Shae Brown

Strategic Communications | Creative Production
Senior Programs and Partnerships Specialist at NYSTEC

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Jump To - Federal and Hybrid Events

Jump To - Podcast Production

Jump To - Public Hearing Broadcasts

From local small businesses to statewide impact.

I lead creative and technical production for federal events, live broadcasts, and original podcasts. My work brings together communications strategy, storytelling, hands-on execution, and team training from concept to delivery.

My Career Journey

Every chapter built upon the last.

I began in 2017 helping local small businesses tell their stories. That foundation grew into a career producing virtual and hybrid events for federal research audiences, shaping IgniteU NY’s brand, and creating a podcast that connects leaders across New York. Along the way, I’ve combined communications strategy with hands-on creative and technical production by identifying opportunities, building relationships, and guiding ideas from concept to execution.

Here’s how the story unfolded. 

2017

An entrepreneurial beginning.

I began my career by launching my own marketing consulting business, working directly with local small businesses to develop their marketing materials and establish a cohesive visual identity.

2018

Expanding into Print and Broadcast Media

My independent consulting work opened the door to opportunities with local printing company M&M Press and broadcaster WUTR/CNYhomepage.com. These roles deepened my technical expertise and expanded the ways I helped local businesses tell their stories through print and digital marketing. 

2019

A New Passion for Technology and Innovation

In August, I joined the Griffiss Institute as a Marketing and Public Relations Specialist, beginning my work in support of federal research and innovation. I embraced the opportunity to work with advanced technologies, discovering a lasting passion for telling the stories behind them.

My First Hybrid Event

My first project at the Griffiss Institute was supporting the Commercialization Academy’s pitch competition. The academy brought together small businesses developing innovative technologies through a biannual accelerator program supporting the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, New York.

Above is the opening graphic I designed in Adobe After Effects for the event, an early opportunity to apply my creative production skills to technology and innovation.

Bringing the Event Beyond the Room

The team wanted to welcome more people to the pitch competition, but venue capacity and limited transportation options across Central New York and the Mohawk Valley created barriers to attendance. I saw an opportunity to expand our reach by making participation possible from anywhere.

A virtual component hadn’t been requested; it was a solution I proposed in response to that challenge. With less than two and a half months to prepare, I set out to transform a traditionally in-person event into a fully hybrid experience, welcoming audiences both in the room and online.

Turning Early Innovation
Into Essential Adaptation

When the pandemic disrupted in-person gatherings in March 2020, the Griffiss Institute’s essential work had to continue. My earlier investment in hybrid production had already laid the groundwork for that transition.

Drawing on the experience and lessons from my first hybrid event, I adapted the Spring 2020 Commercialization Academy Pitch Competition for a fully virtual format. What began as a creative solution to expand access became a foundation for keeping the program connected and moving forward.

Expanding My Role in Virtual Events

That transition opened the door to additional events with the Air Force Research Laboratory, including the Million Dollar International Quantum U Tech Accelerator, presented in collaboration with the Office of Naval Research and the SUNY Research Foundation. The event featured Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dr. William Roper as keynote speakers.

My work also expanded to the Trusted AI series and Virtual Quantum Collider 2.0. For the latter, I coordinated my first keynote speaker, Alyssa Carson, and was invited to moderate the fireside chat. These experiences broadened my role beyond production, strengthening my skills in speaker coordination, moderation, scriptwriting, and shaping event narratives for federal audiences.

2021

A New Chapter at NYSTEC

In March, I joined NYSTEC as a Consultant on its Innovation and Entrepreneurship team, continuing to support the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, New York. That work continued through 2023, when I was asked to lead marketing and communications for IgniteU NY and guide its rebranding as a NYSTEC workforce development initiative.

Rebranding IgniteU NY

I led a comprehensive refresh of IgniteU NY’s brand, from its logos and one-pagers to its website, aligning its visual identity and messaging more closely with its parent organization, NYSTEC. Alongside that work, I focused on expanding our audience and building partnerships in New York City.

When I began, New York City ranked sixth among IgniteU NY’s LinkedIn follower locations. Today, it ranks second, behind only Albany, where the program began. That progress reflects a combination of audience development, relationship building, and new content initiatives, including the IgniteU NY Podcast, powered by NYSTEC, which I created and produce.

Creating the
IgniteU NY Podcast

As IgniteU NY’s identity evolved, I saw an opportunity to bring its mission to life through conversations with the people shaping New York’s future. I created the IgniteU NY Podcast, powered by NYSTEC, as a platform to explore the connections between innovation, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and economic opportunity.

