2022 AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education

Seth Bodnar

Keynote Speaker

Seth Bodnar currently serves as the 19th president of the University of Montana where he works alongside students, faculty, staff and the community to ensure students from all walks of life and backgrounds have access to a quality education that prepares them for successful careers and lives as engaged, service-minded citizens.

Before coming to the University of Montana, President Bodnar was a senior executive at the General Electric Company, serving as its first-ever Chief Digital Officer and leading GE Transportation’s Digital Solutions business. Prior to GE, President Bodnar served on faculty at West Point where he taught economics.

President Bodnar graduated first in his class from West Point, received both the Rhodes and Truman scholarships, and earned two master’s degrees from the University of Oxford. President Bodnar had a distinguished military career, serving in the 101st Airborne Division and the U.S. Army’s First Special Forces Group. As a member of the Army’s elite Green Berets, he commanded a Special Forces detachment on multiple deployments around the world and later served as a special assistant to the Commanding General in Iraq.

President Bodnar is the son of two educators and the husband of a fifth-generation Montanan. He is very proud to be raising three kids in Montana, and he considers it a great honor to be working on behalf of public education in such a special place.

Andrew Davis

Keynote Speaker

Andrew Davis is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker. Before building and selling a thriving digital marketing agency, Andrew produced for NBC’s Today Show, worked for The Muppets in New York and wrote for Charles Kuralt. He’s appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and on NBC and the BBC. Davis has crafted documentary films and award-winning content for tiny start-ups and Fortune 500 brands. Recognized as one of the industry’s “Jaw-Dropping Marketing Speakers,” Andrew is a mainstay on global marketing influencer lists. Wherever he goes, Andrew Davis puts his infectious enthusiasm and magnetic speaking style to good use teaching business leaders how to grow their businesses, transform their cities, and leave their legacy.

Reginald DesRoches

Keynote Speaker

Reginald DesRoches is Rice University’s eighth president. He also serves as professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and professor of Mechanical Engineering. As president, DesRoches serves as the chief executive officer of the university and its 7,500 students, seven schools and more than 700 faculty. He previously served as Rice’s Howard Hughes Provost and William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering. DesRoches’ primary research interests are in the design of resilient infrastructure systems under extreme loads and the application of smart materials. He has published approximately 300 articles and delivered more than 100 presentations in over 30 different countries. He also has mentored more than 30 doctoral students, many of whom hold faculty positions at top universities around the world.

A member of the National Academy of Engineering, DesRoches’ distinctive research record has been recognized for its impact and innovation. He is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Structural Engineering Institute. He received the Distinguished Arnold Kerr Lecturer Award in 2019, the John A. Blume Distinguished Lecturer Award in 2018, and the 2018 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Distinguished Lecturer Award, one of the highest honors in the field of earthquake engineering. DesRoches is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni in Civil Engineering at Berkeley and was recently named an honorary alumnus of Georgia Tech.

Vincent Rougeau

Keynote Speaker

Vincent D. Rougeau, a nationally respected expert in legal education and Catholic social thought, became the 33rd president of Holy Cross in July 2021.

He previously served as dean of the Boston College Law School and the inaugural director of the new Boston College Forum on Racial Justice in America, a meeting place for listening, dialogue, and greater understanding about race and racism in America. Prior to his role at Boston College, Rougeau was a tenured professor of law at Notre Dame Law School, and served as their associate dean for Academic Affairs from 1999-2002.

Rougeau has written extensively on law and religions with a particular focus on Catholic social teaching and the law. His book “Christians in the American Empire: Faith and Citizenship in the New World Order” was released by Oxford University Press in 2008. His current research and writing consider the relationships among religious identity, citizenship, and membership in highly mobile and increasingly multicultural democratic societies.

A vocal advocate for change in legal education, Rougeau writes and speaks extensively on legal education reform. He is a former president of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), and previously served as a member of the Executive Committee of AALS, and as chair of the AALS Deans Steering Committee. He has also served on the Council of the Boston Bar Association.

Rougeau received his A.B. magna cum laude from Brown University in 1985, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1988, where he served as articles editor of the Harvard Human Rights Journal.

Alan Stein, Jr.

Keynote Speaker

Alan Stein, Jr. teaches proven strategies to improve organizational performance, create effective leadership, increase team cohesion and collaboration, and develop winning mindsets, rituals, and routines.

In his corporate keynote programs and workshops, Alan shares real-world lessons, illustrated by powerful stories, so that every audience can immediately put new ideas into action. He has a passion for helping organizations create high-performance cultures, and his clients include American Express, Pepsi, Under Armour, Starbucks, Charles Schwab, Orangetheory Fitness, and numerous college athletic programs such as Penn State Football and UConn Men’s Basketball.

An acclaimed basketball performance coach, Alan spent 15 years working with the highest-performing athletes on the planet (including NBA superstars Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Kobe Bryant). He transfers that knowledge to reveal how leaders and teams can utilize the same approaches in business that elite athletes use to perform at a world-class level.

The strategies from Alan’s book, Raise Your Game: High Performance Secrets from the Best of the Best, are implemented by corporate teams and sports teams around the country. His inspirational words are featured on a 12-foot mural outside the Penn State Football Training Center, so that players run past it on the way to practice every day.

Tania Tetlow

Keynote Speaker

Tania Tetlow became president of Fordham University in July 2022, where she is the first layperson and the first woman to hold the office.

President Tetlow was the 17th president of Loyola University New Orleans. She was the first woman and the first layperson to lead Loyola since the Society of Jesus founded the university in 1912. President Tetlow was also the fourth, as well as the youngest, woman to lead one of the 27 colleges and universities in the U.S. that make up the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. She joined Loyola in August 2018 and during her tenure ushered in a new and exciting era at the Jesuit, Catholic university.

Under her leadership, Loyola successfully completed a turnaround after the most challenging period in its financial history, improving its bond rating and repositioning university finances through careful budgeting, increased retention, continued enrollment growth, and expansion of online, graduate, and professional programs. President Tetlow oversaw the completion of Loyola’s $100 million Faith in the Future campaign, the most ambitious fundraising campaign in its history.

