Meet The Salvation Army’s Senior Director of Marketing and Communications in the West

Through the magic of storytelling, Michael Padian aims to make new and lasting connections that transform lives.

After a nationwide search that drew more than 160 applicants, Michael Padian has joined The Salvation Army Western Territory as the new Senior Director of Marketing and Communications.

Padian brings extensive experience in communications and marketing leadership from higher education and corporate sectors. Most recently, he served as Director of Communications and Digital Marketing at West Coast University, where he expanded digital reach and engagement through integrated campaigns. Previously, he was Senior Manager of Corporate Communications at Southern California Edison, where he built an award-winning team and led high-profile campaigns, executive communications and thought leadership initiatives.

Known as a collaborative and thoughtful leader, Padian is described by colleagues as “one of the best leaders they’ve worked with”—a mentor who empowers teams while strengthening organizational mission and brand.

We recently caught up with Padian about his background, his philosophy of communication and his vision for the role ahead.

1. What drew you to this role with The Salvation Army?

There are a couple of things, but more than anything, it’s the chance to be a part of an organization whose mission is to serve, to give back, to help the most vulnerable among us. I won’t be on the front lines in our service centers on a daily basis, but I will have the chance to visit and volunteer and of course, my “day job” is to spread the word about that service. Just this week, I visited the Stillman Sawyer Family Service Center in Harbor City and the Red Shield in Long Beach, and I’m looking forward to more visits to come.

2. You’ve led teams across corporate, utility and educational settings. What lessons from those experiences will you bring into this new season?

I think the common thread that stitches all of those experiences to this one is viewing everything we do through the lens of the customer, or the student, or now in the case of The Salvation Army, the donor/volunteer/beneficiary of our services. That’s something I’m learning on the fly here, and the greatest source of learning has come from our own wonderful resources, from Caring Magazine to visiting our corps and service centers.

3. How do you see marketing and communications supporting The Salvation Army’s mission in the West?

We have so many moving and emotionally inspiring stories here. I mentioned my visit to Stillman; when I was there I learned about an individual The Salvation Army helped to recover from homelessness and addiction, and who is now “paying it forward” by teaching an HVAC class there to help lift up those coming in behind him—and our job is to ensure that these stories are told and that they are effectively distributed not just to those familiar with The Salvation Army, but also and maybe especially those who are not. Nothing made me feel more accomplished in my previous position than when a prospective student would send us a note that they’d just read a story about a student, they saw themselves in that story and that inspired them to enroll. Now that I’m here, I can’t wait to see and experience those same kinds of revelations as we hopefully, through the magic of storytelling, make new and lasting connections that transform lives.

4. What is your leadership philosophy when it comes to building high-performing teams?

This is my favorite topic, and I could easily use up all the time we have talking about it, but for the sake of the space we have, let me just say that first and foremost, I am someone who prioritizes more than anything strong values, honesty and integrity, and treating everyone on the team and in the organization with respect. These are foundational.

And then in terms of the work, across the team, it’s critical to set a clear vision for where we’re going and how we’re going to get there; and individually, to figure out what each person needs to achieve their goals, get them the resources they need to achieve those goals, and then get out of the way and let them leverage their expertise and creativity to figure out the best way to get there. Some people do need a little more attention, and it’s important to be tuned into that, but in my experience, most of the people I’ve worked with thrive when given the space and freedom to do their work, and so that’s my default position.

5. What are your priorities in these first months?

To learn as much as I can about The Salvation Army as fast as I can. Like a journalist assigned to a story with a pressing deadline, I will be working every possible source for information and, fortunately, I’ve already made many great connections across the Community Relations and Development team—and beyond. And not surprisingly, given the culture here, everyone has been incredibly generous in sharing information about their respective areas of expertise, about how their work and my own may intersect, and of course about the Army and its donors and those individuals who are in need of, and who benefit from, the Army’s many programs and services.

6. And finally—what’s something people might not know about you?

I love to read. And while I do read traditional novels, both recent ones and classics, the books I’m most drawn to are non-fiction across a range of topics from things like space and U.S. history to building and engineering. The book I just finished, “The Great Bridge,” about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, combines a couple of those interests, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who’s ever looked at a bridge or a skyscraper and wondered how in the world did they ever build that?

Do Good:

• It’s because of people like you that The Salvation Army can serve more than 27 million Americans in need each year. Your gift helps fight for good all year in your community. It’s an effort to build well-being for all of us, so together we rise—and that good starts with you. Give to spread hope with a donation of funds, goods or time today.