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Work experience

Accredited Public Relations professional with 15 years experience in writing, editing, planning and content strategy. Relationship building is one of my strengths and I always strive to build community. I'm one of the most organized people you will ever meet and a stickler for the tiniest detail. I’m a accomplished writer with experience writing everything from profiles to tweets, speeches to video scripts, marketing copy to press releases. I can edit a mediocre story into something fantastic, take my own professional photos and design slick one-pagers and newsletters. 

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Communications director,
University of Georgia 
Office of Instruction
2021-present

• Oversaw communications and marketing for 20+ units related to university instruction.

I write strategic communications plans, keep messaging on-brand, and review

analytics to ensure project success.

• Web manager for 20+ university websites. Update websites as needed. Provide

daily support and troubleshooting. Launched three websites in the first five months of

the job while retiring under-utilized websites. Review analytics to inform user experience

and search engine optimization.

• Directed Office of Instruction communication, including biweekly email updates to

internal staff, the university’s teaching faculty and students. Redesigned and revamped

newsletter to maximize readability and open rate. Created editorial calendar

and wrote or edited all content while updating lists of contacts to ensure timeliness,

accuracy and keep key stakeholders informed.

• Administered summer semester campaign to increase student summer semester

enrollment. Planned campaign from emails to display ads, stickers to videos, while

monitoring enrollment numbers to reach the goal of 5% increase in enrollment a year.

• Managed student workers who write, shoot video and design graphics to ensure

quality. Made sure students were learning and gaining resum  skills while working to

improve the university.

• Created a Thanksgiving video for the office that resulted in increased views and

compliments from around campus.

• Planned events including a farewell party with a surprise video and photo slideshow

(created in-house). Designed and ordered a photobook for employees to sign to show

appreciation.

• Served on university-wide committees and planned instruction awards for faculty.

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Public relations professional,
University of Georgia 
Marketing & Communications

2016-2021

• Write news releases and feature stories as needed.

• Assign projects to writers, designers, photographers and videographers. 

• Oversee student spotlight series of profiles.  

• Pitch news to local and national media and coordinate news across internal channels. 

• Build and maintain relationships with local and national reporters and media.

• Compile monthly and annual reports on UGA news mentions and trends.

• Send news data reports to internal audiences to recognize top performers.

• Orchestrated 2016 news overhaul. Analyzed news release numbers and pickups from previous years; bench-marked practices against peer and aspirational institutions; and implemented new standards for news. Held focus groups and gave presentations and trainings with reports and new guidelines. 

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Public relations coordinator,

UGA Public Affairs

2013-2016

• Handle media relations and strategic messaging for university.

• Edit, schedule and distribute news releases for 17 of UGA’s colleges and units.

• Write communications plans for projects and overall strategic goals. 

• Manage UGA Today website. Post news and photos to website. Update as needed.

• Plan and host orientation for all new university communicators.

• Host trainings and give best practice updates to campus communicators. Host workshops on pitching, lede writing and headlines; Maintain communications listservs. 

• Send monthly emails on top performing stories, news trends to campus. 

• Compile media lists for special events, assist with event planning.

• Manage and establish relationships with partners internal and external to university. 

• Oversee, curate content for Discover UGA, themed monthly online magazine. 

• Supervise projects, writers and graduate students. Serve on committees as needed.

• Managed UGA’s calendar of campus events. 

• Copy edited all events listings. 

• Oversaw a website redesign to highly praised, more up-to-date website.

• Led a campaign to increase calendar’s visibility and campus use. Campaign included presentations, training sessions, one-pagers and more. (Usage increased more than 200 percent as a result of redesign). 

• Created a Twitter account for the calendar that received media coverage for being cutting-edge.

Manager,
UGA Master Calendar

2009-2013

• Wrote news and feature stories for university.

• Oversaw events pages for newspaper, including finding stories and art for each issue. Also managed weekly books, awards, bulletin board sections.

• Edited stories and releases, made page corrections, sent newspaper to printer. 

• Worked with campus communicators for story planning and promotion across university news products.

• Supervised and mentored student writers.

Writer, UGA Public Affairs

July 2007-January 2013

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• Served in a leadership capacity for large local running group and non-profit. 

• Managed communications for the group: Sent Mailchimp emails, answered email and social media questions, ran social media for group, scheduled posts, introduced an Instagram account, got Facebook page to 1,000 likes. 

• Introduced member recognition program, annual survey and annual report. 

• Planned events including trail runs, potlucks and meetings.

• Race director for Milledge Mile: Oversaw large road race from road closure permits and paying police, working with sponsors and timing company, ordering shirts and medals, marketing event, staffing event with volunteers, recruiting runners from high schoolers to sub elites, and sending thank you cards. 

• Marketing: Designed and introduced group business cards, stickers, tailgate tent, social media ads and more.

• Wrote for and redesigned for quarterly newsletter (2017- 2020).

Volunteer experience

Communications director,

 board of directors,

Athens Road Runners,   

 2018-2020

Education

University of Georgia, ABJ, journalism, Magna Cum Laude, with Honors

Middle Georgia State University, MA, technical and professional writing, July 2022 (4.0 GPA) 

Accreditation in Public Relations, July 2021.  

Awards

Professional organizations

and education

• Public Relations Society of America

• Georgia Education Advancement Council

• Council forAdvancement and Support of Education

• Effective Editors Workshop, Poynter Institute

• Executive leadership coaching

Silver Anvil Award of Excellence, PRSA (national), best campaign on a shoestring for "Stick Around for Summer," awarded June 2023 in New York

Phoenix Award, PRSA Georgia, Best Campaign on a Shoestring, "Stick Around for Summer," awarded November 2022 

PRSA Georgia Forty under 40 list, 2020

PR Daily Media Relations Awards, best pitch (national), top four finalist, 2020

Skills

• Writing 

• Editing

• Copy writing

• SEO

• Marketing emails and newsletters

• Marketing

• Public and media relations

• Press releases 

• Press conferences

• Content planning

• AP style

• Database management

• Media tracking

• Reports (monthly and annual)

• Photography

• Photo editing

• Graphic design

• Press conferences

• Social media

• Web editing

• Project management

• Editorial planning

• Public speaking

• Presentations

• Training

• Event planning

• Strategic planning

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Created by Sara Freeland. 2020

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