Encore Fellowship Prepares Marketing Professional for Encore Career

Peggy Valenti just concluded her Encore Fellowship at Portland State University, where she was able to apply skills gained in the private sector into social purpose work, ultimately preparing her to transition permanently into the nonprofit sector.

I worked at Hewlett-Packard (HP) for 17 years doing product marketing and strategic communications. When I left, I wanted to apply my skills at a nonprofit organization to make a difference in my community. I heard about the Encore Fellows program from Paul Speer, who sits on the Social Venture Partners International Board, and decided it would be a great way for me to make the transition into the nonprofit world.

I was placed in a Fellowship at Portland State University working in the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies as a Communication Director. Although it was a different working environment than I was used to at HP, I was able to apply my skills in developing communication processes and strategy that I had developed at HP. The Fellowship allowed me to learn and refine a whole new set of skills as well. I learned how to build a social media presence, how to write content for their website, how to navigate in a nonprofit organization and how to build relationships with the Board of Directors.

After I completed my Fellowship, I knew that I wanted to continue my work in marketing and communications for a nonprofit, so I applied to job postings on the MacsList website. I saw a position at Janus Youth, an organization that provides community-based services to enhance the quality of life for children, youth and families, had an interview and got an offer within two weeks.I am now the communications lead for the Janus Youth programs. I maintain the agency’s website and social media accounts, develop a communications strategy, manage production of marketing materials and am responsible for raising awareness of the organization and the issues facing at-risk youth within the community. It is an exciting and challenging opportunity! The experience I had in my Fellowship and the communication work I accomplished at PSU were crucial in preparing me for this position.

Peggy’s scope of work in her Fellowship at PSU included developing a detailed communications plan an implementation strategy. She examined key stakeholder familiarity with Institute and College work, current media coverage and the potential for gaining additional coverage among outlets important to stakeholders. That led to a communications plan to create a strong identity, generate media exposure, and enhance the organization’s reputation. Peggy then developed processes and workflows to complete the tasks required. By the time the Fellowship ended, the organization had in place processes for communicating the results of important projects, communication metrics, and daily and weekly task lists of important communications activities. Followers on Facebook and Twitter increased, as had the number of people signed up for newsletters. The organization is now more intentional about communicating more regularly in an approachable manner.