California State Parks Foundation’s monthly E-News is one of the organization’s largest owned communication channels, reaching more than 160,000 recipients with park stories, advocacy updates, volunteer opportunities, and ways to get involved.

I lead the strategy and production of the program, from editorial planning and audience segmentation through email development, quality assurance, launch, and performance analysis. I have also expanded the program with more tailored communications for members, nonmembers, and volunteers.

E-News needed to balance priorities from across the organization while remaining clear, useful, and easy to scan for readers.

The program also needed a more consistent system for editorial planning, audience segmentation, production, testing, and performance measurement. Another opportunity was to better connect email engagement with website content and other points in the audience journey.

I lead the E-News program across strategy, production, audience management, and measurement.

My work includes:

• Developing the annual strategy, performance targets, and editorial calendar

• Coordinating content and priorities across departments

• Managing the monthly production process from initial planning through launch

• Writing, editing, building, testing, and scheduling emails in EveryAction

• Managing audience segmentation, suppression, tracking, and quality assurance

• Reviewing email and website performance to identify opportunities for improvement

• Maintaining the E-News webpage and online archive

• Using performance insights to guide future content, testing, and channel decisions

Build a Repeatable Content System

I developed a consistent editorial structure that prioritizes timely stories, useful information, and clear calls to action.

The structure gives readers a more predictable experience while helping internal teams understand how different stories and priorities fit within each edition.

Tailor Content by Audience

I use segmentation to make content more relevant for different audience groups. This includes separate member and nonmember editions, along with a dedicated volunteer email stream focused on upcoming workdays and community engagement.

Audience-specific content helps reduce unnecessary messaging and creates a more useful experience for each subscriber group.

Connect Email to the Wider Audience Journey

I plan E-News alongside blog, social media, advocacy, membership, fundraising, and campaign communications so each edition supports broader organizational priorities.

I also created a dedicated webpage and archive so editions can be found, shared, and promoted beyond the inbox. This helps email content continue generating value after the original send.

Test and Improve Performance

I developed an ongoing testing and measurement plan focused on subject lines, audience segments, content placement, send strategy, and calls to action.

Monthly performance reviews help identify what readers respond to and guide future editorial, audience, and website decisions.

Strengthen Program Operations

I introduced a more structured workflow for planning, content collection, production, review, testing, and reporting.

This creates a more reliable monthly process while making it easier to coordinate input from multiple departments and maintain quality across a large email audience.

• 160,000+ average recipients per monthly edition

• 43% increase in average E-News open rate from FY24 to FY26

• 75% increase in average E-News click-through rate from FY24 to FY26

• 40.7% growth in the broader email audience in under one year

These results reflect stronger editorial planning, clearer content structure, audience growth, and a more consistent approach to testing and measurement.

Current work is focused on deeper member and nonmember segmentation, more audience-specific content, continued testing, and stronger connections between email engagement and website behavior.