Courageous Communication: How Codependence Is Making Your Nonprofit Brand Boring and What To Do About It

Maryanne Dersch has spent almost thirty years working in the nonprofit world, the last fifteen at 501creative, where she helps clients reach their communication and branding goals. As resident extrovert at 501, she leads workshops, writes copy, facilitates group discussions, and eats a lot of chicken breast lunches. Before joining 501creative, Maryanne was a consultant at Vector Communications and the public relations officer for the City of University City. She’s been on enough boards and committees through the years to make herself crazy, including Community Service Public Relations Council and the Saint Louis Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals. She is on the board of Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition and has been a foster parent for Stray Rescue of Saint Louis for twenty years. Maryanne graduated from the University of Missouri- Columbia in 1988 with a degree in journalism. There she learned to compose copy at the keyboard, meet a deadline, and recognize that stories are all around us. That’s also when she started a long and prosperous relationship with both her husband and Truman the Tiger. Maryanne and her husband, Jon Schmuke, have three children. She’s known for her love of ultrahigh heels, extra-large Diet Cokes, and short karaoke rotations.