Sarah Towle Email & Phone Number

Topeka, Kansas

Leadership Highlights- responsible for providing strategic planning and leadership for one of the top 50 NACUBO-rated public university endowments in the United States in the following areas: donor relations, stewardship, marketing and communications, events and annual giving- created a cross-functional team consisting of people throughout the organization to focus on the power of storytelling and meaningful engagement for donors and alumni- significantly reduced department budget and then maintained or was under budget for the last six years- served in interim leadership roles for donor relations and annual giving teams during times of leadership transitions- serve as a key member of the overall University marketing and communications committees and advisor to members of the University’s executive team Marketing Accomplishments- manage event marketing for more than 100 alumni and donor events each year to engage alumni - oversee multiple publications mailed to alumni including the alumni and donor magazines and planned giving resources- overhauled the annual Day of Giving leading to more than 100% increases in funds raised in the last two out of the first three years; event now regularly raises more than $300,000 per year from more than 1,000 donations- led the development of the digital resources for the organization, developing more than five websites to meet the fundraising and engagement needs of the organization Communications and Brand Accomplishments- led the change management communications to alumni and donors regarding multiple executive-level positions- played a key role in communications and brand development of 150 Forward: The Campaign for Washburn University, and the merging of the Alumni Association and Foundation in 2017- developed longterm relationships with multiple vendors, advertising agencies, and freelance writers - maintained message discipline during and post-capital campaign to prepare the organization for future campaigns

Topeka, Kansas Area

Topeka, Kansas Area

Topeka, Ks

Topeka, Kansas Area

I developed and managed the course syllabus and materials, coordinated the curriculum with the department chair, facilitated student instruction for classes of more than 50 people, and thoroughly evaluated each student's performance for the following courses:MM100 - Intro to Mass Media (Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2018) - covers the history and current trends of all forms of mediaMM202 - Creative Media Writing (Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2023) - teaching news, public relations, advertising, broadcast and online writing.MM319 - Public Relations 1 (Fall 2015) - covers the history and current trends of public relations practices and basic communication, event, and crisis planning.

Lincoln, Nebraska

I worked with Strategic Discussions for Nebraska to study the communication habits of Ord, Nebraska and Auburn, Nebraska. Focusing on survey development, qualitative interviews, compiling and analyzing data, I presented with our team to town councils on how they can better communicate with their citizens. In addition to my duties with SDN, I also served as a secondary PI for marketing research with the National Student Advertising Competition and was a teaching assistant for ADVT 481/881 - Advertising and Public Relations Research. I worked with students and fellow faculty members to study JCPenney's marketing initiatives and competitors' tactics. I focused on helping students in the class develop focus groups and surveys and compiled and analyzed the data so they could build a marketing plan for the National Student Advertising Competition in 2011.

In this temporary position, I successfully organized the media relations, social media and documentation surrounding one of the largest U.S. sporting events in 2010. Maintaining relationships with multiple news agencies and journalists was key to garnering millions of media impressions in multiple local and national publications and radio/TV stations. The Games also took an innovative media relations approach by assembling teams of students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to document the week-long competition through stories, photo and videos. I managed the teams on a day-to-day basis, and advised them on how to find the best stories the Special Olympics could use in the future. In addition to managing the teams, I also oversaw 20 press assistants that were located at different locations around town working with the media. I advised them on story ideas and made sure their needs were met so they felt empowered to effectively do their job.Working with many partnering organizations and sponsors, we planned multiple press conferences with organizations such as Walmart, Cessna and ConAgra Foods to highlight their important partnership with the Special Olympics.

I created and served as the project manager for the executive vice chancellor's e-newsletter, and I wrote stories for the magazine 39th and Rainbow as well as the website and other publications. I also compiled daily media clips and assisted in day-to-day public relations duties.

I wrote news/feature stories and produced audio and video segments for a company that focused on getting an early start in the rapidly changing technological environment.

Ma, News-Editorial

Ba, Mass Media - Writing And Publishing