Dilara Casey
Education
- Masters of Business Administration: Organizational Leadership (Youngstown State University)
- Bachelor of Arts: Telecommunications (Youngstown State University)
- Bachelor of Arts: Spanish (Youngstown State University)
Areas of Expertise
- Strategic Communication
- Social Media
- Brand Strategy
- Narrative Writing & Storytelling
- Content Strategy
- Leadership Communication
- Organizational Communication
- Marketing Strategy
- Career Development & Personal Branding
Research Interests
- Organizational Communication
- Workplace Culture and Employee Experience
- Leadership Communication
- Professional Identity and Career Development
- Narrative and Storytelling
Courses Taught
- JOUR 4410J | Narrative Journalism
- JOUR 4530 | Strategic Social Media
- JOUR 4230 | Gender Race and Class in Journalism and Mass Media
Teaching Interests
- Strategic Communication
- Narrative Journalism and Storytelling
- Social Media Strategy
- Marketing and Brand Strategy
- Media Strategy
- Content Strategy
- Professional Development and Personal Branding
- Leadership Communication
Biography
Dilara Casey is a strategist, educator, marketing and communications professional, and writer with more than two decades of experience helping organizations and individuals communicate, lead, and grow.
She holds bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and Telecommunications and an MBA in Organizational Leadership. Her work explores the intersection of communication, leadership, workplace culture, and human potential. She is the creator of Garden Theory, a framework that challenges the idea that success is simply a matter of grit or resilience and instead examines how environment, leadership, and organizational conditions influence people’s ability to thrive.
Beyond the classroom, Dilara is a published author, speaker, consultant, and career strategist whose work reaches more than 85,000 professionals across LinkedIn and TikTok. She was named to Columbus Business First’s Forty Under 40 and received the SHER-O Award for professional and civic leadership.
She serves on the Board of Directors for the Columbus Young Professionals Club, leads its Industry Insights programming, and works with Impact Academy to mentor emerging professionals. She also consults with Equip Women, supporting programs designed to advance women’s professional growth and leadership.
Dilara serves as a Visiting Professional in Strategic Communication at Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, where she brings extensive industry experience into the classroom to prepare students for careers in a rapidly evolving communications landscape. Her teaching draws on a career spanning marketing, communications, brand strategy, leadership, and organizational development across corporate, nonprofit, agency, and entrepreneurial settings.
Publications
Casey, Dilara. Wherever You Go. 2024. ISBN 979-8342057622.
Casey, Dilara. Hot Chicken Takeover Employee Handbook. Hot Chicken Takeover, 2018. Featured in Harvard Business School case no. 819-078 and accompanying teaching note.
Casey, Dilara. "How Collaboration Can Increase Your Restaurant Sales." ParTech, May 2018.
Casey, Dilara. "3 Ways to Boost Your Brand’s Presence on Social Media." Columbus CEO Magazine, August 2016.
Casey, Dilara. "Just Say ‘No’ to Cold Email Lists." Columbus CEO Magazine, April 2015.
Casey, Dilara. "Podcast Call." Columbus Chamber of Commerce, April 2015.
Casey, Dilara. "Social Media: Followers vs. Engagement." Columbus Chamber of Commerce, March 2015.
Casey, Dilara. "Best Practices for Leveraging Bizarre Holidays." WOMMA Blog, August 2014.
Casey, Dilara. "Are Digital Coupons Gaining Momentum?" WOMMA Blog, June 2014.
Presentations and Awards
- She-ro Award, Columbus Fury (2026)
- Forty Under 40 Honoree, Columbus Business First (2016)
- XLNT Award, Resource Ammirati (2013)