Stephanie Snyder is a community engagement and user experience leader with a track record of growing an organization’s loyal audience by implementing human-centered design processes, product thinking methodologies and community-led growth initiatives.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

LION Publishers: Associate Director of Membership Products and Services (October 2021 - May 2024 — Vancouver, WA)

  • Membership Program product manager: Designed and implemented processes to support membership onboarding, retention, experience and engagement for LION’s membership of 550 independent news organizations across the U.S. and Canada.

  • Increased membership nearly 15% year-over-year while ensuring the satisfaction of existing members with a retention rate of 85%.

  • Designed and implemented community listening and engagement strategies for members who identified as BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+ to ensure LION could understand and respond to their unique needs while also fostering a sense of belonging. These processes directly led to: LION’s strategic commitment to serve Focus Members; my design and execution of our 2023 regional events strategy with profitable gatherings serving hundreds of our members in the Southeast and Deep South; and the launch of new affinity group and community ambassador programs.

  • Co-led the development of LION’s Member Portal in Salesforce Experience Cloud by defining product requirements, contributing to prototype design, documenting user flow and managing the product launch timeline based on contingencies.

  • Optimized Salesforce, Memberful and Airtable by designing automated workflows and data management strategies to scale support of LION’s growing membership base.

  • Brokered deals and designed strategic partnerships with tech and service vendors that member organizations could benefit from using for free or at a discounted rate. Partnerships included SaaS companies, legal services vendors and insurance brokers.

  • Designed and managed the execution of LION’s annual awards program, which saw a 75% year-over-year increase in member engagement, as well as in-person member events of over 225 people.

  • Managed and supported the professional development of between 1-2 direct reports.

Hearken: Senior Engagement Manager (January 2018 - May 2021 — Denver, CO)

  • Consulting project management lead of an 8-member engagement team, which provided community engagement training, stakeholder listening and persona deliverables, audience growth strategic consulting, and SaaS technology solutions for a diverse portfolio of community foundations, higher education institutions, media startups and local governments.

  • Closed over $240,000 in consulting and SaaS revenue within 8 months after transitioning into a business development role, leading Hearken's shift to a SaaS-enabled consultancy business model. Closed nearly $300,000 in sales within one year.

  • Served as a SaaS Customer Success Manager to 40 news organizations, including enterprise accounts like the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

  • Managed and supported the professional development of one direct report.

Denverite: Engagement Specialist (August 2016 - November 2017 — Denver, CO)

Led audience development and community engagement strategies for a startup news organization that launched in June 2016. Contributed marketing and user acquisition strategies, improved UX based on feedback from surveys and focus groups, managed social media, executed profitable events for up to 250 people, developed community partnerships and launched new email products.

Chalkbeat: Community Editor (October 2014 - March 2016 — New York, NY)

Oversaw readership growth and expansion of the local and national audience for the New York bureau of Chalkbeat — a nonprofit news organization focused on covering educational change efforts in communities where improvement matters most. Established distribution partners with media organizations, fostered online and in-person community engagement, organized profitable networking and content events drawing up to 200 people, managed social media content and strategy, oversaw local outreach efforts for donation campaigns, contributed daily and long-term reporting, and produced photography, videography, and data visualizations. 

Ventura County Star: Multimedia Reporter (September 2012 - September 2014 — Camarillo, CA)

Award-winning multimedia reporter covering immigration, business and general assignment stories. Designated data and digital journalist for three developed franchise topics that focus on in-depth reporting and community engagement – School Watch, VCS Outdoors and Price of Paradise. Used data to add context to stories and produce digital elements including layered interactive maps and graphics.

California Lutheran University: Adjunct Professor (March 2014 - May 2014 — Thousand Oaks, CA)

Adjunct professor for ‘Writing for the Mass Media,’ a required 200-level course for communications majors that is a prerequisite to work for the student newspaper and enroll in public relations courses. Taught different forms of journalism writing, assigned a variety of weekly story assignments, required story pitches be submitted, held editing workshops and administered AP style quizzes.

Center for Investigative Reporting: Reporting Intern (May 2012 - July 2012 — Sacramento, CA)

California state government reporter covering weekly stories while pursuing an in-depth investigation revealing Hearst Castle waived $611,000 in special event fees – including for the politically connected – while neighboring state parks struggled to stay open amid budget cuts. Compiled a database of California public schools that converted to charter schools by comparing student test scores, ethnic demographics, student population eligible for reduced-price lunch and special education students before and after the school’s transition.  

Downtown Devil: Co-Founder and Publisher; Managing Editor, Photography Editor and A&E Editor (January 2009 - 2021 — Phoenix, AZ)

Oversaw content published on DowntownDevil.com and contributes to the long-term goals and success of the news organization through journalistic innovation and community engagement. Downtown Devil is an independent, student-run online news publication focused on coverage of Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix campus and surrounding community that was established in January 2009.

Cronkite News Service: Washington, D.C. Bureau Reporter (January 2012 - May 2012 — Washington, D.C.)

