I’m Jara Kern, and I bring 15 years of strategic marketing expertise to telling your story. I’ve developed a deep functional knowledge of marketing, and that expertise is complemented by an MBA and three really specific skill sets: analytic power, keen listening, and creative spark.

First, I really love understanding, analyzing, and solving problems: I’m brilliant at the grid logic puzzles that torture most people. I love creating surveys, asking questions, and concocting new ideas, and I love them even more in service of great marketing strategy.

Second, I’m a keen listener. A classically trained musician, I spent years listening for the nuances in music and collaborating with other performers. That skill set ports over perfectly to hearing you talk about your goals and needs, and connecting the dots to make great marketing work.

Creativity is about seeing the present, imagining a different future, and charting the course that gets you there.

Third, I nurture a fine creative spark. My creative spark fuels me to tell your story, imagine your new website, write the copy for your ad campaign, and create a marketing plan with fresh ideas to help your business reach its goals.

Still reading? Then let’s talk professional credentials. I founded Kern Marketing Works in 2016. I’ve served as Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Student Communications at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where I headed up marketing research and recruitment plans for the university. I ran marketing, communications, public relations, and patron services for the Chicago Humanities Festival in Chicago for six years, and I worked in marketing for the Madison Symphony Orchestra in Madison, Wisconsin. I hold an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I served as Chair of the Advisory Board to the Bolz Center for Arts Administration. I earned a bachelor’s in music performance (flute) from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and a master’s of music performance from SUNY-Purchase in Purchase, New York.

When I’m not talking marketing, brand stories, and content, you’ll find me running trails, planning travel, and playing with my three kids.