For several years, I provided pro bono community relations consultation to the Salem Public School (SPS) District. In 2016-2017, I was invited to join the SPS Strategic Planning Committee, providing ongoing support and insight into establishing a community-centric approach to engagement, one of four core areas, working cross-functionally and in collaboration with community members, leaders, and district personnel to establish objectives and advance process improvements that dramatically enhanced district-wide community engagement practices.

In 2017-2018, I served on the SPS Website Advisory Committee and stepped in as a go-to strategist with experience in web design and multimodal communication—leveraging experience implementing communications-centric strategies and solutions into digital platforms to facilitate an accessible, interactive experience district-wide.

In 2019, I served as an integral member of the SPSD District Hiring Committee, providing support for the sourcing, evaluation, and onboarding of a new communications director—demonstrating thought leadership and an ability to prioritize candidate capabilities and experience in alignment with district needs, goals, and objectives.

In my capacity as public relations professor at Salem State University, I oversaw a one-year directed study of nine public relations students who engaged in an experiential learning opportunity with the SPS. As part of this collaboration, I oversaw the creation of a communication audit for the district in which students analyzed current communication policies in place at the district, current demographic information for the district, and previously collected community surveys and other forms of feedback about the district. For primary data collection and analysis, students conducted a focus group of principals about their current communication strategies, an analysis of traditional PR materials, a local media analysis, a social media analysis, a focus group with key community stakeholders, and an interview with the superintendent and communication director.

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