About Anthony
Anthony Tosie is a communications professional from the North Texas area with about 10 years' experience in the fields of public relations, journalism and community relations.
In addition to his professional experience, Anthony has a bachelor's degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations, summa cum laude, and a master's degree in marketing, both from Texas A&M University-Commerce.
For additional information, please view Anthony's relevant experience below or his full experience and skills at this link. He can be reached by contacting him on LinkedIn; a link to his profile is located on this website's navigation menu.
In addition to his professional experience, Anthony has a bachelor's degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations, summa cum laude, and a master's degree in marketing, both from Texas A&M University-Commerce.
For additional information, please view Anthony's relevant experience below or his full experience and skills at this link. He can be reached by contacting him on LinkedIn; a link to his profile is located on this website's navigation menu.
Experience
Work Experience
Northwest Independent School District (Fort Worth, Texas)
Executive Director of Communications, July 2021 – present
Director of Communications, July 2020 – July 2021
Communications Specialist, July 2016 – present
Web Content Specialist, August 2013 – July 2016
Frisco Enterprise Editor, May 2012 – August 2013
Media and Public Relations Coordinator, January 2010 – May 2010
Education
Texas A&M University-Commerce (Commerce, Texas)
Northwest Independent School District (Fort Worth, Texas)
Executive Director of Communications, July 2021 – present
- Oversee all districtwide communication for school district with a total enrollment exceeding 29,000 students
- Serve on superintendent's executive cabinet with district leadership to help shape direction of vital decisions affecting all schools and departments
- Supervise five employees in district communications department to ensure schools and departments are supported through all communications and community relations initiatives
- Lead district facility naming committee, determining recommended names for new school buildings and other facilities as district experiences tremendous growth
- Oversaw transitions from existing website content management system and online mass communication system (SchoolMessenger Presence and SchoolMessenger) to new platforms (Finalsite and ParentSquare) to more effectively communicate with families and staff
- Served on district COVID committee, establishing protocols and procedures in response to pandemic
Director of Communications, July 2020 – July 2021
- Oversaw internal and external communications for district, including correspondence with families, staff, community members and other stakeholders
- Led all written and electronic communication for district, including news releases, website postings, newsletters, social media and more; served as primary district photographer at all events
- Served as sole district contact for media inquiries and manage responses in coordination with superintendent, providing written answers to general inquiries and follow-up phone conversations when necessary
- Managed all district crisis communication, including announcements regarding school closures and other emergencies, through all communications channels such as written correspondence and recorded phone messages
- Managed district social media presence, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter; grew both engagement and followers on all platforms on an annual basis, including a 40 percent increase in Instagram engagement compared to similar posts from the previous year
- Supervised one communications specialist, providing regular scheduling of district activities to ensure school and department needs are met
- Led written communication for joint news releases from Denton County school districts group, including coordinated announcements related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on school procedures, scheduling and events
- Wrote district COVID-19 response plan with input from district cabinet and leadership team; wrote, coordinated and distributed general infection notification letters to all campus contacts and separate notification letters to close contacts
- Established and wrote districtwide email newsletter, Falcon Family News, distributed twice monthly to all district families and staff through MailChimp email system; sent districtwide email reminders when necessary
- Coordinated with department leaders and campus principals for important notifications, such as STAAR testing reminders and upcoming events
- Co-managed district website, including management of district homepage with news and features and supported management of department and campus websites
- Oversaw school-based online communication through Blackboard ParentLink mass communication system, including providing technical support for schools
- Responded to parent and community member concerns addressed to the district, including phone calls and emails to central office as well as agenda-related questions posed to school board prior to meetings
- Created and presented regular school board meeting reports for district news, calendar and media coverage, providing trustees with updates on district events
Communications Specialist, July 2016 – present
- Serve with executive director of communications as one of two district contacts for media inquiries; coordinate with district schools for media pitches
- Write majority of news and feature content for district website and sent to media outlets in weekly updates; take majority of event-based photos used by district and sent to media outlets
- Created and serve as editor of district's quarterly magazine, Northwest Navigator, including the writing of stories, editing of content, managing of content, coordination of design with third-party vendor and dissemination of publication
- Manage district social media presence – operate district Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, which each grow followers at an annual rate of 20 percent or more
- Write, design and disseminate two twice-monthly email newsletters, Northwest News for families and Source for staff, through Constant Contact email system; write and disseminate Board Notes email newsletter distributed the day after each school board meeting
- Oversee school-based online communication through SchoolMessenger notification system, including providing technical support for schools
- Coordinate written communication with school principals in crisis events, including writing letters to school families when principal is unavailable or tending to emergency situations
