Abbie Darst
Berea,KY
Summary
Committed team leader with excellent communication and writing skills and a honed understanding of strategic marketing and publications. Talented Executive Director offering proven background in strategic marketing and publications able to perceive audience engagement and drive philanthropic support through storytelling, content marketing and niche media relations. Demonstrated leadership, planning and problem-solving abilities focused on delivering robust, performance-oriented strategies to meet current and expected goals.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Executive Director of Marketing and Communications
Berea College
Berea, KY
07.2022 - Current
- Create the College's strategic marketing plan and provide leadership to motivate marketing professionals to reach the College’s strategic marketing objectives within given timeframes.
- Serves as the editor for Berea College Magazine and lead a professional staff that includes content writers, digital storytelling, web development, creative design and social media. In this role, I have raised the philanthropic impact of the Magazine by nearly 1,000 percent in six years. The Magazine increased revenue from $256,000 in 2016 to $2.55 million in 2022.
- Oversee or execute as needed all electronic and print materials intended for public consumption through multimedia strategies, including but not limited to print and digital publications, website, social media and video production.
- Plan, organize, facilitate and coordinate the timeline of strategic projects and messaging; supervise and coordinate project activities including setting and monitoring project budgets.
- Oversaw the overhaul of the College's website, providing guidance, content, page creation and feedback, while managing the expectations and timeline initiated by the division vice president.
- Collaborate with departments throughout the campus to ensure consistency of message and effective timing of branding and fundraising efforts.
- Serve as a member of the College's Executive Council, which is charged to oversee campus governance, to identify what issues need governance attention and to prioritize policy and governance issues.
Director of Publications and Media Relations
Berea College
Berea, KY
08.2017 - 06.2022
- Lead a creative team of communication professionals who manage and deliver the print and digital assets of the college in public relations, social media, as well as photography and video production.
- Work closely with the AVP for Marketing and Communications with a goal of increasing Berea College’s visibility and reputation nationally and internationally.
- Manage, develop and mentor the publications and public relations team to meet the evolving needs of the College.
- Plan, organize, facilitate and coordinate the timeline of designated projects; supervise and coordinate project activities including monitoring project budgets
- Manage the print production calendar for the division of Alumni and College Relations.
- Oversee the development and production of Berea College publications including The Berea Magazine, The President’s Report, and other college collateral as assigned.
- Collaborate with departments throughout the campus to ensure consistency of message and effective timing of branding and fundraising efforts.
- Write and edit designated material as needed to promote the message of Berea College.
Graphic Designer/Owner
Three Little Birds Designs
Berea, KY
09.2011 - 11.2021
- Manage all aspects of the business, including client collaboration,
custom design concepts and execution, and billing. - Consistently balance multiple projects and orders with various content, deadlines and client needs.
- Manage an online Etsy store, including frequent updates to the online storefront and digital content.
Public Information Officer
Department of Criminal Justice Training
Richmond, KY
03.2004 - 07.2017
- Serve as editor of the Kentucky Law Enforcement magazine, leading a five-person staff in planning, writing, editing, design and layout of 48-page quarterly publication.
- Lead efforts to craft a digital presence for the Kentucky Law Enforcement magazine aimed at reaching a larger cohort of Kentucky officers. Since the creation of the website, I coordinated, managed and produced weekly content for the fully-integrated KLEMagazine site.
- Conceptualized and created the department’s social media presence; chaired the Social Media Advisory group at its inception.
- Responsible for developing all social media content for both the agency and KLE magazine and maintaining consistent messaging across all print and online platforms.
- Assist in agency social media recruiting efforts by pulling insight statistics on post traffic and engagement; serve on Recruitment Committee for agency’s EEO Board.
- Conceptualize and manage key website, social media and print messages for effective marketing of the Kentucky Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation.
- Assist in the production of constituent videos, including script writing and video editing collaboration.
Sports Writer
Sentinel-Echo newspaper
London, KY
12.2003 - 03.2004
- Initiated, planned and wrote sports articles daily for the newspaper, maintaining positive relationships with local coaches and schools.
- Edited pages for appropriate grammar and Associated Press style.
Sports Editor
Barbourville Mountain Advocate newspaper
Barbourville, KY
09.2003 - 12.2003
- Generated daily sports coverage for three county high schools.
- Simultaneously researched, coordinated and executed articles, photography, graphics and design of the entire sports section of the newspaper.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - English Composition
Berea College
Berea, KY05.2003
Some College (No Degree) - Public Administration, English Literature
Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, KYSkills
- Marketing
- Stakeholder Relations
- Strategic Planning
- Social Media
- Communications Strategy
- Team Leadership and Development
- Media Relations
- Project Management
- Relationship Building
- Superior verbal and written
communication skills - Thrives in teamwork environment
Affiliations
- Member of Berea College Executive Council: 2020-2022
- Chair of Berea College Student Life Council: 2020-2022
- Site-based Decision Making Council member: 2015-present
Shannon Johnson Elementary, Berea, Ky.; Foley Middle School; Madison Southern High School
Berea College Cheerleading Coach: 2015-present
Berea College, Berea, Ky.
Accomplishments
- 13 years-worth of published articles in the Kentucky Law Enforcement Magazine
- 6 years-worth of published articles in the Berea College Magazine
- Served on the Content Committee for the CASE Editor's Forum in spring 2023
- Received 2023 "Best of CASE District III" award for a profile article, over 1,000 words on a college faculty member
- National Association of Government
Communicators
Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Awards
First place: Writer’s Portfolio 2015
Second place: Writer’s Portfolio 2010
First place: Magazine
2013 & 2014 - Kentucky Association
of Government
Communicators
Awards of Excellence
First Place: Feature Writing
2006 & 2008
First Place: Brochure Design
2008
Timeline
Executive Director of Marketing and Communications
Berea College
07.2022 - Current
Director of Publications and Media Relations
Berea College
08.2017 - 06.2022
Graphic Designer/Owner
Three Little Birds Designs
09.2011 - 11.2021
Public Information Officer
Department of Criminal Justice Training
03.2004 - 07.2017
Sports Writer
Sentinel-Echo newspaper
12.2003 - 03.2004
Sports Editor
Barbourville Mountain Advocate newspaper
09.2003 - 12.2003
Bachelor of Arts - English Composition
Berea College
Some College (No Degree) - Public Administration, English Literature
Eastern Kentucky University