Stephen Ashton Email & Phone Number

Greenville County, South Carolina, United States

Responsible for all aspects of marketing, messaging, and public facing communication for national non-profit youth organization of over 37,000 members in all 50 states. Manage PR firm responsible for maximization of radio, television, and earned media opportunities. Lead and provide creative direction for graphic design, video, website, and copy writing contractors. Responsible for all print, digital, social media, and video communication. Lead both in-person and online event planning.Led Trail Life marketing efforts resulting in exponential growth. Record setting growth increasing new Troop inquiries by 30% and new member inquiries by 40% during COVID. Brand featured on CBN, K-Love News, The Christian Post, TownHall.com, Christian News Journal, Fox News, The Daily Citizen, Epoch Times, and more. Leveraged key partners Focus on the Family, Promise Keepers, Samaritans Purse, Alliance Defending Freedom, Classical Conversations, Dennis Rainey, For King and Country, and others to engage customers in virtual events. Separated Welcome Kit from pre-charter application increasing sales by 52% and setting pre-charter records. Over 5 million gross impressions and 40,000 registrations from partner events held in 2021. Rewrote branding standards to provide clear and consistent guidelines for Troops, vendors, and partners. Introduced Hubspot to improve ROI tracking, strategically follow-up with market segments, and ensure potential leads are followed-up on by volunteers who engage with new members and oversee the chartering of new Troops.

Belton, Sc

Introduced and implemented marketing automation. Developed content marketing funnels by writing drip campaigns, initialized website information capture, grew mailing lists, and drove ongoing traffic through organized, well-written content. Created marketing dashboards to analyze campaigns and initiatives, capitalize on opportunities, discern success, and report on KPIs. Other projects included: Leading website redesign to clarify brand and drive visitors to start Troops, join Troops, and donate to the mission.Directing development of Trail Life Store on WooCommerce platform to improve visitor experience and increase sales. Utilizing social media strategically to create growth opportunities through: facebook pixel, analytics data, targeted ads, landing pages, and information capture forms.

Seeking to hire top talent, I pioneered an Accredited Experiential Masters Degree program for my staff through a partnership with Clarks Summit University and Pilgrimage Educational Resources. The pilot program was successful and course offerings have been expanded to three additional Therapeutic Programs. Staff are able to earn 18 credits towards a Masters Degree in Education, Organizational Leadership, or Religion.Course offerings include:Strategic Thinking | Organizations as Learning Communities | Governance and Administration of Non-profit Organizations | Keys to Risk Management | Leadership in Active Learning Environments | Developing Dynamic Teams

Cameron Boys Camp School

As Executive Director I led a team of 25 professional counselors, educators, supervisors, direct care staff, and other support personnel who transform families and have kept over 500 boys from jail. We have been recognized by COA, Cornell University and UNC as one of the premier transformational programs for at-risk youth in the nation. Additionally, I pioneered a program to enable my direct care staff to earn 18 masters degree credits for their work in our program.I spoke regularly to civic organizations and churches to partner in raising our $1 million dollar annual budget so we did not have to turn aside any boy or family for financial reason. I also successfully recruited and energized volunteers to execute a major overhaul of camp facilities: Creating and developing a new Library/Media Center, and leading renovation of: four residential facilities, the Office building, and the Dining Hall.

Cameron Boys Camp School And Camp Duncan School For Girls

Partnered in the founding and launch of Camp Duncan for Girls while leading education at Cameron Boys Camp. Trained and managed both supervision and direct care staff to implement therapeutic and educational programming with the residents creating a culture of excellence, and obtaining superior results working with the girls. Girls failing in public school surpassed two years of academic growth in a year at camp and returned home successfully. I also had the the opportunity to play a significant role in laying out, building and renovating the girls living quarters and facilities.

Cameron Boys Camp

I created an experiential education program that improved educational achievement for boys in our program 78%. The average boy who was failing school entering our program successfully gained two years of academic knowledge in a single year at camp. Further, I successfully presented the program to an average of 65 churches and civic groups per year partnering in reaching our $1 million budget. I also fostered relationship with individuals at the Moore County Department of Education that resulted in increasing Title 1 funding from $1,500 to $21,000 per year. Finally, I had the privilege of being mentored by the founding practitioner of therapeutic camping in the United States and authored a history of the program, and education manual that is still in use.

Elon, Va

Cameron Boys Camp

The toughest, most fulfilling job of my career. I lived 24 hours a day with 10 of the bravest at-risk youth I've ever met in a campsite we built ourselves. We were totally responsible for day-to-day operation of the education and counseling program, and for ensuring all needs were met. Together we set goals, built our campsite, canoed over 1,000 miles, backpacked hundreds of miles, and traveled the country studying history, science, and government. We found ourselves consistently in difficult situations, and as we prayed, we learned first hand that God is faithful. It was a priveledge to live with these boys for three years. I still keep in touch with many of them.

Master Of Religious Education, Education

Bachelor Of Business Administration (B.B.A.), Marketing

Sales Certificate – Schey Sales Center - A competitive 28-hour, cross-disciplinary program building problem-solving skills.

Master Of Arts In Religion, Religion/Religious Studies