Prior to joining Loyola, President Tetlow served as senior vice president and chief of staff as well as the Felder-Fayard Professor of Law at Tulane University, where she was a strategic adviser to President Michael Fitts. As a law professor, President Tetlow’s research helped persuade the Department of Justice to reimagine its regulation of constitutional policing. She also directed Tulane’s Domestic Violence Law Clinic for which she raised millions of dollars in federal grant funds.

Before her career in academia, President Tetlow was an associate at Phelps Dunbar, litigating complex commercial transactions. She also served as an assistant United States attorney, prosecuting everything from violent crime to fraud cases.

President Tetlow graduated cum laude from Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies and is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, where she earned a Juris Doctor degree and was a Harry S. Truman Fellow. A Catholic who was born in New York and grew up in New Orleans, President Tetlow has deep family ties to the Jesuits and to Fordham, where her parents met as graduate students in the late 1960s.

Shelley Willingham

Keynote Speaker

Shelley Willingham is an entrepreneur, marketer, business strategist, and Certified Diversity Executive. She currently leads the business strategy and partnership efforts at The Diversity Movement, which she joined in August of 2020.

Shelley began her work in diversity In 2003 when she founded the National Organization for Diversity in Sales and Marketing (NODSM), a company focused on helping corporate America recognize the increasing purchasing power of diverse segments. Additionally, NODSM helped organizations effectively market to these groups without using stereotypes or being offensive. Some of her clients included Merrill Lynch, Young & Rubicam, Allstate Insurance, American Family Insurance, and Turner Broadcasting. Because of her success in the diversity space, Shelley was asked to partner with FORTUNE Magazine on a special diversity section in 2006.

Outside of her work at The Diversity Movement, Shelley owns Douglas Alexandra, a digital marketing and brand activation firm focused on helping entrepreneurs and small businesses. Shelley also shares her expertise by speaking at various non-profit and business events and facilitating sales trainings, marketing workshops, and leadership conferences. She’s also a frequent on-air contributor to CNBC and MSNBC and contributor to Forbes.

She’s been a featured presenter at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, the Kenan-Flagler School of Business, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She’s delivered keynote presentations to several flagship organizations including, Allstate, Merrill Lynch, GE, various women’s business groups, and leadership summits globally.

Shelley is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her master’s degree at Northeastern University. Shelley is active in the community as a board of visitors member for The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, advisory board member for the Alexander YMCA, and DEI advisory group member for the American Marketing Association, member of Jack and Jill of America, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Jamie Ballinger

Anice Rodrigues Barbosa

Anice Rodrigues Barbosa graduated from the University of Rhode Island’s Harrington School of Communication and Media with dual degrees in public relations and communication studies. In her early career, Anice worked for a full-service marketing firm as a social media manager to develop community-building digital strategies for companies large and small.

She joined Wheaton College in 2014 as the alumni communications coordinator and later transitioned to social media manager where she crafted and executed the social media strategy across all platforms. Recently, she was promoted to digital marketing director where she leads web and social media strategy teams.

Kimberly Taylor-Benns

Kimberly Taylor-Benns, Ed.D. serves as Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management at La Salle University in Philadelphia. Dr. Taylor-Benns oversees the areas of Admissions, Enrollment Operations and Financial Aid. Previously serving as Associate Provost at Lincoln University, PA, she led Admissions, Financial Aid, Veterans and Registrar, implementing strategies to increase and sustain enrollment from 2015-2021. Kimberly also served in various enrollment areas at Temple University and Community College of Philadelphia. In addition, Dr. Taylor-Benns has presented at regional conferences and served on higher education panels. Kimberly is a three-time graduate of Temple University: she holds an B.A. in Communications, a M.A. in African American Studies and an Ed. D. in Higher Education Administration and Leadership. Her dissertation a pragmatic “ Exploration of Faculty and Administrators’ Perception of Enrollment Management Components at a Historically Black College and University”. Kimberly is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.

Aaron Blau

Aaron leads the Higher Education practice at Primacy, where he is responsible for helping make college and university partners successful. Before working at education-focused agencies, Aaron worked for the University of Iowa in digital marketing leadership roles in athletics and academics.

R. Ethan Braden

R. Ethan Braden serves as Executive Vice President and the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Purdue University and Purdue Global. Ranked as one of the Top Ten Most Innovative Schools in America by US News and World Report for four consecutive years, Ethan leads the system in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap by passionately positioning, promoting and protecting the Purdue brand and portfolio worldwide.

In October 2021, Fast Company Magazine selected Purdue University as one of its inaugural “Brands That Matter,” a list honoring companies and organizations that authentically communicate their mission and ideals and give people compelling reasons to care about them, according to Fast Company editors. The only university and the only Indiana entity named a Brand That Matters, Purdue was selected alongside other iconic brands including Nike, 3M, McDonald’s, Ford and Yeti.

In 2020, the American Marketing Association recognized Ethan as ‘Marketer of the Year’ and Purdue University’s central marketing and communications team as ‘Team of the Year’, both for higher education.

Previous to Purdue, Ethan worked for Eli Lilly & Company for over a decade where he served in a variety of senior marketing and sales leadership roles in the U.S. and globally, building, launching and managing some of Lilly’s and the pharmaceutical industry’s most successful and life-changing, billion-dollar brands.

Kelsey Bronski

Kelsey brings the entrepreneurial mindset she developed at Babson College to everything she does. As a marketer, she’s always asking, “how can this be better?” At Perkins School for the Blind, she leads the marketing effort for Perkins Access, the digital accessibility consulting team that is making the digital world a more inclusive place, one digital experience at a time. When she’s not breaking down accessibility barriers, you can find her on Peloton’s leaderboard.

Meaghan Cahill-Dunn

Meaghan Cahill-Dunn is a member of the digital team and secures new partnerships with institutions and helps execute digital campaigns from media planning, copy and creative advisement, optimization recommendations and analysis. Ms. Cahill-Dunn comes to the table with over 15 years of experience in media sales and marketing experience spanning broadcast, digital and experiential, holding positions at CBS Radio, Monster.com as well as positions at publishers and agencies in business development. She has been responsible for securing relationships with major institutions and brands to create and execute thoughtful and impactful campaigns nationally. Ms. Cahill-Dunn received her BA in Journalism from Dominican University and lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Christie Campbell

Christie Campbell, Vice President for Marketing and Communications at St. Edward’s University, joined the university in 2012 as Associate Vice President of Marketing with experience in education, non-profit and technology. Her expertise includes implementing integrated marketing strategies and successfully developing talented teams. At St. Edward’s, Christie oversees the marketing, communications, government and community relations and chairs the university planning council and external advisory board to increase engagement, attract resources and achieve the university’s strategic goals.

