Communities In Schools Appoints Michael Bento Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communications

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Jun 07, 2010, 12:18 ET

ARLINGTON, Va., June 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Communities In Schools, the leading organization dedicated to empowering students to stay in school and achieve in life, today announced the appointment of Michael Bento to the newly created position of Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communications. Bento will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of a network-wide communications and marketing strategy for Communities In Schools.

"Mike brings a rare combination of both highly effective leadership skills and a deep commitment to Communities In Schools' mission and values," said Dan Cardinali, president of Communities In Schools. "Working with leaders at the national office and throughout our network, Mike will raise the profile of Communities In Schools so that we can serve more young people."

Bento joins Communities In Schools from his own consulting firm, where he worked on strategic marketing, communications, branding and fundraising counsel for nonprofit, government and corporate clients. Prior to starting his own firm, Bento served as senior vice president of the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America's national parks. There he was responsible for overseeing the launch of the National Park Pass, building the online constituent and donor base, directing cause-related marketing partnerships and providing strategic direction for relationships with key corporate partners. Earlier in his career Bento served as a senior vice president with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Georgetown University.

Communities In Schools surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. Through a school-based coordinator, Communities In Schools connects students and their families to critical community resources tailored to local needs. Working in nearly 3,300 schools in the most challenged communities, in 26 states and the District of Columbia, Communities In Schools serves more than 1.3 million young people and their families. It has become the nation's leading dropout prevention organization, and the only one proven to increase graduation rates and decrease dropout rates.

Visit our website at www.communitiesinschools.org.

SOURCE Communities In Schools