Jelena Griffith
Brand strategy • Web design • Social media • Photography • Videography • Marketing communications • Creative solutions that deliver.
Simply Flavorful is a specialty food store in Walden, run by a husband and wife team. They specialize in high-quality olive oils, balsamic vinegars from Modena Italy, herbs & spices, and unique food items designed to inspire customers to try something new.
Their mission is bringing excitement to everyday cooking without adding time or effort. Through Shippensburg University's SBCD partnership program, I was selected via competitive interview to manage their social media and help showcase their artisanal products and expertise.
Canva, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator
University Client Partnership (1 Month), plus 3 months of research
This was my first real client experience working with a specialty food business. Simply Flavorful's passion for quality ingredients and customer education made them perfect for social media storytelling. They were incredibly collaborative and gave me creative freedom to develop content that showcased both their products and their expertise. The challenge was translating their deep knowledge about balsamic vinegars and olive oils into engaging, accessible social media content that would inspire customers to "try something new."
Nonna Illva's is a beloved local restaurant chain known for their authentic Italian cuisine and that warm, family-style atmosphere where everyone feels at home. With multiple locations across the region, they've built a reputation for incredible food and genuine hospitality.
My goal was to promote their locations and showcase their amazing eats while giving their audience an exclusive inside scoop on what makes each spot special. I wanted to capture the real dining experience and behind-the-scenes magic that happens in their kitchens.
Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After effects
Instagram, Facebook, TikTok
This project was all about authentic storytelling through video. I spent time at Nonna Illva's Carlisle location, filming everything from kitchen prep to the final plated masterpieces. All footage was captured by me on-site, then edited in Adobe Premiere to create engaging content that works across social platforms. The challenge was creating videos that not only looked incredible but also captured the warmth and personality that makes each location unique. Every video needed to give viewers that inside access while making them want to experience it themselves.
When Kristen Shearer from Duck Donuts walked into our classroom and challenged us to create a real IMC campaign for their upcoming Hershey X Duck Donuts collaboration, I knew we had something special. My team developed the "Donut Memories" campaign, tapping into that universal feeling of childhood nostalgia that hits you when you smell something sweet.
I took ownership of the social media strategy and visual storytelling, creating a cohesive look that felt like flipping through old photo albums. The goal was to bridge the gap between a simple donut purchase and joining a community built around shared memories.
Adobe Illustrator, IMC Strategy Development, Social Media Planning
Academic Client Challenge (Team Project)
This project was all about capturing that nostalgic magic. I drew inspiration from vintage Hershey's marketing—those bold, playful Reese's ads that stuck with me as a kid. Using warm yellows and oranges with pops of blue, I created a visual identity that felt authentically retro. Our mock taglines "A sweet taste of your past" and "Revisit your childhood" became the heart of our messaging. When Kristen mentioned that seeing our work inspired Duck Donuts to consider art contests for their social media, I knew we'd hit something real. The campaign combined influencer partnerships, community storytelling, and seamless digital integration to turn a product launch into a shared experience.
When COVID-19 hit in 2020 and I watched my favorite local restaurants struggle, I knew I had to do something. My family member and I started what began as a simple Facebook group to help people discover takeout options, but it became something much bigger—a thriving community of nearly 10,000 food lovers supporting local businesses.
Starting from zero members during the height of the pandemic, we've grown this community to 9.5k people over five years through genuine connection and consistent engagement. What started as crisis response became a passion project that shaped my entire career path.
Facebook Community Management
5 Years (2020-Present), Founded during COVID-19
This project taught me that great community management isn't about posting content—it's about creating a space where people genuinely want to gather and share. Since we're an open group, we get significant traffic from non-members, but these member analytics show that people are hungry for authentic local connections, especially around food culture. Watching local businesses benefit from the connections we've built, and seeing members become friends over shared meals, reminds me why authentic community building matters so much in digital marketing. This pet project is deeply personal because it was one of my biggest inspirations for pursuing a career in marketing and social media work.
Enchanted Forest LLC is a magical indoor play destination where childhood wonder comes alive. This family-owned business in Carlisle creates enchanted experiences through imaginative play spaces, birthday parties, summer camps, and a boutique featuring local artisans—all designed to help little explorers discover their magic.
Working with Melissa, I designed and developed a website that captures the whimsical, family-friendly atmosphere while making it easy for parents to book appointments, explore services, and connect with this special community space. The goal was creating a digital experience as enchanting as visiting in person.
Squarespace, Custom CSS, UX/UI Design, Photography Direction
Family Experience, Local SEO, Conversion Optimization
When Melissa reached out about designing a website for Enchanted Forest LLC, I was instantly excited—here was someone who shared my love for whimsical, magical forest aesthetics! This project was about translating that shared passion for enchantment into pixels. Melissa had created something truly special—a place where children's imaginations could run wild—and the website needed to convey that same sense of wonder.
Being part of AMA at Shippensburg University was one of those experiences that felt bigger than just a club. It was my chance to give back to the university community while learning skills I knew I'd use after graduation.
As Communications Officer, I took over our email campaigns, newsletters, and website updates for our 74-member organization. I wanted to make sure students actually knew about the speakers and networking events we were bringing to campus, not just sending emails into the void.
Student Volunteer of the Year Award (January 2025)
55% email open rate, increased event attendance, higher student engagement
Email Marketing, Website Management, Strategic Communication
This experience taught me the value of strategic communication, and how your messages actively impact those in your community. Our emails to the 74-member organization hit a 55% open rate, and more importantly, people started showing up. Event attendance went up, students got more engaged, and I could see that what we were doing actually mattered to people's college experience. January 2025 - Received the Student Volunteer of the Year Award from AMA, which honestly meant the world to me. This role taught me to genuinely appreciate email marketing and website organization in ways I never expected. There's something satisfying about crafting an email that people actually open and creating web content that's easy to navigate. Most of all, I loved being able to give back to my university community. Helping other marketing students discover opportunities and make connections felt like the perfect way to use what I was learning while making a real difference on campus.
I know, I know—listing your own website in your portfolio is basically a cardinal sin in the design world, but hear me out! This site represents four months of pure determination and countless late-night coding sessions. I taught myself HTML, CSS, and JavaScript from absolute scratch, using jgriffithmedia.com as my experimental playground where I could break things, fix them, and break them again.
Every scroll animation, every pinned section, every responsive design challenge you see here? That's me figuring it out one Stack Overflow search at a time. From fumbling with my first CSS flexbox to building these complex scroll-triggered content sections, this site is basically my coding diary made public.
HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript ES6, PHP, WordPress, Git, GitHub, Stack Overflow
4 Months of Self-Taught Coding (2024-Present)
React and Tailwind CSS - because I enjoy making my life more complicated! And how to create site interactivity through motion graphics.
Four months ago I couldn't code a line, and now look at me go! This website started as a simple portfolio revamp idea from my old website and became my crash course in web development. Every feature you see represents a problem I had to solve, a concept I had to learn, or a design challenge I refused to give up on. Yes, it's meta to include my own site in my portfolio. Yes, I'm proud of it anyway. When you teach yourself to code through trial, error, and an unhealthy amount of energy drinks, you earn the right to show off a little. This site proves that with enough curiosity and persistence, you can build anything—even if you have no idea what you're doing when you start.