Jessica Corliss

Jessica Corliss is the Creative Director at the University of Iowa—creating a vision for the Iowa brand and leading a talented team of creatives to bring it to life. She has ten years of experience in higher education that spans big and small institutions, with prior experience in healthcare marketing and brand development. With a background in graphic design, Jessica likes to spend her free time designing stationery or doodling on her iPad. She is a proud graduate of Texas State University and the mother of two girls who always keeps her on her toes.

Dana Cruikshank

Dana Cruikshank is the Vice President for Market Strategy at VisionPoint Marketing. Dana brings to our clients a rich portfolio of diverse experiences in marketing and media. At Virginia Tech, he guided communications and marketing for a $60 million grant funded by the U.S. Army to promote STEM education and helped develop branding strategies for the university’s Continuing and Professional Education office. He previously worked as an associate producer creating the Discovery Channel’s international websites and served as a strategic communications advisor to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As a senior media officer at the National Science Foundation, he created strategies and content explaining nanotechnology, cybersecurity and other subjects.

Yasin Id-Deen

Yasin Id-Deen has spent the last fifteen years in the digital space, primarily focusing on social media marketing and communications, spending most of those years in higher education. Bouncing from one university to the next, starting at the University of Michigan, then Stanford Graduate School of Business, then Samuel Merritt University and now at UC Berkeley–creating sustainable and innovative social media strategies along the way while making stops in some obscure places, like a NASCAR team; Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, and a storage company; yes, even your storage space has a place on social media. Throughout his career, he has held many roles from coordinator to content-creator, content manager and strategist; and now as the Director of Social Media at UC Berkeley.

Grant De Roo

As ADV’s founder and principal consultant, Grant designs, executes and delivers market research solutions for clients. Grant believes in the transformative power of a college education, and has spent his career in higher education as both a practitioner and consultant. Before founding ADV, Grant was the Director of Research & Strategy at an education-focused marketing agency. Before that, Grant worked in admissions at Elon University.

Rashida Dinehart

Rashida Dinehart is MediaCross’ Director of Client Service and has supported the strategy and relationship with the University of Pittsburgh for more than two years. Rashida uses her 10+ years of marketing and agency experience with various industries to anticipate shifting market trends and quickly provide thoughtful, unprompted strategic recommendations that integrate effective traditional and digital approaches with all of MediaCross’ higher education clients.

Holly Duncan

As the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Converse University, Holly Duncan oversees the day-to-day and strategic management of marketing and advertising, website design and content, social media, media relations and crisis communications. She came to Converse in July 2019 to strategically guide the 130+-year-old historically women’s institution through its rebranding process as it announced plans to admit men into its undergraduate residential cohort and change its name from College to University. Her mission-driven, customer-focused and data-powered approach has proven successful in guiding organizations towards relevancy, sustainability and profitability. Her 16+ year career spans corporate, nonprofit and agency settings with concentrations in brand marketing, consumer marketing and strategic partnerships. Holly earned her MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business school where she was a Social Enterprise Fellow with an emphasis on sustainable business and women’s initiatives. She is currently pursuing her EdD in Professional Leadership at Converse.

Alexandra Eusner

Alexandra Eusner is currently Head of Industry, Education at Google, supporting Higher Ed institutions in reaching their goals and expanding education access to students across the globe. Previously, she was a Strategy and Insights Manager where she led research efforts to drive cutting edge insights and thought leadership to help 100+ clients identify their strongest growth opportunities. Before Google, Alexandra spent her career in advertising at PHD and Mullen Mediahub agencies, designing the most creative and effective media strategies for various clients including Harry Winston, MailChimp, VH1 and National Geographic Channel. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Advertising from Boston University.

Alexandra resides in Manhattan with her husband and rescue pup.

Kristen Everett

Kristen Everett is Mindpower’s Associate Creative Director. She supports the creative strategy for all Mindpower’s clients and oversees the agency’s content and digital projects – from major web redesigns to story collection to creative content development to social media strategy. She helps clients think smarter about content and shape the strategy for bringing brands, campaigns and stories to life across all platforms. In her spare time, she can be found making her way through stories (podcasts, books, shows, movies) and Atlanta’s ample food scene.

Laura Martin Fedich

With more than 30 years of higher education enrollment experience, most recently as a vice president of enrollment, Laura knows exactly what it takes for colleges and universities to attract and retain right-fit students. Laura graduated from Western Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and journalism, and a master’s degree in public administration.

An expert on building enrollment teams and processes, she’s a staunch advocate for admissions professionals and provides empathetic and personal coaching for those at all levels of experience in admissions. In her role as senior vice president of enrollment consulting, she advises our clients on best practices in enrollment management strategy including campus visits and events, marketing, and operational structures.

Scott Fiddelke

Scott is the Director of Communications and Marketing for Enrollment Management at the University of Iowa and oversees marketing for admissions, campus visits and financial aid. He has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Iowa. Before the University of Iowa, Scott led digital web strategy at the University of Arizona. Scott has professionally done communications and web marketing for K12 and higher education since 2000. When he is not convincing students to apply to the University of Iowa, he enjoys spending time with his wife and 5-year-old son. Scott also likes making balloon animals and is a Mentos aficionado.

Leila Franchi

Leila Franchi is AVP Marketing and Communications, University Relations at Pace University. As brand ambassador and chief stakeholder and collaborator on the rebranding, Leila oversees brand implementation across the institution’s owned, earned, and paid marketing and communication platforms working with a team of diverse communicators from the University’s six schools and colleges, and multiple departments including the President and Provost offices, student engagement, enrollment and admissions, career services, and public affairs. Leila is an avid series, movie, and documentary streamer, and enjoys traveling to far away places whenever possible.

