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Visiting communications chief urges trustees to treat storytelling as advocacy
Summary
Nicholas Brown of Prince George's County Memorial Library told the Dell Rapids board that trustees and staff should capture community stories and engage stakeholders proactively; he cited a $500,000 Chromebook program and more than $2 million raised for digital equity as examples.
The board watched a 'Short Takes' presentation on trustee advocacy and heard a live Q&A with Nicholas Brown, Chief Operating Officer for Communication and Outreach at Prince George's County Memorial Library. Brown emphasized that trustees should be active advocates who help staff mobilize support and that storytelling strengthens funding and policy appeals. "Storytelling is data as emotion," he said, urging local trustees to capture and amplify impact stories.
Brown described a strategic approach used in his system: build tools for regular board-staff communication, identify community events for trustee representation, and create mechanisms to capture customer testimonials for grant and advocacy use. He cited concrete results: a $500,000 private contribution for a Chromebook lending program and more than $2,000,000 raised for digital equity efforts over the past two years, which supported device circulation and staff hires.
