Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families (AACF) is excited to announce it has hired a new communications director.  He is Gerard Matthews, formerly an associate editor with the Arkansas Times and director of development with Independent Living Services in Conway.  Gerard has a Master’s Degree in media and public affairs from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s degree in political science from UCA.

While at the Arkansas Times, Gerard produced cover stories for the magazine, did weekly news reports, and wrote a column on local media.  He was also played a major role in developing content for their blog (including video segments) and using social media to broaden their audience and ability to connect with others. He also represented the Arkansas Times fairly regularly on TV shows such as Arkansas Week.

We believe Gerard will be a huge asset to AACF in the years ahead.  He has excellent relationships with the media, especially the State Capitol reporters, and will help us build on our recent efforts to use new social media tools to broaden our audience and get our message out.  Perhaps most importantly, Gerard has a strong personal commitment to making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children and families through the nonprofit sector.

Gerard will begin work at AACF on February 13.  He succeeds AACF’s previous communications director, Tara Manthey, who moved back to her home state of Colorado to take a new job and be closer to her family.