Sarah Thompson Herron
With nearly two decades of experience in communications, marketing, and digital strategy, Sarah brings deep expertise across the full media spectrum of earned, owned, and paid. She is known for her ability to turn complex ideas into clear, compelling campaigns and for building strategic frameworks that elevate brands, engage communities, and drive measurable results.
Sarah founded the Herron Group in 2017 to serve as a consultant, collaborator and referral partner.
She serves as a strategic advisor and a high-level outsourcing resource to national corporations, nonprofits and small businesses. Sarah excels at creating effective, data-informed marketing and communications plans. Her services also include PR, government relations, brand messaging, executive presentations and digital marketing project management.
Throughout her career, she has served as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, navigating complex communications ecosystems and leading high-performing teams across private and public sectors.
Sarah served as the Director of Marketing and Communications for Friends of the Smokies, the philanthropic partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. During her tenure, she developed and executed a marketing and communications strategy that resulted in record-breaking fundraising outcomes and sold-out events. She acted as the primary communications lead for the organization, drafting high-profile messaging for executive leadership and managing multimedia efforts that highlighted the organization’s impact across East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.
Sarah dedicated a year to help launch the Alliance for Better Nonprofits, a regional resource and training center serving 25 counties in East Tennessee. She served as Director of Communications to develop ABN’s brand, voice and digital infrastructure, including the website and integrated technology platforms that remained central to operations until its merger with United Way of Greater Knoxville in 2022.
Following the center’s opening, she was named one of Knoxville’s Top 5 Outstanding Young Professionals, receiving the inaugural YPK Community Impact Award.
Prior to ABN, Sarah spent several years at Scripps Networks Interactive, where she managed digital platforms and content strategies for HGTV and Great American Country. During her tenure, she helped lead the digital transition for HGTV Magazine and developed SEO and social media strategies that generated record-breaking web traffic.
A storyteller at heart, Sarah began her communications career as a reporter and columnist for The Daily Times, covering human interest stories and community events. She served as assistant editor and community reporter for Blount Today, where she also created the niche publication and online community Blount Moms.
In addition to her professional work, Sarah is a dedicated public servant in her community. In 2020, she became the first woman elected to the Maryville City Council and was reelected to a second term in 2024. Her work as a council member allows her to apply her expertise in community engagement and strategic communication to serve to serve her neighbors and the city she calls home.
A Knoxville native and graduate of Karns High School, Herron earned a Bachelor of Science in mass communications with a concentration in journalism from East Tennessee State University. She has called Maryville home since 2005 and is the mother of two sons, Andy and Adam.
The Herron Group
Along the way, Sarah has collaborated with some of the most talented writers, editors, photographers, producers, designers, and developers in the industry. Through the Herron Group, she can activate a trusted network of creative professionals—tailored to meet each client’s unique goals and deliver results that align with business objectives.