LEAH ANN CONNOR
Leah has 25+ years experience working remotely for small businesses and non-profit organizations with strengths in social media, website management, graphic design and production, email marketing, and internet research.
A volunteer with the Charlottesville Track Club (CTC) for over 13 years, she managed CTC's online presence, social media, and email, designing logos and marketing materials, managing membership and race registration databases, administering training programs including the Marathon and Half Marathon Training Program and Ten Miler Training Program, and race directing including the creation of the Rivanna Greenbelt Marathon in 2014.
As a freelance consultant with Ragged Mountain Running & Walking Shop she provided graphic design and digital marketing assistance for social media, email, web, and print projects including the C-VILLE-athon and Ragged Walks.
Leah has expertise with several content management systems such as Drupal, CMS-Plus, and WordPress; e-mail marketing software including Bronto, Alterian, MailChimp, and Constant Contact; Adobe Creative Suite; Microsoft Office; Google analytics; and social media tools including Hootsuite and Social Studio.
Her academic background is in the liberal and fine arts with an MA in Women's Studies from The George Washington University and MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University.
Leah has strong organizational skills with the ability to handle multiple projects while completing quality work on a timely basis and within frequent, tight deadlines.
An avid long-distance runner and RRCA certified race director and running coach, Leah has an interest in athletic training and physiology, injury prevention, and sports nutrition. Passionate about training and racing, she has completed 37 marathons (including Boston 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017), dozens of half-marathons, ten-milers, and many other shorter races since 2007.
Learn why Leah thinks every runner should volunteer at a race by watching Lessons Learned, Everything Marathoning with special guest, Joan Benoit Samuelson.
Leah is a Pokémon Go enthusiast who achieved Level 40 status on December 21, 2017 and Level 48 on September 23, 2021. She's also a frequent competitor on team "Our Doubts Are Traitors" with Geeks Who Drink trivia and a fundraiser for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
A volunteer with the Charlottesville Track Club (CTC) for over 13 years, she managed CTC's online presence, social media, and email, designing logos and marketing materials, managing membership and race registration databases, administering training programs including the Marathon and Half Marathon Training Program and Ten Miler Training Program, and race directing including the creation of the Rivanna Greenbelt Marathon in 2014.
As a freelance consultant with Ragged Mountain Running & Walking Shop she provided graphic design and digital marketing assistance for social media, email, web, and print projects including the C-VILLE-athon and Ragged Walks.
Leah has expertise with several content management systems such as Drupal, CMS-Plus, and WordPress; e-mail marketing software including Bronto, Alterian, MailChimp, and Constant Contact; Adobe Creative Suite; Microsoft Office; Google analytics; and social media tools including Hootsuite and Social Studio.
Her academic background is in the liberal and fine arts with an MA in Women's Studies from The George Washington University and MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University.
Leah has strong organizational skills with the ability to handle multiple projects while completing quality work on a timely basis and within frequent, tight deadlines.
An avid long-distance runner and RRCA certified race director and running coach, Leah has an interest in athletic training and physiology, injury prevention, and sports nutrition. Passionate about training and racing, she has completed 37 marathons (including Boston 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017), dozens of half-marathons, ten-milers, and many other shorter races since 2007.
Learn why Leah thinks every runner should volunteer at a race by watching Lessons Learned, Everything Marathoning with special guest, Joan Benoit Samuelson.
Leah is a Pokémon Go enthusiast who achieved Level 40 status on December 21, 2017 and Level 48 on September 23, 2021. She's also a frequent competitor on team "Our Doubts Are Traitors" with Geeks Who Drink trivia and a fundraiser for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
Logo Designs
Recommendations
"Leah began working with LWT in 1998, before HWT was even a company, and worked to launch the first hwtears.com webpage (check out an archived workshops page from Wayback Machine). Leah joined as an employee in January 2001 working in graphic & website design for the Creative group. She transitioned to the Marketing team in 2011 to support the growth and intensity that came with posting and marketing workshops. Leah became a master of coding, filtering, and deploying LWT email marketing campaigns and let’s not forget her meticulous work getting the print and online order forms and pricing correct. Most recently, she has handled social media, curating delightful, fun, and engaging content. Leah also cultivated meaningful relationships with customers, helping to share their stories across the company social channels. We appreciate Leah’s decades of work and collaboration to drive the web, shopping cart, workshops, marketing, and sales. Her work has been instrumental in getting LWT materials to tens of millions of children over the years!"