Health, education and social issues reporter for Cronkite News, an online wire service providing news to media outlets across Arizona. Reported from the Washington, D.C., bureau covering federal government and national public policy issues from an Arizona perspective.

Prensa Hispana: Contributing Reporter (August 2011 - December 2011 — Phoenix, AZ)

Wrote community news articles and conducted interviews in Spanish for a weekly, Spanish-speaking newspaper in Phoenix.

News21: Carnegie-Knight National Reporting Fellow (May 2011 - July 201 — Phoenix, AZ)

One of 27 fellows selected for a 10-week national reporting project investigating the safety of America’s food supply, “How Safe is Your Food?” Conducted extensive research and multimedia reporting on food safety issues at farmers markets and small farms across the country that was published on MSNBC.com and a News21 original website – the 2012 SPJ award-winner for online in-depth reporting.

Cronkite Borderlands Initiative: Reporter (January 2011 - May 2011 — Phoenix, AZ)

One of 17 student journalists selected to travel to the Dominican Republic to report on immigration and border policies that impact the country’s large Haitian population after conducting months of research. The RFK Journalism Award-winning multimedia project, “Stateless in the Dominican Republic,” was published on an original website and the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting website.

The Arizona Republic: Breaking News Reporter (August 2010 - January 2011 — Phoenix, AZ)

Wrote breaking news stories for azcentral.com and collaborated with NBC12 KPNX-TV by conducting on-site reporting for breaking news scenarios two days per week. Articles were frequently published in The Arizona Republic after further research and interviews.

Arizona Capitol Times: Reporting Intern (February 2010 - May 2010 — Phoenix, AZ)

Covered congressional hearings, bill proposals and daily news at the Arizona State Legislature 20 hours per week. Collaborated with a fellow part-time reporter on a long-term project investigating state agencies and universities violating a bipartisan energy reduction law.

EDUCATION

Arizona State University, August 2008 –May 2012

Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Barrett, the Honors College

SKILLS

  • Event planning and marketing

  • Social Media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, etc.

  • Tracking KPIs

  • Google Analytics

  • Google Fusion Tables: Creates layered interactive maps

  • Computer-Assisted Reporting: Uses databases to organize statistics and develop stories through recognized patterns

  • Microsoft Excel: Uses program to manipulate data

  • Photography/Videography: Award-winning photographer, Canon 7D owner, uses DSLR, microphone and tripod to shoot

  • Adobe Photoshop: Edits photographs, creates graphic images

  • Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro: Edits video and audio to produce multimedia packages

  • HTML: Customization using basic HTML code

  • WordPress.com: Proficient in content management systems

  • AP Style: Proficient in news writing following AP Stylebook

  • Spanish: Fluent writer and proficient speaker

AWARDS

  • Knight-Cronkite Alumni Innovation Grant ($12,000): Driving community engagement in Chalkbeat New York’s reporting efforts through an online platform (developed by Hearken) that allows readers to share their questions on local education issues and see those questions become investigations. (September 2015)

  • Best of Scripps 2014 Second Quarter Award (Ventura County Star): Using state education data to create an original database, Snyder led a School Watch investigation of violent incidents and weapons possession cases at Ventura County’s comprehensive high schools. The investigation - which included an interactive map and searchable database - revealed inconsistent incident reports within some districts and school violence did not discriminate based on affluence or student performance. 

  • Best of Scripps 2013 Award (Ventura County Star): An effort that “models what we hope will become our standard for coverage of significant local issues,” the Star’s School Watch team created a comprehensive package after the Simi Valley School District announced plans to close three elementary schools. Within one week, the team revealed the schools to be closed had the highest Latino and low-income student enrollments, profiled each school, explained the school closure process, provided opportunities for the public to get involved, created interactive maps and online graphics, and provided school board meeting attendees with updated informative handout explaining the issue and possible ramifications.

  • Best of Scripps 2012 Award (Ventura County Star): Called by judges “a model of best-in-class data sorting,” the collaborative piece used data and extensive reporting to show that one of the world’s largest private-equity firms spent $34 million on distressed Ventura County homes in less than five months at an acquisition rate of nearly one property per day.

  • Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award: College Winner, “Stateless in the Dominican Republic,” May 2012

  • Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Award for Online In-Depth Reporting: National Winner, News21 “How Safe is Your Food?” April 2012; SPJ Region 11 Award: First Place, “How Safe is Your Food;” Second Place, “Stateless in the Dominican Republic,” April 2012

  • SPJ Mark of Excellence Award for Best Independent Online Student Publication: National Finalist, Downtown Devil, April 2012; SPJ Region 11 Award: First Place, Downtown Devil, April 2012, March 2011

  • Hearst Multimedia Award: 19th Place, “Farmers Markets Thrive While Concerns Grow,” News21

  • Greg Crowder Memorial Photojournalism Award: Honorable Mention, April 2012 and April 2011

  • National Headliner Award for Journalistic Innovation: First Place, “Arizona Storytellers,” April 2012