Erin Francis

Erin Cummings, President & CEO of Destination Analysts, is at the forefront of developing research solutions that marry technology, big data and market research to assist industries with deepening the understanding of consumer decision processes and measuring ROI. Erin provides clients with the intelligence they need to best market themselves. Prior to joining Destination Analysts, Erin held the positions of Senior Marketing Officer at Amtrak, where she was responsible for the marketing and advertising of Amtrak’s routes in the western United States, and Marketing Manager at the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, in which she directed and implemented the destination’s marketing programs and promotions. As Managing Partner of Destination Analysts, Erin has planned and facilitated marketing studies and national consumer research for numerous clients across a wide range of topics, including marketing, website usability research, branding research, customer experience and satisfaction research, economic impact studies, ROI and conversion research.

Carolina Espinal

Carolina Espinal is Vice-Rector of Virginia Commonwealth University and Founding Principal of Mozaic Strategies, an advisory focused on creating more inclusive cultures in and outside the workplace. As an advisor to leaders in political, advocacy and corporate organizations, Ms. Espinal develops strategies for communications, stakeholder engagement and thought leadership. Her expertise in Diversity & Inclusion, Public Affairs, and Reputation Management, combined with a passion for community, are the hallmarks of her solution-focused approach. Most recently, Ms. Espinal was a senior advisor at Brunswick Group, a strategic communications advisory, where she led the Inclusion & Diversity practice. She began her career working on behalf of communities of color at Unidos US and later leading the NAACP’s national civic engagement policy platform. Ms. Espinal received a B.A. in Foreign Affairs and Latin American Studies from the University of Virginia, and an Ed.M. in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard University.

Bill Faust

Bill is Senior Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Ologie. Bill works with colleges and universities to help them uncover market insights and effectively evolve their brands. With a unique background in design and business, he spends most of his time developing strategies that positively impact reputation, enrollment and institutional advancement. He has worked with a wide range of institutions including Purdue University, Grinnell College, University of Florida, University of Pittsburgh and Capital University. Before joining Ologie, Bill spent 12 years at global branding agency Fitch Worldwide, his last as North American CEO, where he oversaw more than 300 consultants in offices from Boston to Seattle. Early in his career, he held marketing roles with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Eastman Kodak Company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in design from The Ohio State University and a Masters in Business Administration from The Fisher College of Business.

Dennis Franczak

Dennis Franczak, Founder and CEO of Fuseideas, is an innovative strategist who helps businesses solve problems through strategy, creative, technology and media. With a degree in Higher Education Administration, Dennis has not only worked at Boston College and MIT, but has been a leading marketer in higher education, working with clients such as Virginia Commonwealth University, UNC Greensboro, Georgetown University, Norfolk State University, UT Arlington, William Paterson University, and Northeastern University, to name a few. Before starting Fuseideas, he was partner and Senior Vice President at RDW Group where he built its interactive division. Dennis began his career as an officer in the United States Air Force, managing multimillion-dollar research and development projects. Dennis is a prominent speaker at conferences across the country on topics of deep interest to organizations trying to manage and thrive in a world of continuous marketing disruption.

Jennifer Gray

Jennifer has been with the Stanford Center for Professional Development for 14 years, leading its digital marketing team to generate enrollments for Stanford Online professional and graduate programs. She is passionate about using humor and authenticity to make real connections between Stanford Online and its learners.

Mary Gresch

Mary Gresch is Senior Vice President for Advancement at the University of Washington, leading the UW’s development, alumni and stakeholder engagement, and marketing and communications functions. Mary joined the UW’s leadership team in 2013 as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer (the title changed to Vice President for Communications and Marketing). Mary provided critical leadership during the “Be Boundless” campaign, which closed in June 2020, having raised the University’s profile, engaged thousands of alumni and community stakeholders and to which more than half a million donors gave $6.3 billion. Before the UW, she served as Director of Foundation Communications and then Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications and Marketing at Washington State University for seven years. She then launched and operated her own consulting firm, working with higher education institutions across the country on strategic communications, brand development and advancement strategy until joining the UW in 2013.

Liz Gross

Liz is the founder and CEO of Campus Sonar. She specializes in creating entrepreneurial social media strategies in higher education. She has more than 15 years’ experience in higher ed and strategic social listening programs and is the author of two indispensable guides for higher ed: The Higher Ed Social Listening Handbook and Fundamentals of Social Media Strategy: A Guide for College Campuses.

Rod Guajardo

Rod Guajardo is the Director of Integrated Media Communications at the University of Georgia. In this role, he manages media relations efforts for the university and leads a team of communications professionals and editors to tell UGA’s story through earned, shared and owned media opportunities. Guajardo joined UGA after working in the University of Mississippi’s (Ole Miss) Marketing and Communications office, where he served as the Director of News and Media Relations. Previously, he worked for nearly ten years in the newspaper industry, serving as the editor of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo and news editor of The Natchez Democrat in Natchez, among other positions and publications in Alabama and Georgia. Originally from Birmingham, he received his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Auburn University and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Ole Miss.

Binti Harvey

Binti Harvey is Vice President for External Relations and Institutional Advancement for Scripps College. Binti is a seasoned relationship builder, strategist and change manager with a significant record of accomplishment empowering leaders, teams and institutions to successfully advance reputational and financial goals. In her role as chief fundraising and marketing and communications officer, she is responsible for developing and executing programs to amplify Scripps’ brand, increase philanthropic support and deepen constituent engagement to advance the College’s mission. Binti’s career has encompassed legislative affairs, public relations and community engagement experience in educational, governmental and nonprofit organizations. Binti earned her B.A. in sociology from University of California, Los Angeles and an M.S. in public policy from the University of Southern California, and she has served as a volunteer and presenter for numerous organizations including the American Marketing Association, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and Academic Impressions.

Tom Hayes

Tom Hayes is the Dean of the Williams College of Business and Professor of Marketing at Xavier University. In his forty-six years at Xavier, he also served as Chair of the Marketing Department and Director of Institutional Advancement. Tom was a founding partner of SimpsonScarborough, a full service marketing and branding company in higher education. He founded the AMA’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. He was on the local chapter board for ten years and served as VP twice on the national board of the AMA in the Services and Marketing Management divisions. Tom has won CASE’s Crystal Apple award for speaking excellence and has had two books published by CASE receiving of the Alice Beeman Award for scholarship excellence in its field . He also published a book, Marketing Professional Services , with Philip Kotler in 2002.