- HR at Learning Without Tears
- HR at Learning Without Tears
Leah, Jan Z. Olsen, OTR, and Emily Knapton, M.Ed., OTR/L
Handwriting Without Tears, 2007 |
Eric Olsen, Jan Olsen, Leah Connor, and Kirstin Parsons (2015)
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“Leah Connor is in so many ways the driving force in bringing people together in our running community. Her tireless efforts, in helping to market and organize hundreds of races, running events and training programs, have helped to entertain tens of thousands of runners and, in the process, raise immeasurable funds for countless charitable causes. Simply put, thanks to her selfless dedication in volunteering her time and sharing her talents, creativity and passions, Leah is the flag bearer in bringing running to life in Central Virginia!”
- Mark Lorenzoni. co-owner of Ragged Mountain Running & Walking Shop and Coach for Charlottesville Track Club |
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"I have been co-director with Leah for the CTC All-comers Summer Track Meets for nearly a decade. During that time Leah has helped grow popularity of the meets, while at the same time made them run more smoothly. She is creative and organized with the event logos and website marketing. She is passionate about the CTC and is involved in many of their events as either a director, volunteer or participant. Thank you Leah for all you do for runners in the C'ville area!"
Rick Kwiatkowski, CTC member
"Leah Connor is dependable, creative, particular, and passionate about expressing the fun and challenge of footraces into art. Further, her technology skills and customer service are absolutely top notch. As the race director for the Kiwanis Independence Day 5K, I annually reach out to Leah in April and ask her a series of requests to post our race event and registration with the Charlottesville Track Club and please help us update our logo. Well, it bears saying that Leah designed our current logo a few years ago. The original she created blew us away with its beauty, capturing the essence of the fun of running and walking with a potential energy all its own. Every year, Leah, improves the design and suggests new and contemporary changes. In 2021, we decided to start using customized bibs. I asked Leah to send the logo to the bib vendor, and she found a way to take the starting line photo from a previous peak participation year and use three segmented shots of it to make three different bib backgrounds. Needless to say, when I saw the bibs, I was overjoyed. More importantly, when runners came to pick them up, they were amazed, especially those who could see themselves at the starting line. Only someone who really cares about people will take the approach Leah takes. In addition to her art, Leah updates our registration page each year, taking the initiative to provide quality information to prospective runners. The registration is so appealing, I know it impacts runners in their decision to sign up. Finally, she is the lynchpin in getting our data to the timers, and is completely dependable! I want to emphasize that Leah is reliable, amazingly prompt, and responds just about immediately to feedback and requests. Of all the tasks that go into developing an annual footrace, one of my most enjoyable is seeing the work that Leah does behind the scenes to facilitate the success of our race, our runners, and our cause. Thank you, Leah!"
Matthew S. Haas, Ed.D., Superintendent. Albemarle County Public Schools
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Leah as a volunteer with the Charlottesville Track club for over a decade and a half. Together, we have worked to support the Marathon and Half Marathon Training program every summer. In addition to provide excellent and professional creative support, from marketing to social media presence, Leah is also an excellent project manager, diligent with details, and an excellent collaborator. She handles challenges expertly and is incredibly conscientious and she is always looking for ways to improve processes and how we deliver the program. Without her leadership, we most certainly would not have made the continuous improvements and updates to this immensely successful program that we have. I would highly recommend Leah for any position that requires this kind of diligence, follow through, leadership, and creative teamwork.”
Joan Bienvenue, Executive Director and Vice Provost, Oak Ridge Institute at the University of Tennessee
“In my experience, there are those who think of ideas and those who execute them. Leah Connor is a rare example of those who do both with equal skill and enthusiasm. I’ve witnessed this as part of the Charlottesville running community to which she contributes so much. The Rivanna Greenbelt Marathon and Half Marathon not only arose from Leah’s vision, but continues to happen because of her follow-through with details ranging from coure design to certification to publicity to volunteers to aid-stations to race-swag. And she manages it all with a combination of personal work-ethic and the ability to generate enthusiasm from others. She’s the whole package.”
Harry Landers, Boston Bound Running Club Captain
"Leah Connor has done and continues to do so much for the community as a volunteer for the Charlottesville Track Club. She's been my go-to when I needed help on short notice for publicity, artwork, website content creation, error corrections - the list goes on. For just one example, I desperately needed help getting an insurance certificate for a race I was directing. Without it we would have had to cancel. The next day I had the certificate. I'm still amazed. Leah is creative, energetic and passionate about her work, and it certainly shows in all she's done for the Charlottesville running community."
