• Lead Communications Strategy • Set and execute an integrated communications strategy that advances federal and state policy objectives, legal strategies, and organizational priorities. • Direct message development, strategic communications planning, and the editorial calendar. • Ensure a consistent and credible organizational voice across all public-facing channels. • Oversee integrated PR campaign planning across earned media, owned/digital, and collateral material development to drive measurable influence. • Oversee proactive and reactive media strategy, including relationships with reporters and news outlets. • Manage rapid-response and crisis communications in a dynamic and often contentious education policy landscape. • Maintain clear escalation paths, approvals, spokesperson guidance, and high-quality executive communications and briefing materials. • Provide executive oversight for the research and data team and their portfolio of work, including helping determine which data collection to prioritize and how it will be shared publicly. • Align the data collection and research agenda to organizational priorities and ensure data is translated into actionable, accessible insights for advocacy, communications, and fundraising. • Establish quality and accuracy standards, data-use guidance, and release calendars that synchronize with communications and development needs. • Provide strategic leadership to the Development team, ensuring communications and research fuel fundraising success across foundations, individuals, government grants, corporate partnerships, dues based campaigns, and broad based giving. • Oversee narrative development and quality standards for all donor facing materials, including cases for support, proposals, pitch decks, fundraising campaigns, and donor stewardship materials. • Partner closely with the CEO and VP of Development on strategy and high stakes philanthropic moments, ensuring alignment across message, data, and organizational priorities. • Ensure Development has timely access to messaging, insights, and assets that strengthen donor engagement and deepen understanding of impact. • Lead managers, staff, and vendors across Communications, Development, and Research/Data, setting goals, managing budgets, and upholding high standards of quality, accuracy, and message discipline. • Establish an operating cadence (shared objectives, quarterly planning, regular reviews) that ensures coordination and alignment across all three teams. • Foster a culture of seizing opportunity, collaboration, accountability, and excellence. • Help anchor the organization in a shared narrative and ensure coordinated messaging for priority campaigns, policy moments, publications, and major announcements. • Provide internal and external stakeholders with timely guidance, talking points, and communications support. • Reinforce message consistency and brand discipline across all external touch points.