Grant Heston

Since arriving at VCU in 2021, Grant oversees marketing, branding, communications, events, social media and special projects. VCU is home to 29,000 students and, combined with the health system, has 23,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $4 billion. Before VCU, Grant spent more than 12 years in several roles at the University of Central Florida (70,000 students), including serving as vice president for Communications and Marketing and Chief of Staff to the President. Grant has an undergraduate degree in Journalism from the University of Florida and an MBA from the University of Central Florida. He has written professional and personal stories that have been published in The Washington Post , Sports Illustrated , The Chronicle of Higher Education and more.

Katie Jensen

Katie Jensen is Associate Vice President of Insights and Analytics at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. Her work at St. Thomas has ranged from examining prospective students’ enrollment journeys, refining marketing messages through consumer feedback, and guiding the institution’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Climate survey. Before St. Thomas, Katie spent 13 years studying the consumer motivations behind food purchase decisions and applying those insights to various audiences and brands, including Quaker, Yoplait, Pillsbury and Cascadian Farm. Katie holds a BS in Marketing with an emphasis in Marketing Research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ned Jones

Ned Jones is the Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Siena College, where he has worked for over 30 years. He leads the Admissions, Financial Aid and Marketing teams, which are constantly reinventing and rejuvenating strategies. Under his leadership, Siena has achieved stable enrollment in the face of declining demographics and an increasingly competitive marketplace. Ned serves the community in a variety of roles including past president of the Capital District Counseling Association and the New York Counseling Association, delegate to the National Association for College Admission Counseling and as a board member for La Salle Institute in Troy, NY.

Ardis Kadiu

Ardis Kadiu combines his extensive technology and higher-education experience to lead Element451. The student engagement CRM grew out of his passion for creating solutions that help admissions teams focus on building relationships with prospective students rather than managing software. Element451 relieves colleges of the limitations and usability issues that come with technology that either wasn’t designed for higher-ed or hasn’t kept pace with advances in technology and user experience. Ardis holds a BS in Computer Engineering, an MS in Digital Media and an MBA from New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering.

Deborah Kohl

With over four decades of research experience in brain-behavior relationships, Dr. Kohl puts her training (MD and Ph.D.) to work every day as she studies the relationship between the brain and user behavior. Dr. Kohl earned her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology, with a specialization in cognitive neuropsychology, from The Johns Hopkins University, and currently teaches user interface and interaction at the University of Baltimore.

Katharine Laidlaw

An Emmy-winning producer and brand strategist, Katharine Laidlaw led transformative rebranding initiatives at two of the most prestigious and prolific arts education institutions in the world. As the vice-president for strategic communications and engagement at Interlochen Center for the Arts, she developed a new brand strategy, creative platform, and a digital advertising / nurture campaign that generated triple digit inquiry increases and a ten fold increase in applications for Interlochen Arts Camp and Interlochen Arts Academy. She also led development of Interlochen’s new visual identity and award-winning website.

Prior to Interlochen, Laidlaw served as the Chief Marketing Officer at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), where she oversaw marketing, communications, public relations and brand management. As CMO, she was the driving force behind a comprehensive rebranding effort, including creative direction, visual identity, messaging, taglines, and strategy for institutional positioning, recruitment, and the successful “Powering Creativity” comprehensive campaign. She was responsible for UNCSA’s multifaceted award-winning advertising, which garnered 18 awards from the Higher Education Marketing Report, three CASE Awards, and three awards from the Collegiate Advertising Awards. In Fall 2017, she launched a new recruitment campaign after which inquiries on the website doubled, applications increased +30%, and deposits increased +90% year over year.

Laidlaw started her career in commercial theatrical production, first at Fox Theatricals in Chicago and later Waxman Williams Entertainment in New York. Her credits include eight Tony nominated productions, the Broadway premiere of a Pulitzer prize-winning play, in addition to several West End, Off-Broadway, and regional productions. Laidlaw also has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, and a corporate sponsorship consultant for Broadway. Her brand marketing experience includes positions with The Coca-Cola Company and Hanesbrands, Inc.

Laidlaw received her B.A. (Honors) in English from Davidson College, and a M.B.A. with a concentration in marketing from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Sagi Langer

Sagi Langer is CMO at Ben-Gurion University, responsible for Brand management, marketing strategy and student recruitment. In addition, he is a frequent speaker on industry-related topics. Sagi holds a bachelor’s degree in economics, a Master’s degree in economics from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology and an MBA from Haifa University. He lives in Israel with his wife, their three children, a dog and a cranky cat. In his spare time, Langer loves to run and to perform as drummer with his rock band.

Katie Lawson

Chief Communications Officer with 15+ years of communications and public relations experience, Katie Lawson serves as the Chief Communications Officer at the University of Maryland. In this role, she upholds and advances the reputation of a top-ranked public research institution while serving as a spokesperson and leading media relations and social strategy. Lawson works closely with the president to amplify executive voice and communicate presidential priorities to the campus community and higher education stakeholders. Before joining the university in 2013, Lawson served as Vice President at Widmeyer Communications, a Finn Partners Company. She led large-scale public awareness campaigns on behalf of foundations, the federal government and corporations on diverse topics, including career pathways, bullying prevention and teaching standards. In previous roles, Lawson supported communications at DC Vote, the Ohio House of Representatives and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

Jennifer Lonchar

Jennifer has been in the higher education space for over 14 years and worked with hundreds of institutions. She is passionate about strategy and helping her partners find their strategic voice and direction, in a world of noise and competition. Jennifer’s breadth of knowledge spans all areas of marketing and recruitment for undergraduate, graduate, and non-traditional learners, but also includes specialty audiences such as transfer and international. Jennifer was on the forefront of digital marketing in higher education over 12 years ago and has continued to be a pioneer in the field when it comes to digital strategy and innovation. Jennifer studied Elementary Education at the University of Iowa and holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Behavioral Science from National Louis University.

