Sarah Henderson, communications coordinator at Downtown Vision Inc., has moved from helping conserve nature to helping spread the word about what Downtown has to offer.
The Jacksonville native graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in journalism and then secured internships with two nonprofit environmental organizations near San Francisco – the Sierra Club and the Save the Redwoods League.
“My minor was in environmental studies and I think working in the nonprofit community is my niche,” said Henderson.
After her stint in California, she returned to North Florida and worked as a staff reporter and photographer at the Ponte Vedra Recorder. When Downtown Vision leaders were interviewing potential communications coordinators, Henderson applied and landed the job in January.
She has performed in ballet recitals at The Florida Theatre and while attending Samuel W. Wolfson High School, worked during the summer as an elementary camp intern at the Museum of Science & History.
“I’m fascinated by urban environments and I have always been passionate about Downtown,” she said.
DVI’s presence online centers on its website – downtownjacksonville.org – and the social media sites Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Pinterest, LinkedIn and YouTube.
“Our website is a fantastic resource. More people should be aware of it. It’s a gold mine of information,” Henderson said.
In addition to managing its Internet effort, Henderson writes the Downtown advocacy organization’s e-newsletters and monthly updates and distributes information and safety alerts to residents and businesses.
She said the DVI website receives more than 20,000 visits each month. The page viewed most often contains an event calendar, which Henderson compiles and updates.
“It keeps me informed and one of our goals is to show that there are always things going on Downtown,” she said.
DVI’s latest Web project is a blog about issues in the urban core. It launched Oct. 3 with postings related to historic preservation.
“Right now, it’s exclusively DVI content, but anyone is welcome to comment on the posts. The point of the blog is to focus on Downtown and start conversations,” said Henderson.
@drmaxdowntown
356-2466
On the Internet:
Downtown Vision Inc.
• More than 22,000 visitors in the past 30 days
• More than 78,000 page views in the past 30 days
• More than 3,600 Facebook followers
• More than 3,900 Twitter followers
• Blog: downtownjacksonville.org/blog
Source: Downtown Vision Inc.