Sarah Thompson Herron
With nearly two decades of experience in communications, marketing, and digital strategy, Sarah brings deep expertise across the full spectrum of earned, owned, and paid media. 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 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 public relations, community engagement strategy, cause marketing, government relations, executive presentations, internal communications, and project management.
Throughout her career, she has served as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, navigating complex communications ecosystems and providing leadership 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. She led HGTV Magazine's online conversion, generating millions of pageviews and surpassing online subscription goals.
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 an 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 her neighbors and the city she calls home.
A Knoxville native and graduate of Karns High School, she earned a Bachelor of Science in mass communications with a concentration in journalism from East Tennessee State University. Sarah has called Maryville home since 2005 and is the mother of two sons, Andy and Adam.
The Herron Group
Strategic Marketing Outsourcing & Expert Network
Along the way, Sarah has collaborated with some of the most talented writers, editors, graphic designers, social media managers, MarTech experts and developers in the industry. Through The Herron Group, she can assemble a trusted network of contractors tailored to each client’s unique goals, delivering results that align with their business objectives.
Sarah also helps organizations identify the right marketing agency and vendors for their specific needs, budget, and brand. She handles the heavy lifting by developing a customized evaluation process, managing the RFP, and ensuring contracts fully protect her clients’ interests.