Cynthia Martinez

Cynthia M. Martínez is the Senior Director for Brand Marketing at the University of Maryland. She joined the Office of Marketing and Communications in 2016. From strategy to creative media placement, she works hard to protect the Maryland brand and position the university as one of the top research institutions in the country. Cynthia leads the development and execution of all university-wide promotional campaigns. In addition, she is responsible for Maryland Day, the university’s annual grassroots event that welcomed 86,000 people to campus in 2019. Before Maryland, Cynthia led marketing efforts for 12 NBCUniversal Telemundo affiliates with ZGS Communications. She previously worked at Cox Media Group and GFR Media. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with a B.A. in radio and television and earned her MBA from the University of Baltimore.

Taylor Marx

Taylor Marx is a marketing specialist covering all things print, digital and social. Though still a bit new to the higher education space, she has worked with small businesses in the past to help with everything from managing assets to managing people. She has a knack for the ability to see the bird’s eye view and the minute details of a project. The best process is one you’ll actually use– whether we’re talking nighttime routines or communication plans.

Kevin McClure

Kevin R. McClure, Ph.D. is a higher education scholar and leader with nearly 15 years of experience across student affairs, academic affairs, and faculty leadership. He is an expert in higher education management, finance, and leadership, particularly at regional public universities.

Dr. McClure currently serves as the Wendy and Dell Murphy Distinguished Scholar and Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He also serves as the Director of Public Engagement at the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges, a research center housed at Appalachian State University dedicated to the study and advancement of regional colleges.

Throughout the pandemic, Dr. McClure has written viral articles on the academic workplace in his columns in The Chronicle of Higher Education and EdSurge. Dr. McClure is a frequent guest on podcasts, sought-after expert for popular media articles, and invited speaker for campuses and professional organizations. For the next three-years, he is collecting original data and writing a book on building more caring universities.

Sheena McFarland

Sheena is the Director of the Marketing + Communications team and guides the strategy and marketing campaigns for the David Eccles School of Business. She is also an Adjunct Instructor in the Department of Marketing and Department of Management at the Eccles School. Sheena joined the Eccles School in January of 2015. For the decade before joining the university, Sheena was a reporter and editor at The Salt Lake Tribune, covering topics ranging from education to government to astronomy. She earned her Master of Public Administration and Doctorate of Educational Leadership & Policy at the University of Utah in December 2019. She graduated from the University of Utah with a B.A. in communication and minors in French and biology teaching. Sheena enjoys traveling, having already visited all seven continents but knowing there are plenty of other countries to explore and spending time with her family.

Victoria Mendoza

Victoria Mendoza has led the University of Southern California’s social media marketing since 2019 and has almost 20 years of digital marketing and communications experience. She’s passionate about audience-focused storytelling and promoting diversity, inclusion, and equity within content strategy. Victoria has won multiple awards for her social media campaigns from PR News, the Association of Media & Publishing, and more, and is often found speaking at industry events and conferences. She’s a mom of two boys who will eventually be her in-house experts for social media trends.

David Miller

David Miller has split his career between marketing agencies and higher-ed, working at the intersection of communications, content, and creative strategy to guide breakthrough work. As Executive Director of Content Strategy and Brand Voice at the University of Arizona, his team oversees flagship and admissions social media strategy, email marketing, web content, and more, from the prospect funnel through the college transition and ultimately to graduation. In his spare time, he likes to spend time with his wife, golf, make tortillas, and take his dog, Garth, for walks.

Voltaire Miran

Voltaire Santos Miran founded mStoner in 2001 with Michael Stoner. Before mStoner joined Carnegie, Voltaire served as the CEO and the head of client experience. Voltaire works with our clients’ teams to forge and sustain transformative, memorable and incredibly effective partnerships. Volt has spent more than a decade in development and alumni relations, working on print publications, alumni magazines, capital campaigns and website launches. A natural storyteller, he enjoys teaching others how to effectively tell their brand story, empowering colleges and universities to forge transformative, memorable and successful connections with their audiences. His expertise in information architecture, content strategy and governance moves institutions from a project mindset to a process mindset, with powerful results.

Ivy Morris

Ivy Morris is a Digital Content Strategist for the University of Arizona, where she has successfully created numerous student voice-oriented websites, emails, and more for current and future Wildcats. With a long track record of digital expertise and content knowledge, Ivy has developed countless strategies to improve the student journey and empower students for a lifetime of success.

Alex Mowrey

Alex Mowrey is currently Content Strategist for the University of Pittsburgh’s main social media channels in the Office of University Communications and Marketing. Previously, Alex spent seven years overseeing strategic content and media for University Admissions, including growing and leading its successful social media ambassador program. Alex is also a talented photographer working for a wide range of clients including the NFL, MLB and Pitt Athletics. He graduated from Slippery Rock University with a degree in Communication, Emerging Technology and Multimedia.

Chris Nelson

Chris Nelson is the interim chief marketing and communications officer for the University of Utah, filling the role previously held by William Warren for ten years. Before being named interim CMCO, Nelson served as the university’s communications director and chief spokesperson. Throughout his 25-year career at the university, Nelson has held several senior roles in strategic communications, marketing and fundraising, including: assistant vice president for public affairs at the University of Utah Health and executive director of the University of Utah Hospital Foundation. He holds a master’s degree in public administration, bachelor’s degrees in mass communication and political science, and a graduate certificate in integrated marketing communications—all from the University of Utah.

Cassandra Nickels

Cassandra Nickels is RIT’s Associate Vice President for Marketing Strategy, where she leads the university’s marketing strategy, branding, and intelligence. She works closely with college and divisional marketers to achieve strategic goals for their respective areas. Before serving in this role, Cassandra was the Director of Marketing for RIT’s College of Science. She led first-of-its-kind marketing and advertising campaigns that elevated awareness of the college and its programs, leading to a one-year increase in enrollment of 35%.

Before coming to RIT, Cassandra held marketing and communications roles in K-12, educational technology, adult education organizations, and non-profit, private, and start-up companies.

Cassandra graduated from SUNY Brockport and earned her Master’s degree in Strategic Communications from American University in Washington, DC.

Ashley Northington

Ashley Northington develops marketing communication strategies that live at the intersection of engaging storytelling and transformative policy, programming and practices. A veteran communicator, much of her career has been focused on shaping narratives that champion equity and activate positive change. She joined the RW Jones Agency in 2020 after 10 years as the founder and director of DENOR Brands + Public Relations.

