Sarah M. Hada

Office of the Vice President for Research, Economic Development, and Knowledge Enterprise

• Positioned and promoted the university's R1 research enterprise with $141 million in research expenditures in FY22
• Wrote press releases related to research (25+ per year); worked with University Communications to pitch to local and national media
• Wrote executive speeches, remarks, talking points, and announcements to deliver consistent message across all internal and external communication channels
• Content creation: produced monthly research e-newsletter (average. 15 pages) distributed to 1,800 researchers and partners
• Managed and created content for http://research.UTSA.edu; completed a site redesign in June 2022 with migration to a new content management system. Experience with Cascade and WordPress.
• Managing editor and content strategist for (1) Discovery, a 52-page magazine featuring UTSA research; (2) Annual Report. Select and organize content; write stories and copy, and manage contributors
• Wrote, edited and assembled external 5-Year Strategic Research Plan submitted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; key contributor to Accelerate 2030, internal 5-year strategic research plan
• As divisional brand steward, ensured brand standards were adhered; with one graphic designer, created and delivered over 100+ marketing projects and collateral pieces per year: managed the weekly production schedule and, budget; wrote copy; selected photos; worked with outsides vendors (writers, videographers, photographers, printers, merchandisers, etc.)
• Promoted research events, conferences and talks (over 200+) to faculty, students and community; copy edited and/or wrote original copy; managed the events calendar
• Created and managed four social media accounts: @utsaresearch (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube); @cymanii ; and two executive accounts; built relationships with stakeholders and external partners for promotion and outreach: monitored chatter; responsible for content creation; answered queries and resolved issues; e.g. increased Facebook fans by 83% and Twitter followers by 148% in one year
• Digital Marketing Campaigns: worked with agency and key stakeholders on defining audiences and drafting/testing messaging; researched 100+ targeted keywords and job titles. My segment of two branding campaigns (2022 & 2023) yielded the highest impressions and click-through rates. Worked with institutional SEO lead to implement strategies to increase audience for newly launched website and digital campaigns.
• Since FY21, provided communications and marketing for MATRIX AI, Open Cloud Institute, Brain Health Consortium
• Supported special projects e.g. President's Office's strategic initiatives e.g. National Security Collaboration Center, Downtown Expansion, DC Delegations, SA Life Sciences Institute; SA Precision Therapeutics
• Led the communication efforts for the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII) proposal; wrote communication plan, created social media channels, produced content, and led weekly communication calls with 20+ academic and industry communication leads; was then awarded $111 million by the Department of Energy in May 2020
• During the pandemic, created messaging and resources for the UTSA research community; researched and wrote stories highlighting COVID-19 research projects and initiative

• Provided project support to three cancer researchers (2 Ph.D. & 1 M.D.) and their labs
• Coordinated 80 grant applications (NIH, foundations, BioPharm) totaling $40.1 million to date
• Program oversight and data management for NIH funded Cancer Cell Biology Training Program
• Created and designed program and lab web sites using WordPress; created original copy and photos https://derlabunc.wordpress.com | https://cancercellbiotrain.wordpress.com
• Prepared manuscripts and articles for submission and compliance with NIH & MyNBCI
• Organized meetings, reviews and interviews, including booking international travel, for speakers, grant reviewers and academics; processed IRB and IACUC forms

• Focused on external communications and strategic management of corporate brand for $12 billion Fortune® Global 500 British foodservice company
• Created communications plans, key messages and news releases
• Managed complex internal communication projects (e.g. HR Service Center launch); coordinated U.S. acquisition announcements with UK & US M&A team
• Managed and secured media coverage in specialty, local, regional and national press (e.g. USA Today, Washington Post, The Nation, New York Times, ESPN, NPR, TMZ). Subjects included nutrition, sustainability, obesity, employee/legal/union matters, and foodborne illness
• Managing editor of DISH, quarterly newsletter, targeting 180,000 associates; and of InCompass, biannual magazine targeting 10,000 clients
• Designed/ran C-suite PowerPoint presentations for national town halls, in collaboration with CEO & CFO
• Pioneered corporate presence on social media; 1st in 50-country network, cited as “global best practice”
• Created and wrote for multiple online and social media platforms (e.g. web sites, ads, Corporate Social Responsibility reports, white papers, award applications, blog posts, tweets, award applications, surveys)
• Crisis Communications: 1st responder on-call 24 hours/day; counseled senior executives on crisis protocols and handling media; spokesperson as required; drafted/finalized statements & speaking points; trained & mentored 20+ PR leads on managing crisis and negative press
• Event management and sponsorship (e.g. Charlotte Shout, Chef's Best)
• Redesigned corporate site including new site architecture, copy and photos; built and laid-out 80+ pages in SharePoint; wrote/edited copy for 100+ pages; selected over 200+ photos; added 500+ pages