Stephen Kastner

Experience

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  Omnibus

  Jan 1972 - Jan 1981

  Owner Entrepreneur

  Purchased bankrupt, 80-acre, ski facilities to create Omnibus, a ski center, bar, restaurant and retail outdoor equipment shop. Transformed winter activities to exclusive Nordic ski facility with an expanded trail system and advanced snow grooming. Provided mobile ski-teaching facilities, delivering lessons and equipment to all northeastern Wisconsin schools, teaching thousands of kids to cross-country ski. Published a ski trail newspaper, distributed throughout the Midwest to promote the sport and region.Summer seasons saw ongoing success of retail bicycle sales, restaurant and dramatic rise in popularity of nightly entertainment. featuring celebrities including Emmy award winning blues star Koko Taylor, Luther Allison, Corky Siegel, rock stars like Commander Cody, Daryl Stuermer of Genesis and jazz notables like Sweetbottom, John Harmon, and Clyde Stubblefield.In 1981 sold Omnibus to Hedeen Enterprises. Lived in Paris, France for two winters reviving my fine arts career. Show less

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  Leesburg Commercial

  Jan 1983 - Jan 1984

  Photo-journalist

  Employed to cover news events and feature stories.for a regional central Florida newspaper owned and operated by the New York Times news syndicate. I rapidly rose from photographer to feature writer and photo-journalist. I completed my tenure with a self-assignment to Havana, Cuba where I explored the issue of artistic freedom. My work in Cuba was featured daily for 10 concurrent days in a full-page, front page, travel section journal.

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  DesignWise Studios

  Jan 1989 - now

  From Webdesign to video production to social media campaigns, I am dedicated to ongoing development and research regarding the effective use of digital media as a communication tool. I share this research with my clients and followers through project development, publications, videos and micro-blogging. T

  • Communications Consultant

    Jan 1995 - now

  • Advertising, Web Marketing, Social Media and Graphic Design Consultant

    Jan 1989 - now
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  Internal Medicine Associates

  Jan 1991 - Jan 1994

  Medical Clinic Administrator

  As Clinic Administrator I oversaw four doctors and 2 mid-level practitioners, a lab practitioner and a support staff of 8 individuals, attended to the accounting, financial planning and electronic medical claim submission, maintained the Rural Health Clinic certification status including reporting and recruiting. I also provided all technical support for the 8-station, in-house Unix networked patient management system.

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  Eastern Wisconsin Area Health Education Center

  Jan 1994 - Jan 1997

  Executive Director

  Oversaw distribution of $13 million in annual funds allocated by Federal government, intended to link Wisconsin medical schools to under-served communities via project funding grants. One of the highlights of my term was the establishment and funding of a UW Madison Med School Complimentary and Alternative Medicine Organization that encouraged students not to lose touch with their original intentions toward a holistic approach to medical treatment.

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  Marquette University

  Apr 1998 - Mar 2002

  E-learning Courseware Design and Development Consultant

  I worked primarily with the College of Nursing to develop a distance learning curriculum including 14 active courses. I also worked with the College of Education in developing several prototype courses including attending and perfecting actual delivery. Further work included assisting with the Educational Opportunities Program helping minority students coming from families with no parental college experience to succeed in their entry level efforts.

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  Door County Style Weddings & Vendor Guide

  Oct 1999 - Jan 2021

  Editor and Publisher

  We share the love that takes place at one of the Midwest's most unique wedding destinations in Door County Style Wedding Magazine. We also provide the most complete wedding vendor guide, encouraging you to Buy Local. We also share an appreciation of the arts, natural resources and heritage of Door County, Wisconsin online at: http://DoorCountyStyle.com / Tweeting @doorcounty.

