Director of Media Communications (1/2011-5/2013) Managed government relations, marketing, and communications functions for the “go-to” environmental organization in Connecticut. Directed political action activities, media relations, corporate positioning, coalition building and organizing, and social media usage. Served as liaison between Congressional offices and worked with staff on federal issues. Prepared outreach materials and talking points for partner organizations for coalition activities. Drafted all press materials and book interviews and editorial board meetings for staff members. Doubled the organization’s media presence, securing over 600 press hits over two years, and increased CFE social media presence by 247.1 percent and Save the Sound presence by 192.7 percent. Created first-ever organizational blog on a Wordpress platform, generating over 9,700 views of the blog in the first eight months. Developed a successful media and political strategy for a large-scale, bi-state initiative, SoundVision, executing six press events in New York and Connecticut with high-level elected officials and state and federal representatives in a one-month period. Secured over 150 press hits from the events, including the endorsement of SoundVision from the editorial boards of the Hartford Courant, Connecticut Post, New Haven Register, and Norwalk Hour.
  • Office of U.S. Senator Chris Dodd
    Deputy Press Secretary (1/2010-1/2011) Press Assistant (1/2009-1/2010) Planned and staffed all in-state events for the Senator and print, radio, and television interviews and editorial board meetings. Drafted all press and briefing materials for the Senator. Prepped the Senator before events and provided him with advice on state issues. Successfully planned, advanced, and staffed more than 100 events for the Senator, including three with U.S. Cabinet Secretaries, two with Vice President Joe Biden, and one with President Obama. Organized a weeklong valedictory tour of the state with stops highlighting his work on healthcare, consumer protection, banking, education, and veteran’s affairs. Designed an electronic timeline of the Senator’s public service career for use during valedictory events. The timeline was used by state and national media outlets, including the Hartford Courant and New Haven Register.
  • Volunteer Work
    Member, Marketing & Development Board Committee, Mental Health America, 2023-present Board Member, Athletes vs. Crohn's, 2017​ Communications Committee Member, Greater New York City Chapter, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, 2014-2015 Communications Committee Member, Fairfield/Westchester Chapter, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, 2014-2015 Board Member, Connecticut Chapter, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, 2012-2013 Fundraiser, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, 2010-present Vice President, Greater Hartford Young Democrats, 2009-2010 Campus Organizer, Obama for America, 2008

My Experience

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