The Pacific Crest Trail Association is restructuring its marketing and communications staff and pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the position of Director of Marketing and Communications. The full position description can be found on our website.
The Pacific Crest Trail at Rock Pass in Washington. Photo by Andy Porter.
In 2016, the PCTA obtained funding for the organization’s first marketing/communications staff positions through a capacity-building grant from The Murdock Foundation, based in Vancouver, Washington. The new program’s first hires were Scott Wilkinson as director—previously a marcom director at the University of Oregon and West Virginia University—and Mark Larabee as associate director—a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist previously with The Oregonian newspaper and co-author of the 2016 book The Pacific Crest Trail: Exploring America’s Wilderness Trail.
In the years since, Scott and Mark built the foundation for marketing and communications at PCTA. Their accomplishments included a successful new brand identity for the organization, leading the promotion of the 50th anniversary of the Pacific Crest Trail and National Trails System Act, and guiding communications to the PCT community throughout the pandemic.
The recent retirement of Mark Larabee from his full-time position provided an opportunity to restructure the marketing and communications program. Mark will continue working as a contractor leading the PCTA’s congressional advocacy efforts, while Scott is enthusiastic about shifting his position to a focus on creative digital and print media development and production.
The person selected for the newly-vacant marketing and communications director position will be a member of the PCTA leadership team and guide the creation and implementation of a unified strategy to advance PCTA’s mission to protect, preserve and promote the Pacific Crest Trail. The successful candidate will also be a key leader for implementing PCTA’s commitment to inclusive engagement of diverse communities including communities of color.
“It’s our goal at PCTA to find the best possible fit between people and positions, and we strive to leverage everyone’s greatest strengths,” said PCTA CEO and Executive Director Liz Bergeron. “We’re excited for this change as it will allow Scott to focus on continued improvement in the quality and effectiveness of our print and digital media while adding capacity at the leadership level to move us forward out of the pandemic into 2022 and beyond.”
The initial application period will close on April 23, 2021 at 5:00 PM Pacific time.