Jay Wildermann, Former CTC President
"Leah is incredible. If you need something done, and it's difficult, she's a good person to have around. She's an analytical thinker, a problem-solver, diligent and solid in a crisis. She will not stop until a project is completed--and done well. There are few people I would rather have on my team--I couldn't speak more highly of her."
Peter Krebs, Community Outreach Coordinator at Piedmont Environmental Council
"I have had the pleasure of having Leah on my "team" for many years and count her as one of my major assets. I am not the most tech/web savvy person, but I know I have Leah in my corner. No matter if it is a quick spread sheet that I want presented a certain way or to have our web site updated, all I do is send it and she quickly and efficiently has it done! She amazes me. Best part is she does everything she touches so efficiently and with no judgement."
Pam Whorley, W4MTP Director
"During my term on the CTC Board, I personally recruited Leah to help with our website, which needed a major upgrade. She was on top of things from the beginning! I personally have seen more engagement between the community and the CTC! I believe it's mainly due to her work on the CTC website, the CTC's social media accounts, and the CTC sponsored races. Well done, Leah!"
Andrew Zapanta, Former CTC President
"Leah has been volunteering for the CTC (Charlottesville Track Club) for more than a decade, successfully taking care of the CTC website and all social media. She’s been doing an outstanding job for our local running community."
Hernan Garbini, CTC Member
"I have had the pleasure of volunteering with Leah Connor for many years with the Charlottesville Track Club and the Charlottesville Ten Miler, where she is a truly irreplaceable asset. Leah really can do it all and has proven that countless times over her many years within the Charlottesville running community. Whether it is logo design, creating/managing websites, organizing race spreadsheets and databases, or social media outreach, Leah always gets the job done with great efficiency and enthusiasm. She is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to encourage participation in local events and has become the local ‘go-to’ expert resource for non-profit groups looking to organize running events. I am truly in awe of the impact she has had on the local community through her volunteering and cannot recommend her highly enough. The Charlottesville running community would not be what it is today without Leah’s countless hours of service and dedication."
Cathy Singleton, CTC Volunteer
"Leah Connor is in so many ways the driving force in bringing people together in our running community. Her tireless efforts, in helping to market and organize hundreds of races, running events and training programs, have helped to entertain tens of thousands of runners and, in the process, raise immeasurable funds for countless charitable causes. Simply put, thanks to her selfless dedication in volunteering her time and sharing her talents, creativity and passions, Leah is the flag bearer in bringing running to life in Central Virginia!"
Mark Lorenzoni, co-owner of Ragged Mountain Running & Walking Shop and Coach for Charlottesville Track Club
Rick Kwiatkowski, CTC member
"Leah Connor is dependable, creative, particular, and passionate about expressing the fun and challenge of footraces into art. Further, her technology skills and customer service are absolutely top notch. As the race director for the Kiwanis Independence Day 5K, I annually reach out to Leah in April and ask her a series of requests to post our race event and registration with the Charlottesville Track Club and please help us update our logo. Well, it bears saying that Leah designed our current logo a few years ago. The original she created blew us away with its beauty, capturing the essence of the fun of running and walking with a potential energy all its own. Every year, Leah, improves the design and suggests new and contemporary changes. In 2021, we decided to start using customized bibs. I asked Leah to send the logo to the bib vendor, and she found a way to take the starting line photo from a previous peak participation year and use three segmented shots of it to make three different bib backgrounds. Needless to say, when I saw the bibs, I was overjoyed. More importantly, when runners came to pick them up, they were amazed, especially those who could see themselves at the starting line. Only someone who really cares about people will take the approach Leah takes. In addition to her art, Leah updates our registration page each year, taking the initiative to provide quality information to prospective runners. The registration is so appealing, I know it impacts runners in their decision to sign up. Finally, she is the lynchpin in getting our data to the timers, and is completely dependable! I want to emphasize that Leah is reliable, amazingly prompt, and responds just about immediately to feedback and requests. Of all the tasks that go into developing an annual footrace, one of my most enjoyable is seeing the work that Leah does behind the scenes to facilitate the success of our race, our runners, and our cause. Thank you, Leah!"
