The Portland Trail Blazers have appointed Sarah Mensah to the position of Chief Marketing Officer, President Larry Miller announced today.

A Trail Blazers employee since 1993, Mensah has served as the organization’s Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for the past two seasons.

"Sarah is one of the driving forces behind our success," Miller said. "We anticipate selling out all 41 games this season, we’ve added several new corporate partners and interest in the Trail Blazers is higher than it has been in a long time. Her leadership has been - and will continue to be - instrumental in growing our business."

Mensah’s expanded role will include oversight of all Trail Blazers marketing, ticket sales, corporate partnership, broadcast, production and game operations functions.

Under her direction last season, the Trail Blazers had the NBA’s top attendance percentage increase while gaining national acclaim for the "Rise With Us" marketing campaign that debuted with an encouragement to fans to ‘honk’ their preference for Greg Oden or Kevin Durant in the 2007 NBA Draft.

A Portland native, Mensah originally joined the franchise as a corporate sales manager, and has overseen corporate sales functions since 2001.

The mother of an autistic child, Mensah is a passionate advocate for local and statewide efforts supporting autism research and awareness. She also serves as the Vice Chair of the Portland Schools Foundation, on the board of directors for the Urban League of Portland and on the United Way annual giving fund campaign.

This past year Mensah received a Portland Business Journal "Orchid Award" for outstanding women in business and also helped establish a Portland chapter of the National Association of Black Sports Professionals.

A graduate of the University of Oregon, Mensah holds degrees in journalism and telecommunications. Prior to joining the Trail Blazers she worked at KGW-8, KINK FM