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CAP Taps New Senior Director of Marketing and Strategic Communications, Creative Director
Civil Air Patrol, the 83-year-old civilian auxiliary branch of the U.S. Air Force, has named Brad Nolan, broadcast industry changemaker, iHeart Media Executive Producer, podcast host and nationally known media personality, as its new senior director of marketing and strategic communications. Matt Borrelli, award-winning brand consultant and multi-media graphic designer, has been hired as creative director.
With a unique skill set honed from a 25-plus-year marketing, communications, and broadcast production career, Nolan will bring a fresh perspective to the organization.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Brad Nolan to the team,” Kristina Jones, chief growth officer, said. “As a former cadet and current member, Brad speaks the CAP experience with authenticity and passion. His strategic mindset and deep understanding of our mission is exactly what we need to convey our stories, amplify our voice, and expand our reach across the country.”
A nationally recognized on-air personality, podcast creator, and executive producer, Nolan’s shows have touched lives from small towns to Hollywood.
“It’s a rare moment in a career when you can combine a lifelong love, CAP, with what you do for work,” Nolan said. Citing Civil Air Patrol’s mission of saving lives and shaping futures as an example, he said: “We tell communities we help people, and they will want to be involved. The moment people see what we actually do, they are all in.”
“CAP impacts four generations of volunteers, and telling their stories is going to be an honor”
He added that the landscape of recruitment and retention of volunteers, cadets, and donors has changed. “We’re not just competing with other nonprofits — we’re competing with Hulu and Fortnite. Civil Air Patrol has so many stories to tell — of the cadets, of the volunteers, of saving lives. It’s time for the world to see the life-changing work happening here.”
His career in radio began at 12 years old in Pennsylvania as an on-air host at WEXC. Nolan’s climb included podcasting before it was cool and social media when it was weird. Over the 25-plus years, he has been a changemaker and fixer of wayward brands.
At iHeart Media, as an executive producer for a national brand, he was given the opportunity to grow podcast numbers into the millions, develop talent, and build systems teams could thrive in.
Matt Borrelli is a former consultant and award-winning creative director creating advertisements, designs, and marketing and brand campaigns for agencies and corporations.
“Matt will be a force-multiplier in our efforts at Civil Air Patrol. He brings with him a fresh, specialized, and needed lens into the world. Anything feels possible,” Nolan said. “We are excited to have Matt on board.”
A communications design graduate of Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Borrelli also has a degree in multimedia design from Lehigh Carbon Community College.
“Civil Air Patrol has many stories of service, saving lives, impacting futures. I want to dig deep into that legacy and tell those stories in ways that will compel people to become involved, to interact with Civil Air Patrol,” Borrelli said.
“We save lives. What’s more important than that?” he added.
“The more we communicate the value CAP provides, the more people in more communities we can reach and impact. The more we can tell our story utilizing consistent messaging, the more lives we can save and shape, that’s what’s critical,” he said.
Civil Air Patrol saves lives, shapes the futures of young people, and serves its communities. As Nolan said, “We can no longer be the world’s best-kept secret. It’s time for people to understand how much good we do here.”
Founded Dec. 1, 1941, to mobilize the nation's civilian aviation resources for national defense service, CAP has evolved into a premier public service organization assisting with search and rescue operations by providing mission-capable aircraft, a national small Unmanned Aircraft Systems fleet, specialized communications networks, imaging capabilities, and a cost-effective force of trained volunteers for missions nationwide. CAP operates in all 50 states, Puerto Rico (including the U.S. Virgin Islands), and the District of Columbia.
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Julia L. Martin
Contributing Writer