At DENOR, Ashley built a diverse client base that included nonprofit organizations, government entities, K-12 school districts, and colleges and universities. There, she developed a speciality in serving the needs of HBCU and other minority serving institutions.

Before starting DENOR, Ashley worked as an education policy analyst for the Bureau of Governmental Research and as Press Secretary and Public Information Officer at the Louisiana Department of Education. Her communications career also includes education and government reporting for The Tennessean, USA Today, Associated Press and The Shreveport Times.

Lindsay Nyquist

Lindsay Nyquist is the Director of Marketing & Communications at Fort Lewis College, a small public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado. She oversees all marketing operations at FLC — including web, design, video, photo, social media, PR and advertising — and a team of talented professionals that make it all happen. Her “why” is helping students from underserved communities obtain a college education. She holds a BA in English, communication, and art and an MS in higher education administration, and serves on the CASE ‘Value of Higher Education’ Steering Committee. She also is a board member for A Thousand Summers and chair of the United Way of Southwest Colorado.

Acacia O'Connor

Acacia O’Connor (they/them) is a writer, audio/video content producer, and social and digital media marketing expert with diverse communications and journalism expertise including brand management and crisis communications. Currently, they oversee social strategy as the University of Pittsburgh’s Executive Director of Social. Previously, they were the Columbia University’s first-ever Director of Social Media. They hold degrees from Columbia Journalism School, the University of Rochester and Vassar College.

Jaime Oleksik

Jaime Oleksik is AVP of Strategic Marketing at Carnegie. Jaime is passionate about client partnerships and has an affinity for finding unique solutions to enrollment challenges and audience outreach. With more than a decade of experience in recruitment and enrollment marketing, she has held roles in undergraduate admission, international student recruitment and visit programming at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) prior to joining the Carnegie team.

Dallin Palmer

Dallin Palmer is the Cofounder and President of HALDA. He has worked in the field of recruitment marketing within Higher Education since 2012 when he was stationed in Beijing and served as the Director of China Recruitment at Chegg. Dallin’s company now helps over 100 institutions across the United States better understand their website visitors, the student journey, and how to best convert anonymous website traffic into qualified leads. HALDA’s Smart Forms can be seen on college and university websites across the country as they display relevant offers of value to the right students at the right time.

Teresa Valerio Parrot

Teresa often says her husband is her true love and her alma mater was her first love. She describes her job as truthfully sharing excellence and genuinely owning mistakes because she knows that honesty is present in all sound proactive and crisis outreach. Teresa has spoken on behalf of nearly every acronym in higher education’s alphabet soup. In 2014, she was awarded the Crystal Apple for Teaching Excellence by CASE and she is proud to return to the committee for AMA’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. In addition, she serves as founding co-editor and contributor to the Inside Higher Ed blog, Call to Action, and has by-lined pieces for the industry’s leading publications. Teresa earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degrees from the University of Colorado. She holds accreditation in public relations from PRSA and is pursuing a doctoral degree from the Simmons School of Education at Southern Methodist University.

Jenny Petty

Jenny Petty left the corporate world where she worked with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Dolly Parton, Harley Davidson, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and joined the world of higher ed marketing almost a decade ago. As the Chief Marketing Communications Officer at the University of Montana, Jenny is passionate about raising the profile of the marketing function within higher ed and modernizing how we market to prospective students. She was a driving force behind The World Needs More Cowboys campaign at the University of Wyoming and the Montana Made. Montana Making. campaign at the University of Montana. Jenny graduated from the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada and has a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University, where her studies focused on the intersection of Servant Leadership and the marketing profession. She’s the host of “The Servant Marketer,” podcast.

Carrie Phillips

Dr. Carrie Phillips is the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at UA Little Rock, where she is charged with telling the university’s incredible story. She considers herself part creative and part analyst but fully curious to solve challenges in higher education. She successfully defended her dissertation at Texas Tech University, where she studied how regional public universities use marketing efforts to mitigate the enrollment cliff. Before joining UA Little Rock, she worked 14 years at Arkansas Tech University, where she led a brand study, the first comprehensive brand campaign and oversaw collateral development for the current comprehensive campaign. Carrie is a member of the American Marketing Association and holds the Professional Certified Marketer credential. She is also a member of the District IV Cabinet for CASE and UCDA. Finally, she is a puppy mom to Eleanor Belle—a 10-pound maltipoo.

Halleli Pinson

Halleli Pinson (BA, TAU; MPhil, PhD, Cambridge University) is associate professor at the School of Education at Ben-Gurion University. Pinson is a political sociologist of education, and her main interest is with the changing role of schooling in the age of globalization. She has three main research areas: citizenship education in conflict-ridden societies and the impact of political populism on education policy; State education responses to global migration, especially educational policies and school practices in relation to the integration of asylum-seeking children; and gender patterns of participation in STEM fields. She is the co-author of Education, Asylum and the ‘Non-Citizen’ Child, and a co-editor of Citizenship, Education and Social Conflict and the Edward Elgar Handbook on Education and Migration (forthcoming). She is currently the Presidential Advisor on Gender Equity and the deputy-head of the School of Education at BGU. She is the former president of the Israeli Comparative Education Society. She is also a member of the editorial boards of the British Journal of Sociology of Education and Race Ethnicity and Education

Angela Polec

Angela Polec, Ed.D. serves as Vice President of Enrollment, Marketing, and Communications at La Salle University in Philadelphia. Dr. Polec leads the development and management of the University’s brand and oversees strategic communications, digital strategy, marketing, media relations, University events and enrollment management. Previously, she oversaw branding, enrollment marketing, digital strategy, and strategic communications as the executive director of marketing and communications at Montgomery County Community College. She also served as the director of marketing at Temple University. Dr. Polec has presented at several national conferences and has co-authored an article and book chapter on the use of predictive analytics in student success initiatives. She holds an M.S. and a B.B.A. in marketing from Temple University and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Management at the University of Pennsylvania, with her dissertation focusing on the role of the chief marketing officer in higher education.

