Shay Totten Email & Phone Number

Burlington, VT, US

Bennington, Vermont, United States

I provide communication and audience development strategy advice, including grassroots and community campaign messaging, email marketing, audience engagement, fundraising tactics, as well as impact analysis.

Remote

I provide occasional consultative digital, fundraising, and communications analysis and assistance to a variety of the News Revenue Hub's clients, as well as the Hub itself.

Remote

Concerned with a decrease in media coverage of its important policy work related to gun violence prevention, I conducted a thorough analysis of Violence Policy Center's communications strategy and processes with an eye toward improving their outreach in a more distributed and diffuse media landscape. I provided VPC with a suite of suggested improvements to.

Burlington, Vermont, United States

Responsible for determining how to grow local audiences and promote journalism in underserved markets with the aim of building long-term engagement and loyalty. I lead the development and execution of test data-driven brand awareness and membership marketing campaigns and help develop go-to-market strategies for new product and site launches. I also work.

Burlington, Vermont Area

• I was a founding board member of Rights & Democracy (RAD) and stepped into this role at a pivotal point in the organization’s effort to expand its outreach and visibility throughout the region and nationally, as well.
• Oversee all internal and external communications for this member-based, grassroots organization working in communities throughout Vermont and New Hampshire.
• Support member leaders, staff, coalition partners, movement leaders, aspiring electoral leaders, and board members with strategic communication—from social media training, to speechwriting, OpEd drafting, event.
• Tell RAD's story by creating our own news media channels as well as maintaining relationships with traditional news media to help bring attention to RADs unique model of member-led rural organizing.

During a key organizational transition, LION Publishers hired me to help them identify members' needs to ensure retention and engagement and to create a long-term membership plan to sustain the organization. I also reviewed and recommended new members from a backlog of applications, revamped their organizational newsletter and updated their dues notices.

Burlington, Vermont Area

Managed the branding, and all internal and external communications for Chelsea Green Publishing, an employee-owned book publisher, as well as day-to-day digital marketing efforts, including direct-to-consumer emails, social media, and online content on the company websites. In addition, developed strategic marketing plans, and publicity outreach for key.

I was hired by Inside Climate News (ICN) to boost ICN’s end-of-year fundraising campaign for existing subscribers and to meet their NewsMatch challenge grant of $25,000. I managed ICN’s Salesforce and MailChimp accounts and also developed key web assets, core campaign branding, and launched a tiered membership program (with escalating member benefits) to.

I wrote the signature news and political column - Fair Game - and provided weekly political analysis on WPTZ-TV and regularly on Vermont Public TV. I also wrote for the staff blog, Blurt, as news warranted. I also experimented with ways to use social media — largely Twitter, Facebook, UStream, and LinkedIn — to engage and inform readers.

During the 2008 election cycle, wrote a monthly column for Vermont's sole, statewide public TV station and made regular appearances on its weekly public affairs program. *Appear regularly on a weekly public affairs program to discuss major topics facing the state.* Regularly host online discussions during live, statewide debates to provide readers and.

I oversaw the development of a new, dynamic website, offering readers daily multimedia access to the company's authors and books. I also oversaw the recruitment and retention of authors to ensure publication of at least 30 new titles per year around the company's main topics of the politics and practice of sustainability. I was also an editor on The New.

As founder and publisher of the Vermont Guardian, I created a statewide news organization that led the coverage on several major issues facing the state, including access to government records and energy policy. The Guardian was also the first news organization to publish a weekly newspaper and a daily website — updated with breaking news and commentary..

Responsible for teaching the main Introduction to Writing courses for the Journalism Department on the basic elements of storytelling in non-fiction writing.

Montpelier, VT

At the Vermont State Auditor's Office I led several investigations that improved efficiency in state government and the management and oversight of state resources. I was also the main contact for all private and public "whistleblowers" who alleged government fraud, waste or abuse and either led preliminary investigations into the complaints, or passed.

One of three top administrators of this 35-year-old civil legal aid organization. * Managed and oversaw the development of all communication and outreach material to the public, press, advocacy organizations, grantors and government leaders. * Created brochures, flyers, posters, annual reports and press releases, and fundraising appeals.* Worked with.

Provided editing and graphic design consulting, as well as communications services, to non-profit organizations and private businesses. * Successfully wrote grants for several governmental and non-governmental organizations.* Clients included the city of Burlington, Vermont Protection & Advocacy, and The Independent (a newspaper for the elderly and.

Oversaw editorial content for a 36,000-paper weekly newspaper and its advertising supplements. * Wrote weekly stories, edited copy, assigned stories and acted as the chief creative designer.* Responsible for eight employees and a dozen independent contractors. * The paper earned numerous awards from various press associations and organizations.Notable.

Maintained a regular beat covering a number of communities and organizations in the state's largest county, also briefly assigned to cover City Hall in Burlington.* Developed into a general assignment writer focusing on the changing face of Vermont.* Worked with editors and freelance writers to develop content for a daily "towns" section highlighting.

Provided support for the editor-in-chief and deputy editor in research tasks, acted as a liaison between the editorial and production departments.

Rewrote news stories for UPI radio clients, wrote and researched stories, attended news conferences in the New York State House.

Covered a variety of towns and villages, as well as courts, sports, reviewed books and wrote feature articles.

Covered town and village meetings, wrote feature articles and reviews.