Fayetteville Technical Community College is pleased to announce Valerie Newton as the executive director of marketing and communications.

She started in the position Oct. 1, succeeding Catherine Pritchard, who retired at the end of August.

Newton is a North Carolina native who has called the Fayetteville area home for more than 30 years. She brings two decades of leadership experience in education with prominent roles in marketing, communications and public relations.

"We are thrilled to welcome Valerie Newton to the Fayetteville Tech family and campus,” FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells said in a press release. “With her extensive expertise in marketing and deep experience in the education sector, we are fortunate to have such a skilled professional join our team. Her vision and leadership will undoubtedly elevate our institution’s presence and inspire meaningful connections with our community."

Newton said she’s grateful for the opportunity to take on new challenges and support the continued growth of the college.

“It's an incredible opportunity to collaborate with a talented team of community college leaders, support our students and share the stories of all the incredible things happening in higher education,” she said in a press release.

Newton was most recently the director of communications, marketing and community engagement for Sampson County Schools, where she was responsible for shaping system-wide communications and brand strategy.

She exercised varied skills while leading the system’s successful Cognia reaccreditation, overseeing a district-wide branding and website overhaul and authoring, securing and managing more than $76 million in grant funding.

Prior to her four-year stint with Sampson County Schools, Newton served for 15 years as the public relations and communications director for the Bladen County Public School District.

She oversaw all marketing, communications, crisis response and community outreach for the district, which includes 13 schools and serves 5,000 students.

Newton has served since 2022 as president of the North Carolina School Public Relations Association, a statewide professional association overseeing more than 100 school public relations leaders. She earned her bachelor's degree in marketing from N.C. Wesleyan College.