Sarah Mealey has been hired to serve as director of communications for the archdiocese.

A graduate of Kansas State and the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, Mealey has more than 20 years of marketing and strategic communications experience in the private sector.

“Sarah brings a wealth of experience and a deep love for her Catholic faith,” Archbishop John Nienstedt said in a statement emailed to archdiocesan employees March 19.

“As we continue to realize our 2010 strategic plan, Sarah’s combination of professional excellence as well as her appreciation for the mission of the church will serve the archdiocese well,” he added.

A life-long Catholic, Mealey, her husband, Patrick, who is a Catholic Spirit board member, and their four children attend Holy Family in St. Louis Park.

Mealey, a recent graduate of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute, has served on several boards, including St. Paul’s Outreach, St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, Holy Family Church, the Center of the American Experiment, Our Lady of Grace School in Edina and Project for Pride in Living, according to a bio on the St. Paul’s Outreach website.

She also has volunteered with Feed My Starving Children, Habitat for Humanity and Catholic Charities, the SPO website says.

“It is an enormous blessing to have this opportunity to serve our local church as its communications director,” Mealey said in the archdiocesan statement. “In many ways, the sum of my life’s experience, both personal and professional, has prepared me for this service.”

Mealey will lead the archdiocese’s strategic integration of its print, web and social media efforts.

“One of our most important goals,” Mealey is quoted, “is to create a more cohesive and compelling voice as a local church, united throughout this archdiocese in the one mission to make Christ known and loved, with joy and charity.”