As creator, host, and producer, I bring together editorial planning, guest relationships, interviewing, and technical production to guide each episode from concept to publication. The podcast extends the brand’s reach while creating space for leaders to share their perspectives and make complex ideas accessible through conversation.

Selected Episodes

Original Media / Storytelling / Creative Production

From Conversation to Collaboration

The IgniteU NY Podcast has become a starting point for relationships that extend into new productions, educational programming, and ongoing partnerships.

Expanding Production
with FCNY

My work building the relationship with the Fund for the City of New York led to an opportunity to produce Season 2 of The Junction, its podcast with Dr. Lisette Nieves.

I lead production and coordination, manage pre-recording technical checks, and train a junior staff member to serve as a production assistant. I also oversee editing of full episodes and promotional clips, reviewing the work and coordinating delivery of final drafts to the client.

The project extends our production capabilities to a partner’s voice and audience while developing additional production support within our team.

Connecting NYC Students with the Arts

The relationships developed through the IgniteU NY Podcast opened a path to new educational programming. Our conversation with Dr. Lisette Nieves helped spark a collaboration with Disrupt Media, creating an opportunity for IgniteU NY’s STEAM program to bring arts programming to middle school students in New York City.

This collaboration connected our communications work with the initiative’s broader educational mission. It also demonstrated how the podcast could serve as a starting point for partnerships that extend beyond an episode, bringing organizations together around opportunities to support students.

Deepening an Ongoing Fellowship Partnership

Our longstanding relationship with Lisa Pimpinella of EOS/ESDA continued to grow through her participation in the IgniteU NY Podcast. Her appearance created another opportunity to connect the organization’s expertise with IgniteU NY’s work and marked a new chapter in an established partnership.

Since that conversation, EOS/ESDA has partnered with the IgniteU NY Fellowship program every semester. That recurring involvement shows how sustained relationship building can connect communications with program delivery, turning an individual conversation into continued collaboration in support of workforce development.

Transforming the brand, building its authority in workforce development, and expanding its reach in New York City.

NYS Gaming Commission —
Live Broadcast Production

In the summer of 2025, I spent much of my time in New York City supporting the New York State Gaming Commission’s public engagement process for three casino licenses. The project encompassed 34 public meetings and hearings in venues ranging from Broadway theatres to YMCA gymnasiums, with more than 40,000 New Yorkers voicing their perspectives on the proposals.

I, along with two fellow production team members, led the technical execution and broadcast production of these events, adapting our setup to the demands of each venue.

My responsibilities included learning and implementing NDI tools and configuring an internal network to connect our production equipment and support the broadcast workflow.

The project brought together technical problem-solving, close coordination, and live production under public scrutiny—extending my experience from innovation-focused events to civic conversations with lasting consequences for New York communities.

Below is an example of a broadcast I led in the Bronx.

I integrated live sign-language interpreter video into the Gaming Commission broadcasts, keeping interpretation visible alongside the speakers and proceedings. This built on my experience incorporating interpreter feeds and live captioning services into other productions, adapting accessibility workflows to each project’s requirements and available resources.

Public Safety Event - Civic Hall, NYC

I led the on-site production setup and event recording using networked PTZ cameras, PoE infrastructure, vMix, and integrated house audio. During the event, I also directed a junior associate to gather additional content from guests and vendors to support post-production storytelling.

I am now coordinating post-production content creation, bringing together the event recording and supporting material to extend the value of the production beyond the live event.

Today — Strategic Communications and Creative Leadership

Today, as a Senior Programs and Partnerships Specialist at NYSTEC, I bring together communications strategy, creative production, and partnership development to advance IgniteU NY’s work. My role spans shaping the brand’s voice, building relationships, and creating content that connects audiences with the people and ideas influencing New York’s economy. I also train junior team members in production workflow, equipment use and setup, as well as Adobe Premiere Pro, helping develop the team’s full production capabilities.

The approach that shaped my earliest projects still guides me: understand the challenge, recognize the opportunity, and turn an idea into something people can experience. From reimagining an event to building a podcast, I connect strategic purpose with the creative and technical work needed to bring it to life.

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Digital Skills and Tools

  • Adobe Creative Cloud

  • Premiere Pro

  • After Effects

  • NDI Tools

  • vMix

  • OBS

  • Riverside Cloud Platform

  • DoW/D CUI Training Certificate