Kayla Stai Email & Phone Number

Elk River, Minnesota, United States

Responsible for implementing marketing and communications strategies that elevate the bank's brand and increase market share.

Provides expert-level consulting services from website design and development to speech writing for small and medium-sized nonprofits and businesses. All services delivered with a smile, free of charge.At Big Lake Community Food Shelf:Spearheaded development and execution of new visually-appealing website increasing online donations by 18 percent within first 6 months.Served as grant writer obtaining 100% of grants applied for resulting in thousands of dollars of additional income and resources.Guided director and board concerning communication and public relations efforts.Developed library of marketing collateral including self-produced photos and videos, logos, flyers, donor fundraising letters, etc.

Big Lake, Mn

Overhauled district’s public image via rebranding, developing strategic internal and external communications, and reputation management resulting in voter-approval of $31 million in referendum and bond revenue—after decades of failed attempts.Executed communications plans and deliverables for multiple system changes leading to stakeholder buy-in and smooth, successful transitions.Advised district executives and board on communication strategies for public relations issues and confidential employee matters.Acted as chief spokesperson managing government and media relations including crafting and distributing press releases, responding to media inquiries and maintaining government and media contacts.Composed and disseminated content via 3 social media channels, 6 websites, 2 quarterly catalogs, 2 monthly eNewsletters, an annual calendar and 100+ press releases.

Elk River, Mn

Hit and exceeded campus business metrics monthly by 5-35% for 36 months straight.Obtained 90% local media coverage and 68% regional coverage of distributed press releases.Revamped campus social media accounts, improving user engagement by more than 70% on Facebook and Twitter within first year.Taught Internet Marketing, Business Communications and Foundations of Writing courses, attaining 98% positive feedback from students.Participated in community events to augment campus visibility and gain enrollment leads.Crafted and dispersed content for 2 weekly eNewsletters, 7 monthly subject matter expert blog posts and 100+ press releases.Nurtured 10 Communications Specialists at other campuses in region.

As a Sales Manager for the Sheraton hotel, I built relationships with new and existing clients, researched new business partners and booked group rooms and catering revenue for the SMERF, Association and Government markets. I loved working with all of my different clients at the Sheraton but the position just didn't allow enough creative writing for me!

As a coordinator, I assisted hotel sales managers with their group-room bookings and clients to ensure a smooth, stress-free stay or meeting. I also created all of our hotel marketing pieces from adhocs to restaurant menus. Additionally, I acted as a copywriter for all hotel marketing pieces and a new hotel website.

Researching, analyzing and setting rates for transient rooms, updating 3rd party site descriptions, and creating compelling packages were just a few tasks I took on as reservations manager.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

I learned a great deal about the television news market as an intern for KARE 11 during the last year of my college experience. I attended morning assignment meetings each day, picked the reporter I wanted to head out with (which was usually the one with the most interesting story) and assisted the reporter with finding a story angle, contacts to interview, writing and editing the story. I also served as an assistant on the Saturday Morning Show where I prepped guests for their segment, edited and proofed content for the website, ran the call-in phone booth and whatever else challenge came my way!

Ba, Broadcast Journalism

Master'S Degree, Managerial Leadership

Education record