Citizen Schools

Success Story for Citizen Schools

Success Story

Citizen Schools

Citizen Schools, the second largest utilizer of AmeriCorps volunteers, has established partnerships with companies like Google, AT&T, and Cisco. During our three-year engagement, Citizen Schools underwent significant changes, including top management shuffles, service eliminations in some regions, expansions in others, and a process to reimagine how it utilizes public and private funds for greater impact. Ellis Strategies focused on highlighting educational successes, partnerships with civic and business leaders, and public policy initiatives. Successfully minimizing negative news while maximizing positive stories, Citizen Schools garnered attention from major news organizations like Forbes Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, WCVB TV in Boston, and YES! Magazine, among others.

Success Story for Citizen Schools

Ellis Strategies supports public relations for Citizen Schools, a national nonprofit that partners with public middle schools to expand learning opportunities for low-income students through experiential learning. Citizen Schools is the second largest utilizer of AmeriCorps volunteers and has established partnerships with companies like Google, AT&T and Cisco.

During our three-year engagement, Citizen Schools has gone through a number of changes, which has demanded a careful media strategy. The organization shuffled its top management; eliminated services in some regions while expanding in others; and started a process to reimagine how it utilizes public and private money to have a greater impact. Ellis Strategies focused on highlighting and publicizing educational successes, partnerships that bring civic and business leaders into the classroom, and public policy initiatives aimed at improving opportunities for all school children. ES successfully minimized “bad news,” while maximizing opportunities to tell good stories. As a result of the work, Citizen Schools has been highlighted for its unique approach to experiential learning in major news organizations like Forbes Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, WCVB TV in Boston and YES! Magazine, among others.

Ready to learn more about what Ellis Strategies can do for your organization? Read more about our executive coaching services, media training sessions and public relations services offered to organizations in Boston and throughout New England.

What Our Clients Say

"Working with Ellis strategies was effective in making me a confident public speaker. It was easy to work with Matt. He worked around my busy schedule, and his insight and tips were exactly what I needed to up my game in public speaking."

Dr. Martina Stippler

"Ellis Strategies played a crucial role in our non-profit's successful launch of a major program by developing a well-planned PR strategy, coordinating with media outlets, politicians, and managing critical event details. Their efforts resulted in extensive media coverage and local political engagement, positioning us for continued growth with their invaluable partnership."

Patrick Belmonte

"Thank you so much for an excellent experience! My Team was very satisfied!"

Dan Van Hise, RRT-NPS

"We rely on Matt for his strategic guidance. We have a long-standing, collaborative relationship that has resulted in substantial media attention and content creation."

Manikka Bowman

"Ellis Strategies really hit the mark for us. Their strategy helped us educate the public and the Legislature about the effectiveness of the Community Preservation Act. Matt and the team took control and drove the initiative to the finish line."

Stuart Saginor

"Matt helped us navigate a challenging communications situation. He helped refine our messaging, and brought deep expertise into the timing and sequencing of our message so we could maintain control of a dynamic situation. We planned very carefully, and everyone knew their role, and things unfolded exactly according to plan. He was a true pro in a high-stakes situation."

Adam Olenn

"Matt and his team have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to raise ULI Boston's profile, and increase the local media's coverage of real estate development, land use and urban planning. We count on Matt's knowledge and perspective to help guide our programming decisions."

Stephanie Wasser

"We rely on Matt’s insight to guide our PR and Marketing efforts. Over the years he and his team have demonstrated their ability to generate placements in key media outlets which have helped raise awareness of our company."

Stacy Brandon

"We’ve had great success working with Ellis Strategies. Matt and his team consistently provide us with new ideas for getting The Concord Group recognized by key journalists. His team has also been critical in helping us release white papers to our industry. We don’t make a PR move without consulting Ellis."