When Personal and Professional Life Collides
In 2017, Kelly Luttinen was a senior copywriter on the OSF Healthcare Foundation account – the fundraising arm of a regional health care network across Illinois and Michigan. When she first heard about her client’s desire to create a video to introduce a new endowment for research and innovation around ALS, she was overwhelmed with panic and dread. Just a few years prior she had moved back home to Peoria, Illinois because her dad was sick with the same horrible, rare disease. She helped take care of him until he passed, so the ask really hit home.
After some time to consider, Kelly realized it was something she just had to do. She was so well equipped to tell the story, and she knew how proud her dad would’ve been to see her lean in and help others. The Ed and Ann Rapp Family Endowment began with a $1 million gift from the family. It still brings together neurologists and engineers to find new solutions for ALS patients, and Kelly played a huge role in creating a meaningful video that supports the cause.
Tune in to hear what it was like working with the team on such a deeply personal project and how Kelly tapped into the community of people and caregivers to source footage in addition to her own.
In this episode, you’ll also learn more about Kelly’s current role as Associate Content Director, the direction the agency is moving in with respect to content and Kelly’s vision for how the team will continue to grow and evolve.
“[It’s] definitely a point of personal pride that I made an impact for a disease that certainly shaped my life and I know shaped so many others.”
Kelly Luttinen
Bonus Clip: Kelly Narrates Her Story
About Kelly Luttinen
Kelly brings more than 13 years of experience in marketing and communication to her position as Simantel’s Associate Content Director. After joining the agency in 2014 as a public relations manager, she transitioned to the creative side as a senior copywriter and content strategist before landing in her current role, where she spearheads content strategy and content production for our clients.
Prior to Simantel, Kelly worked for three Austin-based, nonprofit brands — the National Domestic Violence Hotline, loveisrespect and the Texas Council on Family Violence — to promote healthy relationships. In that role, she collaborated with partners such as The White House, MTV, Verizon and Mary Kay to raise awareness about domestic violence.
Outside of Simantel, Kelly enjoys traveling (she’s a self-proclaimed Francophile), scuba diving and snorkeling, and being a mom. Kelly isn’t superstitious, but to quote Michael Scott, she is “a little stitious.” She always lifts her feet when driving over railroad tracks and habitually gets out of bed on the same side she got in. Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn.