Executive Leadership | Communications & Marketing
Turning Mission into Measurable Impact.
I build communications strategies that connect organizational vision with the people, partnerships, and actions needed to create lasting impact.
Eric Smith
Senior Marketing Officer, Outreach
Executive Leader in Marketing, Communications & Organizational Growth
- Org. revenue
- $6.7M → $15M
- Charity Golf Outing
- $1.25M
- Strategic Leadership
- Organizational Growth
- Executive Communications
- Brand Strategy
- Stakeholder Engagement
The Leadership Advantage
Strategy that creates clarity. Leadership that drives results.
Effective communications leadership requires more than compelling messages. It requires understanding organizational priorities, aligning stakeholders, developing strong teams, and building systems that turn strategy into measurable outcomes.
01
Strategic Vision
Translate organizational goals into focused communications strategies that support growth, strengthen positioning, and advance mission priorities.
02
Operational Excellence
Build the people, processes, and accountability structures necessary to execute complex initiatives consistently and effectively.
03
Compelling Storytelling
Connect research, organizational outcomes, and human experiences through accessible, credible narratives that inspire understanding and action.
04
Executive Partnership
Work collaboratively with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to strengthen organizational alignment, decision-making, and execution.
Results & Organizational Growth
Leadership measured by organizational impact.
$6.7M → $15M
Organizational Revenue Growth
Contributed to the strategic communications and growth environment supporting Outreach's expansion from approximately $6.7 million to $15 million in annual revenue over five years.
$1.25M
Record Fundraising Event
Led marketing and communications supporting Outreach's record-setting Golf Charity Outing, which raised approximately $1.25 million against a $900,000 goal.
Multi-Location
Organizational Communications Leadership
Leads integrated communications across a community-based organization operating multiple locations and delivering diverse human services.
Executive-Level
Strategic Communications Leadership
Partners with organizational leadership to translate strategic priorities into clear messaging, coordinated campaigns, and actionable communications.
Total organizational revenue, reflecting the work of the full organization — not marketing-generated revenue.
Experience & Perspective
Built at the intersection of mission, strategy, and execution.
Senior Marketing Officer
Outreach · Chicago Region
Leads marketing and communications for a growing nonprofit organization focused on restoring hope and creating opportunities for individuals and families—serving communities through youth development, family stabilization, employment training, mental health and psychological services, transitional emergency housing, and older adult services.
- Organizational brand strategy and positioning
- Integrated marketing and communications
- Executive communications
- Digital strategy and growth marketing
- Mission-centered storytelling
- Marketing operations and project management
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Team development and accountability
- Stakeholder and community engagement
Selected Work
From complex challenges to coordinated execution.
Challenge → Strategic Response → Leadership Contribution → Outcomes
Why the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation
A shared conviction: meaningful progress requires clarity, collaboration, and measurable outcomes.
The Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation's commitment to advancing the vitality of Indianapolis through strategic grantmaking, evidence-based advocacy, and cross-sector collaboration represents the kind of consequential, mission-centered work that motivates my leadership.
Education & Workforce Development
- — Improve academic outcomes
- — Address workforce skills gaps
- — Support college enrollment
- — Advance the Indiana Career Apprenticeship Pathway (INCAP)
Transferable experience
Communicating programs that create opportunities for young people, families, and individuals navigating education, employment, and economic barriers.
Strategic opportunity
“Make complex education-to-career pathways understandable, credible, and actionable for students and community partners through Outreach's Employment Training Center.”
Health
- — Advance obesity prevention and care
- — Support evidence-based approaches
- — Strengthen data systems
- — Improve understanding of health challenges and interventions
Transferable experience
Marketing and communications leadership in a human-services environment that includes counseling, psychological services, and access to care.
Strategic opportunity
“Leverage experience at Outreach's multi-location, community-based mental health counseling and psychological services to translate complex clinical information, evidence-based practices, and health outcomes into accessible, compelling communications that build trust, increase awareness, and connect individuals and families with quality care.”
Vitality of Indianapolis
- — Strengthen community well-being
- — Support high-impact opportunities
- — Advance philanthropic collaboration
- — Improve understanding of community needs
Transferable experience
Mission-driven organizational leadership, nonprofit partnerships, community storytelling, and stakeholder engagement.
Strategic opportunity
“Elevate the voices, evidence, partnerships, and initiatives that contribute to stronger communities.”
A Strategic Communications Opportunity
From awareness to understanding. From understanding to adoption.
The Indiana Career Apprenticeship Pathway (INCAP) is an employer-led education and training pathway serving high school students and adult trainees while helping employers develop skilled talent. Its communications challenge spans multiple audiences — each with different motivations, questions, and barriers.
Audience strategy matrix
- Employers
- Demonstrate the workforce value, practical requirements, and long-term benefits of participation.
- Students & Families
- Make the pathway understandable, credible, and relevant to future opportunities.
- Educators & Schools
- Clarify implementation, collaboration, and student outcomes.
- Community & State Partners
- Establish a consistent understanding of the initiative's purpose, progress, and evidence of impact.
- General Public
- Build awareness and understanding of career-connected education.
An Initial Strategic Perspective
- 1Establish a clear, audience-centered narrative.
- 2Build a coordinated communications architecture.
- 3Develop practical stakeholder engagement resources.
- 4Strengthen employer and participant storytelling.
- 5Connect communications activity to measurable awareness, engagement, and adoption outcomes.
Preliminary ideas developed from publicly available position materials.
Leadership Approach
Listen deeply. Align strategically. Execute with discipline.
Days 1–30
Listen & Understand
- Build relationships with the President & CEO, board, communications team, and organizational leadership.
- Understand strategic priorities and existing communications commitments.
- Review current messaging, workflows, partnerships, and performance measures.
- Develop a clear picture of INCAP's immediate communications needs.
- Identify opportunities to improve clarity, coordination, and execution.
Days 31–90
Align & Prioritize
- Establish shared communications priorities and success measures.
- Refine audience segmentation and messaging architecture.
- Evaluate opportunities to strengthen INCAP communications.
- Clarify responsibilities, approval processes, and operational rhythms.
- Develop a coordinated communications roadmap across the Foundation's priorities.
Days 91–180
Execute & Optimize
- Advance priority campaigns and communications initiatives.
- Establish reporting rhythms and actionable performance dashboards.
- Strengthen storytelling around grantees, research, and community outcomes.
- Support communications team development.
- Assess early results and refine the next phase of strategy.
An illustrative leadership approach, subject to discovery, organizational priorities, and collaboration with Foundation leadership.
How I Lead
Clarity creates alignment. Accountability creates momentum. People create impact.
Clarity Over Complexity
Translate complicated ideas into actionable priorities and accessible messages.
Excellence in Execution
Maintain high standards while building processes that make consistent execution sustainable.
People-Centered Leadership
Develop capable teams, establish trust, and create an environment where individuals can take ownership and grow.
Outcomes Over Activity
Measure success by organizational progress and meaningful audience outcomes, not simply the volume of communications produced.
“Great communications don't just tell the story of impact. They inspire the understanding, trust, and action that make greater impact possible.”
A Partner to Executive Leadership
The judgment to advise. The discipline to deliver.
The most effective communications leaders operate as strategic partners to executive leadership. They understand the organization's priorities, anticipate challenges, translate vision into action, and bring the judgment to know when to move quickly and when to ask better questions.
For a foundation seeking a trusted partner to its President & CEO, that means a player-coach: someone who can shape strategy in the boardroom, build and develop a team, and still write the critical message with precision.
- 01Understands organizational strategy
- 02Advises senior leadership
- 03Communicates with confidence and discretion
- 04Respectfully challenges assumptions
- 05Builds alignment across departments
- 06Holds high standards for writing and messaging
- 07Balances strategic vision with hands-on execution
Let's Connect
Let's advance work that matters.
I welcome a conversation about how strategic communications leadership can strengthen organizational influence, accelerate meaningful initiatives, and help translate ambitious goals into measurable impact.
Eric Smith
Senior Marketing Officer | Executive Communications & Marketing Leader
- Emailericsmith13@gmail.com
- LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/ericsmith13/
- Telephone(630) 512-7158