- Oversee online communications – including social media updates and website messages – in crisis events and inclement weather situations; monitor online discussions regarding Northwest ISD and its schools to keep district abreast of potential crisis situations
- Update district website homepage with news articles, event listings and images for scrolling banner; assist district webmaster with updating specific website sections as needed
- Manage district online photo gallery through Flickr, annually uploading thousands of photos from dozens of district events
- Assisted with planning and disseminated communications for district's $399 million bond package, which passed with 61 percent approval in May 2017
- Assist with district community relations event setup and planning, such as local business professional meetings, retired community member gatherings and teacher of the year receptions
- Served on district's 2017-18 character education committee, 2018-19 rezoning committee and 2018-19 social-emotional learning committee
Web Content Specialist, August 2013 – July 2016
- Managed district website and oversaw management of more than 40 school or department websites; provided support and guidelines to campus website operators and district staff
- Oversaw creation of new districtwide responsive website layout and implemented it to all school and department websites in less than two weeks
- Managed district’s social media presence – operated district Twitter, Instagram and tumblr accounts; grew Twitter account from fewer than 700 followers to more than 7,000 in less than nine months
- Began initiative of creating story-based content for websites and social media outlets, highlighting unique and positive actions taken by district students, teachers and staff
- Wrote majority of feature stories and news releases used on district website and sent to media outlets; took majority of photos used by district and sent to media outlets
- Created and managed district online photo gallery through Flickr, annually uploading thousands of photos from dozens of district events
- Oversaw online communications – including social media updates and website messages – in crisis events and inclement weather situations; monitored online discussions regarding Denton ISD and its schools to keep district abreast of potential crisis situations
- Oversaw production and created all content for Network News, district’s monthly newsletter distributed to all employees via email
- Oversaw production of and created all content for Kid Life, a joint publication delivered to all 24 elementary and early childhood schools in the district, in coordination with the Denton Record-Chronicle
- Coordinated with district and campus administrators as well as trustees to create school and personnel biographies featured on district websites and in printed materials
- Created new online submission system for annual teacher scholarship and grant applications for district foundation; managed submissions and created results documents for foundation director
- Served as district representative on two campus leadership teams, Adkins and Hodge elementary schools
- Assisted in coordination of events and committee meetings for district’s $312 million bond package, which passed with 68 percent approval in November 2013
- Assisted in organization and planning of district community relations programs and events, such as Adopt-A-School luncheons, teacher of the year receptions and campus rezoning meetings
- Provided website training and conduct workshops for teachers and district staff; served as technical support for website-related inquiries
- Set up website accounts for new employees within Schoolwires content management system; created website sections for new teachers and moved sections for transferred teachers
- Served as point of contact for entries and materials for 22 elementary schools for district’s annual Adopt-A-School essay and art contest
Frisco Enterprise Editor, May 2012 – August 2013
- Wrote articles and covered events such as government meetings, police incidents, speeches from U.S. congressmen and senators, groundbreakings, and gatherings
- Determined story placement, assigned articles and managed content for both the print and online editions of The Frisco Enterprise
- Managed company’s social media presence – created and managed Facebook pages for company’s 14 newspapers; created and managed four company Twitter accounts
- Created company’s editorial copy editing guidelines and served as one of two designated staff copy editors for all 14 company newspapers
- Handled website operations, including comment approval and tracking website traffic
- Supervised nine interns – assigned tasks and oversaw content creation and editing
- Wrote more than 300 news and feature articles that appeared in 14 local newspapers and one magazine
Media and Public Relations Coordinator, January 2010 – May 2010
- Served as primary media contact for A&M-Commerce men’s and women’s track and field teams; secondary contact for all other sports
- Wrote and distributed all news releases and meet articles for track and field teams
- Created university’s first track and field media guides in more than 10 years
- Maintained department website and social media pages (Facebook and Twitter)
- Corresponded with local businesses on sponsorship agreements, promotional arrangements and marketing material creation
- Assisted or led game-day operations and special event coordination for all sports
Education
Texas A&M University-Commerce (Commerce, Texas)
- B.S., Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations, summa cum laude, August 2009 (GPA: 4.00)
- M.S., Marketing, December 2011 (GPA: 3.92)
- Memberships: Alpha Chi Honor Society (inducted 2008), Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society (inducted 2011), Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (2007-09)
- Honors: Men’s Individual GPA Award Winner, Texas A&M University-Commerce Athletics (2007-08, 2008-09); Lone Star Conference Track & Field All-Academic Team (2007-08, 2008-09); NCAA Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award Winner (2007-08, 2008-09)
Honors & Involvement
- Texas School Public Relations Association member (2013-present)
- Texas School Public Relations Association Star Awards Winner (Best in Category & Gold, 2019 External Newsletter; Gold, 2017 Feature Writing; Gold, 2017 External Electronic Newsletter; Gold, 2015 Feature Writing; Silver, 2019 Feature Writing; Silver, 2015 Website Design; Silver, 2015 General Photography; Bronze, 2019 Magazine)
- National School Public Relations Association Award Winner (Award of Excellence, 2017 External Electronic Newsletter)
- Texas Social Media Research Institute Top-Ranked Regional School Twitter Account (2017 Region 11 School District Winner)