Sarah Turney

Public Relations and Communications Professional | Entrepreneurial Background

EXPERIENCE

The Wolcott Group, Long Beach — Account Executive

Jan 2023 - Nov 2025

• Supported two PRSA-LA PRism Award-winning campaigns that generated national coverage in The New York Times for LA County’s work on homelessness, AI-driven prevention, and mental health outreach.

• Produced weekly media coverage trackers and sentiment analyses for Bank of America to senior executives shaping strategic decisions.

• Generated 40 media placements a month for a corporate ESG initiative supporting arts and cultural access, coordinating monthly media hits across Patch, grassroots blogs, and major regional newspapers.

• Created and managed all social media content for the Los Angeles Homeless Initiative with a 5K+ follower base, ensuring consistent messaging and raising visibility for community programs.

• Created and maintained targeted media lists, conducted journalist research, and developed compliance-ready deliverables, serving as the primary junior contact across seven accounts.

• Coordinated media relations during client events by preparing briefing notes, facilitating journalist access, and tracking resulting coverage, ensuring smooth logistics and professional representation of the client.

Well-Suited, Los Angeles — Public Relations Intern

Sept 2022 - Dec 2022

• Reviewed and improved the organization’s website contents and branding to strengthen how the nonprofit presented itself to donors, students, and community partners.

• Created digital content including blogs and campaign copy to broaden outreach and visibility.

• Applied PR fundamentals to nonprofit projects by drafting press releases, outlining website and branding concepts, and developing blog and digital content to strengthen donor and community outreach.

ToughSamurai, Newport Beach — Small Business Operations

Mar 2021 - Oct 2022

• Co-founded and scaled resale venture in rare collectibles, generating $275K+ in first-year revenue with 35,000+ sales and 100% positive customer feedback of 5,200 reviews.

• Designed storefront, branding and listings to maximize visibility, leading to 12M+ impressions and a 9.9% sales conversion rate in one month.

• Managed end-to-end operations including sourcing, pricing, fulfillment, and customer service, personally shipping 14,500+ packages annually.

• Built pricing and margin strategies through competitive analysis, optimizing profitability in a niche market.

• Maintained strategically designed customer and transaction records, streamlining operations and enabling demand forecast and unlocking further growth.

Sambazon, Newport Beach — Shift Lead

Dec 2017 - Mar 2020

• Created a wellness product (“Sarah’s Wellness Shot”) that was adopted franchise-wide, quickly becoming a best seller and showcasing initiative and consumer insight with an 80% profit margin.

• Trained, mentored, and supported 4 team members to ensure high performance and strong customer service.

• Oversaw store operations, ensuring compliance with safety, cleanliness, and quality standards.

EDUCATION

California State University Long Beach, Long Beach —

BA in Public Relations, Minor in Political Theory, 2022

President's Honor List - Fall 2021 - Spring 2022

Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa —

Communication Studies - Associates of Arts for Transfer, 2020

National Technical Honors Society

Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, 2015

Honors with Distinction

Skills

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, executive-ready writing, stakeholder communication, cross-functional coordination, project & timeline management, reporting & trackers, presentations & briefing materials, event/logistics support, content & social support, detail-oriented, organized, proactive, collaborative, calm under pressure

Hobbies / Volunteering

Snowboarding, skateboarding, woodworking, leatherworking, video games, baking, half-marathon training, girls nights :)

Founding member, Huntington Beach Run Club • Volunteer support for weekly trivia night (hosting/logistics)

Experience