For past interviews, visit the EContent site and the Part 1 Spotlight.

Name With the Face

Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig

Job Title

Owner

Organization

MFC3 Media

URL

mfc3media.com

Also Visit

shadesmagazine.com

Job Function

Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig wears a department store’s worth of hats, serving as president of Exceptional Women in Publishing’s board of directors, committee chairperson at the National Association of Black Journalists, and CEO and editor-in-chief of shades Magazine, which celebrates women of color. That’s on top of being the owner of MFC3 Media, a full-service media agency specializing in editorial and digital content, creative and graphic design, and social media management. Fitzhugh-Craig says, “All aspects connected with starting, growing, and maintaining a company are up to me. Fortunately, I have a good network of friends and colleagues who support and help me.”

In a Day’s Work

Fitzhugh-Craig starts most days with “some quiet time, prayer, and gratitude.” After that, she manages seven social media accounts—her own and her clients’—across five platforms. “I also keep my eyes on Snapchat and TikTok to keep up with trends. I read news stories, monitor television news, and—as a trained journalist—respond to all breaking news notifications that come my way,” Fitzhugh-Craig says. That’s on top of the website, design, and writing work she does for MFC3 Media clients.

Most Memorable Customer Encounter

“Although I only launched MFC3 Media a year ago, I’ve been doing similar work for about 15 years. The most memorable projects are those that support charities/nonprofits I believe in or of which I am a member, like NIA Collective. With this organization—which focuses on the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being along with the growth and visibility of Black lesbians—I rebuilt its website, created collateral marketing materials, and put together event program books.”

View From the Desk

“I work from home and, with two daughters who are essential workers, mainly from my room. However, I have been making time to get out for some fresh air.”

Outside Interest

“For more than 30 years, I have worked diligently to provide awareness, advocacy, access, and inclusion for people of color, as well as underrepresented communities, everywhere. My passion for fighting for the underdog has included, but is not limited to, an individual’s race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and geographic region. So basically, if I’m doing any of the above, I’m in heaven.”

If Not Econtent, Then What?

“I would return to teaching, which I did from 2012 to 2017 at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School for Journalism and Mass Communications. Sharing my wisdom and knowledge with young people and learning from them, too, brings me real joy.”

Name With the Face

Andrea Williams

Job Title

Director of Marketing and Customer Experience Organization

Organization

The CXApp

URL

thecxapp.com

Job Function

As the director of marketing and customer experience at The CXApp, a mobile app platform for digital customer experience programs, Andrea Williams strategizes, manages, and executes all that relates to brand awareness for the organization. Williams says, “This ranges from planning marketing objectives to supporting new product rollouts to working with designers to create content, images, and brand identity assets for The CXApp team.” Whenever a new feature, product, or service is rolled out for The CXApp, Williams works to create a cohesive message. She ensures that her team has the content, collateral, customer communication, web presence, and social cadence (“where, when, and how often a new piece of content or announcement gets scheduled on our social media channels”) to back it up. Williams says, “I consider myself a storyteller for the company.”

In a Day’s Work

Williams starts her day with a “company awareness health check.” She says, “I check how well our social [channels] performed in the last 24 hours, [and] identify if there are any tasks for the day that need to be scheduled or [if there’s] any new content our team needs to promote or share.” Industry and competitor research is always a key part of her day, as is the tactical, disciplined optimization of site content. “Research, plan, strategize, create, refine, optimize: my day in a nutshell,” Williams states.

Most Memorable Customer Encounter

“I usually don’t have much interaction with our customers on a day-to-day basis. But when we support a live event or visit a customer’s campus to film a video testimony, that’s when the fun starts! I look forward to interviewing customers and talking about the world in which we work—that’s when the really good story nuggets come out.”

View From the Desk

“I love my no-frills desk with a two-monitor setup, which makes it easy for me to shuffle through papers and multitask across my screens. But one of my favorite views is when I open my office door at the end of my workday and my toddler son comes in, grinning and carrying toys in his tiny little hands.”

Outside Interest

“I mostly enjoy spending time with my family, though I hadn’t planned on figuring out how to keep my 1-year-old entertained all day with two working parents. The struggle is real! I love exploring, going up into the mountains, and finding new swimming holes at rivers or visiting lakes I’ve never been to. And I like trying new recipes, following food bloggers, and being creative in the kitchen.”

If Not Econtent, Then What?

“Several years ago, I purchased a domain for a passion project that is a combination of my favorite things: eating, drinking, spending time with my family, and having new experiences. But that’s a story for another day!”