Dennis Zehner Email & Phone Number

Personal Mission in ActionSights for Hope empowers people with visual impairments and blindness to break down the barriers to brighter lives and promising futures. Its services strengthen skills, deliver supports, and champion solutions that advance personal independence. While Sights for Hope focuses on individuals, its work also improves public health, combats generational poverty, and promotes early childhood literacy. Sights for Hope is a community-funded organization that serves Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley and Monroe County and was founded in 1928 with inspiration from Helen Keller.Key Results as Executive Director• Achieved the maximum four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the world’s most utilized nonprofit evaluator.• Established and led the effort to change the organization’s name in 2021 to Sights for Hope and implemented the largest promotional campaign in its modern history.• Overhauled and re-focused the organization's mission statement, vision statement, values, and long-term goals.• Generated increases of at least 55% in standard contributions, program contract revenue, and revenue from device and technology sales.• Developed the Focused Futures program to leverage regional partnerships to provide children ages 0-6 with eye exams and glasses.• Expanded the organization's full-time staff from 6 to 9 positions; raised all wages for competitiveness; and promoted 9 employees, all of whom were women and 5 of whom were people of color.

Personal Mission in ActionMy work on additional projects through EmpowerStar Enterprises connects companies and organizations that have powerful missions with opportunities to present themselves professionally and effectively. My longest-tenured client is the founding partner of the Emmy award-winning What’s So Cool About Manufacturing® initiative, which features student video contests designed to promote advanced manufacturing careers to future workforce members. Key Results• Achieved eight (8) consecutive years of profitability through 2023.• Managed digital voting for 89 regional contests throughout Pennsylvania since 2014, and have served as an advisor for the contests, directed by the Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) in Allentown, PA.• Operated the company on a full-time basis in 2017.

Allentown, Pennsylvania, Us

Personal Vision and Mission in ActionThe greatest impact of my work with the Da Vinci Science Center was the creation and implementation of an effective brand persona – including the slogan Open for ExSCIting Possibilities – of a national award-wining organization that advances enthusiasm for science’s playful fun; its awe-inspiring impact on everyday lives; and its transformative career opportunities for people from all circumstances, including those from underserved populations.Key Results• Played an integral role in the organization’s well-documented success from 2011-2016 – including a 73% growth in annual visitation and participation.• Developed and directed Ice Cream Wars – an annual liquid nitrogen ice cream flavor competition that has become a popular event for families – that was the organization's signature event over nine years.• Created and Co-produced the popular Up and Atom Science series of segments on WFMZ 69 News at Sunrise over six years. • Enhanced and influenced fundraising efforts – including galas, sponsorships, individual giving, and grants.• Earned a reputation of creativity and reliability with news media professionals. Produced a number of inventive news events, including a major exhibit announcement inside a public restroom and a dance battle between science staff members and executives of a Fortune 500 company.• Created and managed all of the organization’s digital media platforms, including its award-winning website and social media presences.• Contributed extensively to the Manufacturers Resource Center’s regional Emmy Award-winning What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? student video contests as an instrumental partner. Created its Viewers Choice Award and directed online voting.

Allentown, Pennsylvania, Us

Allentown, Pennsylvania, Us

Allentown, Pennsylvania, Us

Allentown, Pennsylvania, Us

Allentown, Pennsylvania, Us

Personal Mission in ActionThe Literacy Center of the Lehigh Valley – known previously as the Adult Literacy Center of the Lehigh Valley – provides adults from all backgrounds with critical training that enriches their personal and family lives, enhances their communities, and strengthens their local economies. Key Results• Supervised all operations, marketing functions, and fundraising as the 25-employee organization.• Produced several fundraising events benefiting literacy education – including student graduation ceremonies, a women’s golf tournament, corporate spelling bees, and Storybook Breakfast events for children and their families.

Allentown, Pa, Us

Personal Mission in ActionDuring my brief tenure with United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley – which was cut short due to economic consequences from the September 11, 2001, attacks – I shaped several powerful stories that highlighted the United Way’s profound impact on people’s lives throughout its communities. Key Results• Worked closely with the Director of Communications to drive the organization’s brand, develop effective campaign materials, and manage its website during an $11 million annual campaign.

Reading, Pennsylvania, Us

Personal Mission in ActionThe journalistic work at the beginning of my career included the crafting of stories that connected people with critical information, empowered them to be more informed community members, and shared people’s life experiences with dignity and insight.Key Results• Covered a beat of nearly 20 municipalities and three school districts in the eastern portion of Pennsylvania's Berks County. • Produced consumer affairs feature stories.

Allentown, Pennsylvania, Us

Personal Mission in ActionThe journalistic work at the beginning of my career included the crafting of stories that connected people with critical information, empowered them to be more informed community members, and shared people’s life experiences with dignity and insight.Key Results• Reported and wrote news, feature, sports, and police stories during paid internship with the company’s former Easton, PA, and Bethlehem, PA, bureaus.

Allentown, Pennsylvania, Us

Personal Mission in ActionThe journalistic work at the beginning of my career included the crafting of stories that connected people with critical information, empowered them to be more informed community members, and shared people’s life experiences with dignity and insight.Key Results• Wrote, produced, and edited a variety of stories for evening newscasts.

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Journalism

Graduate Certificate, Marketing Strategy

Certificate, Nonprofit Management