Saint Martin’s names new director of community relations and
event management
November 23, 2011
LACEY,
WASHINGTON —Saint Martin’s University has appointed Sarah
Holdener (née Younkin) to the newly created post of director of
community relations and event management.
A current Saint Martin’s employee, Holdener comes to the
Office of Marketing and Communications from the Office of
International Programs and Development. In her most recent role,
she oversaw the coordination of the University’s summer cultural
exchange programs, a series of events involving 10 programs and
180 international students.
Holdener has also been a key planner of the Saint Martin's
University Dragon Boat Festival, an annual event in late April
that draws more than 6,000 spectators and 32 racing teams.
A graduate of Leadership Thurston County, Holdener has
networked extensively in the community. She recently teamed with
the executive director of the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater Visitor and
Convention Bureau to develop and implement a new business
project in which visiting Chinese business students assessed 12
of Thurston County’s top tourist attractions and learned U.S.
business operations.
“We are delighted to have Sarah accept the position and join
our team,” says Jennifer Fellinger, Saint Martin’s vice
president of marketing and communications. “Sarah brings great
enthusiasm to this role and will work to ensure Saint Martin’s
events and partnerships, both on and off campus, meet the
mission, vision and direction of the University.”
Says Holdener, “I am very much looking forward to serving our
community in this new capacity. I aim to grow the Saint
Martin’s family through events and partnerships that generate
positive interactions and reflect the best of this university.”
Holdener earned her degree in foreign language and
international affairs at the University of Puget Sound.
In her new role, Holdener will work with members of the Saint
Martin’s community to plan, coordinate and manage University
events, and collaborate within the broader external community to
build strong relationships and partnerships for the University.
Holdener officially assumed her new role at Saint Martin’s on
Nov. 15.
Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year,
coeducational university located on a 380-acre wooded campus in
Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of
Saint Benedict, the University is one of 14 Benedictine colleges
and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only
one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University
prepares students for successful lives through its 21 majors and
six graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business,
education and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes 1,250
students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its main
campus, and 650 more to its extension campuses located at Joint
Base Lewis-McChord, Everett College, Centralia College and
Tacoma Community College. Visit the Saint Martin’s University
website at www.stmartin.edu.
For additional information:
Sarah Holdener
Director of community relations and event management
Office of Marketing and Communications
Saint Martin’s University
sholdener@stmartin.edu