Jill Rushing Fonte

About Jill Rushing Fonte

Creative brand marketing and communications leader with more than 25 years delivering results in multiple industries. I’m proud to lead communications for one of Santa Barbara’s largest employers, Sansum Clinic, an organization that is relentless in the pursuit of excellence and continues to evolve to keep us at the forefront of healthcare in our community. I have spent the last 13 years building the Communications and Marketing team that oversees the brand and reputation of the Clinic and its sub-brands, including Ridley-Tree Cancer Center and Foothill Surgery Center. What I Enjoy Doing (Leadership Qualities):* Providing leadership, mentorship and career development opportunities to staff; motivating others by being present, engaged, inviting diverse perspectives, and inspiring a collaborative spirit* Facilitating effective relationships and communicating complex initiatives to multiple stakeholder groups * Understanding of target audience needs and Clinic capabilities to develop marketing plans that achieve desired results* Displaying a strong patient experience, employee experience and customer service orientation* Fostering an internal culture of teamwork and transparency that drives excellent service and an overall continuous improvement mindsetWhat I’ve Done (Recent Accomplishments):* Led internal and external communications for community’s largest outpatient healthcare provider throughout COVID-19 pandemic.* Conceived of and launched Good Health Magazine, now on Volume 30, with average circulation more than per issue.* Developed and oversaw execution of brand launch campaigns for Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, Foothill Surgery Center, Elings Eye Center, Wave/Electronic Health Record* Led program launches and communications for organization-wide fundraising campaigns (Campaign for Our New Cancer Center), customer service programs (WE CARE), training and education programs (Manning University), and 90th and 100th anniversary marketing campaigns * Launched two enterprise websites with 1,500 and 3,500 pages of content and more than monthly visitors; established digital presence to support all Clinic services and patient communication needs* Developed relationships with journalists that resulted in consistently positive, reputation-enhancing coverage

Experience

1. Director of Communications

   Sutter Health

   Sep 2024 — Present · Santa Barbara, CA, US

Education

• Boston University

  BA, Sociology and Psychology

  1992 — 1996

• Pepperdine University

  MBA

  2002 — 2004

Skills

• Research
• Event Planning
• Press Releases
• Fundraising
• Marketing Strategy
• Marketing Communications
• Facebook
• Publicity
• Social Networking
• Integrated Marketing
• Management
• Team Building
• Strategic Planning
• Nonprofits
• Social Media Marketing
• Brand Development
• Marketing
• Leadership
• Copywriting
• Editing
• Budgets
• Community Outreach
• Public Relations
• Internal Communications
• Media Relations
• Message Development
• Project Management
• Social Media
• Corporate Communications
• Volunteer Management
• Public Speaking
• New Business Development
• Strategic Communications
• Email Marketing
• Philanthropy
• Proposal Writing
• Event Management
• Crisis Communications
• Newsletters