Matthew S. Haas, Ed.D., Superintendent. Albemarle County Public Schools
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Leah as a volunteer with the Charlottesville Track club for over a decade and a half. Together, we have worked to support the Marathon and Half Marathon Training program every summer. In addition to provide excellent and professional creative support, from marketing to social media presence, Leah is also an excellent project manager, diligent with details, and an excellent collaborator. She handles challenges expertly and is incredibly conscientious and she is always looking for ways to improve processes and how we deliver the program. Without her leadership, we most certainly would not have made the continuous improvements and updates to this immensely successful program that we have. I would highly recommend Leah for any position that requires this kind of diligence, follow through, leadership, and creative teamwork.”
Joan Bienvenue, Executive Director and Vice Provost, Oak Ridge Institute at the University of Tennessee
“In my experience, there are those who think of ideas and those who execute them. Leah Connor is a rare example of those who do both with equal skill and enthusiasm. I’ve witnessed this as part of the Charlottesville running community to which she contributes so much. The Rivanna Greenbelt Marathon and Half Marathon not only arose from Leah’s vision, but continues to happen because of her follow-through with details ranging from coure design to certification to publicity to volunteers to aid-stations to race-swag. And she manages it all with a combination of personal work-ethic and the ability to generate enthusiasm from others. She’s the whole package.”
Harry Landers, Boston Bound Running Club Captain
"Leah Connor has done and continues to do so much for the community as a volunteer for the Charlottesville Track Club. She's been my go-to when I needed help on short notice for publicity, artwork, website content creation, error corrections - the list goes on. For just one example, I desperately needed help getting an insurance certificate for a race I was directing. Without it we would have had to cancel. The next day I had the certificate. I'm still amazed. Leah is creative, energetic and passionate about her work, and it certainly shows in all she's done for the Charlottesville running community."
Jay Wildermann, Former CTC President
"Leah is incredible. If you need something done, and it's difficult, she's a good person to have around. She's an analytical thinker, a problem-solver, diligent and solid in a crisis. She will not stop until a project is completed--and done well. There are few people I would rather have on my team--I couldn't speak more highly of her."
Peter Krebs, Community Outreach Coordinator at Piedmont Environmental Council
"I have had the pleasure of having Leah on my "team" for many years and count her as one of my major assets. I am not the most tech/web savvy person, but I know I have Leah in my corner. No matter if it is a quick spread sheet that I want presented a certain way or to have our web site updated, all I do is send it and she quickly and efficiently has it done! She amazes me. Best part is she does everything she touches so efficiently and with no judgement."
Pam Whorley, W4MTP Director
"During my term on the CTC Board, I personally recruited Leah to help with our website, which needed a major upgrade. She was on top of things from the beginning! I personally have seen more engagement between the community and the CTC! I believe it's mainly due to her work on the CTC website, the CTC's social media accounts, and the CTC sponsored races. Well done, Leah!"
Andrew Zapanta, Former CTC President
"Leah has been volunteering for the CTC (Charlottesville Track Club) for more than a decade, successfully taking care of the CTC website and all social media. She’s been doing an outstanding job for our local running community."
Hernan Garbini, CTC Member
"I have had the pleasure of volunteering with Leah Connor for many years with the Charlottesville Track Club and the Charlottesville Ten Miler, where she is a truly irreplaceable asset. Leah really can do it all and has proven that countless times over her many years within the Charlottesville running community. Whether it is logo design, creating/managing websites, organizing race spreadsheets and databases, or social media outreach, Leah always gets the job done with great efficiency and enthusiasm. She is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to encourage participation in local events and has become the local ‘go-to’ expert resource for non-profit groups looking to organize running events. I am truly in awe of the impact she has had on the local community through her volunteering and cannot recommend her highly enough. The Charlottesville running community would not be what it is today without Leah’s countless hours of service and dedication."
Cathy Singleton, CTC Volunteer
"Leah Connor is in so many ways the driving force in bringing people together in our running community. Her tireless efforts, in helping to market and organize hundreds of races, running events and training programs, have helped to entertain tens of thousands of runners and, in the process, raise immeasurable funds for countless charitable causes. Simply put, thanks to her selfless dedication in volunteering her time and sharing her talents, creativity and passions, Leah is the flag bearer in bringing running to life in Central Virginia!"
Mark Lorenzoni, co-owner of Ragged Mountain Running & Walking Shop and Coach for Charlottesville Track Club
