Erin D. Fessler, Vice President of Marketing & Community/Government Relations

Erin Doolin Fessler joined The Erie Community Foundation as the Marketing and Public Relations Director in 2004. In 2012, she was named Vice President of Marketing and Communications, and in 2016 she was named Vice President of Marketing and Community/Government Relations.

She is responsible for two major Foundation signature events: the ECF Annual Meeting and the Annual Erie Gives. Erie Gives was recognized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals as an outstanding philanthropic event. Erin serves as the liaison for the Foundation’s government relations. With her team, she manages the Foundation’s advertising, media relations, press conferences, newsletters, annual reports, electronic communications and website.

Erin earned her B.S. degree in Communications with a minor in Psychology from John Carroll University. After graduation, she worked as the Promotions Assistant at WSEE TV 35, the Public Relations Director for the Community Blood Bank, and Assistant Vice President in Corporate Communications for PNC Bank. During college, she worked for University Hospitals in Cleveland and CNN in Washington, D.C., where she ran camera for Larry King.

In service to her community, she serves as a board member of the YMCA Metro Board, the Hamot Health Foundation Board of Corporators and as a member of the Erie Regional Chamber & Growth Partnership’s Government Relations Committee, Erie's Global Friends-a chapter of the AAUW, the Erie Women’s Fund of The Erie Community Foundation, and the John Carroll Alumni Association.

Erin is a founding board member of the NWPA chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. She served as treasurer in 2012 and 2013, and in 2014 she was the chapter President. She is a past board member and secretary of the Erie Advertising Club, past marketing committee member for Camp Notre Dame, and former golf coach for Saint Peter Cathedral Grade School.

In 2024, she was honored as a Woman Making History by Mercy Center for Women. In 2021, she was honored and named “Community Relations Person of the Year” during the Niagara Awards of the PRSA NWPA Chapter.

In her spare time, Erin enjoys time with family and friends either at the beach, cycling around the Peninsula, playing golf, traveling to new places or simply meeting up for a fun night.

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