Marketing director departs for new role

Kimberly Schauer, director of Asante Communications and Marketing since February 2020, will leave Asante to join Corvallis-based Samaritan Health Services as vice president of Marketing and Communications. Her last day is Friday.

Schauer joined Asante just as COVID-19 landed in Oregon and employees serving in support functions were sent home to work. Leading a remote staff of 10, Schauer oversaw the team’s work on COVID-related communications, which included publishing a daily digital newsletter, a special COVID-19 web hub, videos and hundreds of printed materials needed for Asante facilities and testing sites.

She also led her team to develop a successful public campaign urging the community to get vaccinated.

During her tenure, Schauer reorganized the department, adding a marketing manager position to focus on key service lines, and hiring a digital strategist to better connect Asante with the community it serves. A major accomplishment included implementing a paperless data management and workflow system to store materials and manage marketing requests.

She also conceived of Asante’s employee blog, Asante New Online, which expanded employees’ access to timely news and information through any mobile device.

For the past two years, Schauer has helped revitalize Asante’s brand campaign, which emphasizes Asante’s deep roots in the community. The latest iteration of the Community Lives Here campaign — her final contribution to Asante — will be rolled out this summer.

Under Schauer’s collaborative leadership, the department earned eight national and international creative awards for 2021.

“She’s added an incredibly solid foundation in marketing and public relations,” said Dennie Conrad, chief strategy officer, who oversees Communications and Marketing. “She’s been an amazing contributor and a sense of stability and reason during these challenging times.”

Conrad and others will be interviewing candidates to fill the director position.