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  The Linden Centre

  May 2006 - May 2007

  PR, Marketing and Curriculum Design

  In the USA, I concentrated on creating and distributing press release and advertising materials for the Linden Galleries in Ellison Bay and Madison, Wisconsin. In the fall of 2006 I was employed as a strategic marketing consultant for the new Linden Centre, under development in southwestern China. I lived in China for 6 months, developing concepts that were eventually included in the current curriculum on Chinese art and culture. I created a business plan and sales strategies, advising that the new business start up make an important marketing shift from an overseas focus to a greater initial emphasis on marketing within China.The Linden Centre was soon thereafter recognized within China as one of the top new destination "learning spas" providing opportunities to stay at a historic landmark, restored by the Lindens. The Centre has been repeatedly highlighted in Chinese national print and broadcast media presentations. It has gone on to become one of the most successful vacation, learning centers in China and in the world. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to have been a part of the founding stages of this tremendous organization and was pleased to create several documentary films on Chinese art and folk culture as part of my work there. Show less

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  DesignWise Films and Video Production

  Oct 2006 - now

  Videographer, Photographer, Editor and Producer

  Creating a variety of story-based marketing, news and video-journalism. I work with clients who wish to create authentic public relations campaigns utilizing story-based content and video communications in their sales and marketing. These include social and viral earned media, videoblogging, music video, training films and traditional documentary production. You can find examples of our work in several online publications and on our YouTube channel http://YouTube.com/designwise

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  WebSchoolhouse.com Social Media Learning Center

  Apr 2009 - now

  Online Instructor and Collaborative Coach

  The Web Schoolhouse is a private, learning resource for students enrolled in Stephen Kastner’s DesignWise Classes in Social Media for Business Success. The 5-day Boot Camp is the first stage of a training course that introduces you to the use of inbound advertising with live teleconferences and live online screencasting that displays the instructor’s screen while you listen and discuss the topic of the day.

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  Creating Hub Marketing Campaigns with Diverse Social Spokes... Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+

  Sept 2010 - now

  Online Marketing Specialist

  Coaching clients in the most effective use of their sweat-equity with individual counseling and strategy sessions, roundtable discussions of trends, techniques and new developments, hosting occasional guest speakers like Wayne Breitbarth, a Wisconsin native and the Guru of LinkedIn. We also present panels and have open discussions about our trials and successes in social media marketing.

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  Patient Choices Vermont

  Sept 2016 - now

  Digital Media Specialist

  Patient Choices Vermont (PCV) is the organization that led the initiative to adopt a death with dignity law in Vermont...

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  Green Mountain Writers Group

  Jan 2021 - now

  Founder & Director

  Writers collaborating to improve their skills through workshops and learning events...• WATCH PARTIES:Our Saturday Evening Watch Parties provide a way to experience writing commentary by famous and established authors, poets, and playwrights in a regular sampling of Master Class videos. We intersperse writing and art by featuring full length films from the Criterion channel. We will also provide the respective screenplays when available for deeper discussion.• WORKSHOPS:Join with other writers from around the blue planet on Zoom as we discuss and work to perfect our writing every Friday morning, open to any genre: fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, nonfiction, memoir, flash, poetry, or screenplay. We encourage emerging writers to join us by engaging MFA style workshop discussions with a small, private and select tribe of writers willing to read and review each other's work in a creative test bed. We also host a bi-weekly Scriptwriting Workshop on Thursdays with award-wining playwright Gina Stevensen.• PUBLICATIONS:The Green Mountain Writers Group publishes a website and is building a new online journal featuring works developed in our Workshops...About the host: Stephen KastnerSince 1997, I have been an independent consultant at DesignWise Studios. I began a visual artist in painting and photography. In the 80s I worked as a professional photo-journalist for the NYT papers in Florida. In 2006, I lived in Yunnan, China and spent 6 months as a filmmaker while designing the curriculum for what was to became the top-rated Chinese Culture Spa on TripAdvisor, the Linden Centre. Now, I employ writing, digital photography, videography, graphic design, and networked media to create all varieties of digital storytelling and I coach authors on self-publishing. Show less