R-J parent names marketing director

Kelly Travis, director of magazines for Review-Journal parent company Stephens Media, has been named marketing director for all of the company's Nevada publications.

Travis, who will continue as director of magazines, moves into a position that has been vacant for more than two years.

"Kelly will be responsible for all marketing, advertising and promotion of the Review-Journal and our Nevada properties,'' said Review-Journal Publisher Bob Brown. "Her competitive fire and understanding of the digital and print marketplace will be a valuable advantage for our company."

In her new role, Travis will evaluate each department of the Review-Journal to find ways to raise its public profile and potential to generate revenue. She will report directly to Brown.

For example, she will work with the advertising department to mine databases in order to find the best advertising prospects, she said Tuesday.

She also will work with circulation to find ways to put more copies of publications in the hands of readers and to seek partnerships with other companies or groups for joint promotional activities.

Travis, 31, joined Stephens Media in 2006 as a retail sales representative in niche markets. Since then, she has been promoted several times, rising to a division sales manager position in 2010.

Last September, she was named director of magazines.

A native of the Detroit suburb of Livonia, Travis graduated from Central Michigan University in 2003 with a degree in public health, specializing in mental health.

For the three years afterward, Travis was in social work, primarily helping adolescents and young adults, particularly those in the foster care system, overcome problems such as drug and alcohol abuse.