Brent Reser

Brent Reser has spent his entire career in higher education social media. He is currently in his third year as the social media strategist at Washington State University, where he develops the organic and paid strategies for the institution’s flagship accounts. Prior to WSU, Reser spent six years leading the social media program at Coastal Carolina University. He started his career at the University of Montana, where he managed the athletics department’s social media presence.

Jason Rich

Jason Rich is Siena’s Vice President for Strategy, Communications and Outreach/Chief of Staff. As second officer to the President, he is responsible for designing, organizing and guiding the strategic initiatives of the College and the priorities of the President to ensure transformative student experiences, operational efficiency and effectual external relationships. He occupies a leading role in the development, implementation and assessment of the College’s Strategic Plan, identifying opportunities and empowering employees across the organization to reimagine possibilities and realize goals. As Siena’s senior most communications executive, he develops and directs the College’s communications strategy. He earned his bachelor’s from Siena in finance in 1998 and a master’s in educational leadership and policy studies from Boston University in 2020.

Julie Ried

Julie Ried brings more than twenty-five years of experience in marketing and communications to The Ward Group, a retained executive search firm specializing in senior-level positions in marketing and communications. Since joining TWG, Julie has grown and led the higher education and non-profit practice areas. She has served on the Steering Committee for the AMA’s Symposium for Marketing in Higher Education and has spoken frequently on “best practices” in marketing and communications, and how to evaluate and attract “best in class” talent to disruptive and growing categories. Beyond higher education, Julie has successfully managed searches in healthcare, museums, and health and human services organizations. Julie’s marketing career began with The Advertising Club of Greater Boston, a professional trade organization for the marketing and communications industry. At The Advertising Club, Julie was responsible for developing their professional development program and built a multi-functional educational track to serve the growing training needs of the industry’s entry-mid level marketing and communications professionals. This included developing career counseling and mentoring programs to support the students. Julie also held various positions in marketing, account management, and business development roles with growing Boston agencies with a portfolio of clients in consumer brands, technology, and financial services.

Ryan Riess

Ryan is currently the Vice President of Brand Strategy and Creative Development of The Hershey Company and is the creator, leader and visionary of C-Sweet Studio, Hershey’s first in-house agency. Ryan created C-Sweet Studio to harness the knowledge, passion and speed he knew an internal team would provide. The Studio has become a competitive advantage for Hershey providing new growth via strategic, effective, and efficient creative services across the marketing spectrum. Ryan approaches the creative with the mind of a brand director and the heart of a creative. Ryan and C-Sweet Studio have continued to expand in scope and influence by taking over creative development and oversight of full-scale national promotions. Ryan holds a BA from Harvard College and both an M.Ed. and M.B.A from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Kristen Riggs

Kristen is Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer of The Hershey Company and oversees the company’s growth strategy, including the consumer intelligence and strategy team, strategic growth platforms, marketing excellence functions, innovation, research and development, and The Hershey Experience. Her focus is to accelerate the company’s enterprise growth. Riggs is a dynamic Hershey veteran with marketing, sales, and commercial operations experience leading billion-dollar businesses across brand marketing and sales. She has a proven track record of transforming operations and cultures to drive growth and profitability. As Vice President and GM of Commercial Planning, she led U.S. Volume Planning and Integrated Business Management along with a range of commercial strategic planning responsibilities. Riggs holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University.

Ronny Roitman

Ronny Roitman is the Strategy and Marketing Manager of the Academic Departments at Ben-Gurion University (BGU), Israel. Her role includes building the strategy and marketing plans and supervising their implementation in the various media types. She is also responsible for designing and conducting the University’s Marketing Research, deriving insights and conclusions to produce data-based practices. Ronny holds a B.A and an MBA from BGU. Before her role at BGU, she was the Head of the Marketing and Sales Departments in a cultural institution and the Marketing and Resource Development Manager at a leading NGO.

Jennifer Roos

Jennifer Roos (she/her) is the Director of Web Development and Strategy for the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. She is responsible for the web strategy for the University’s public-facing websites as well as the intranet, and led the web team to create sustainable processes and best practices focused on visitor needs and expectations. Prior to entering the world of higher education, Jennifer spent nearly 20 years working for technology companies, managing US and global sites created for prospects, customers, partners and employees. She holds a BA in Business from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.

Sean Rossall

As CEO of RW Jones, Sean is our senior-most public relations counselor. During his two-decade career, he has played an integral role in counseling clients and helping them to implement full-scale strategic communications programs and issues management initiatives. With a lifelong passion for education, Sean works closely with presidents and executive leaders to think strategically about their institutions and their role in shaping their institutional narratives and contributing to the public discourse in a meaningful way. Before joining RW Jones, Sean led the crisis and media relations practice at one of Los Angeles’ largest and oldest PR and public affairs firms. In this role, he connected clients’ PR and political strategies in ways that supported their sometimes-disparate demands. Sean received his master’s in PR from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and his BA in politics and history from Occidental College.

Erik Rueter

Erik Rueter, PMP, PMI-ACP (he/him pronouns) has worked for tech start-ups, colleges and universities, a Grammy®-award-winning production company and healthcare organizations. He has been a public policy analyst, a professional photographer, a marketing and public relations director and, currently, as senior project manager at the American Marketing Association. He has co-authored two papers on health inequity in oncology nursing, lectured at Boston and Emerson Colleges and been a guest speaker on diversity and inclusion at, among others, Medtronic, VSP and the San Antonio Spurs. His educational background is as diverse as his professional one with a BA in neuroscience, college-level diplomas in digital design and Irish studies and, most recently, MicroMasters in Design Thinking and Project Management through Rochester Institute of Technology and certification in diversity and inclusion from eCornell. He lives outside of Pittsburgh, PA with his husband and two dachshunds, enjoys running marathons, playing video games and speaking his truth to whoever will listen.

Frannie Schneider

Frannie Schneider joined Creighton University in 2021 as the senior director of marketing, bringing more than 15 years of marketing and content strategy experience in higher education. Her expertise includes positioning teams for a constantly evolving marketing landscape. At Creighton, Frannie leads all marketing functions focused on driving growth, student retention and managing the university’s reputation. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Missouri School of Journalism.

Ashley Schroeder

Ashley Schroeder is the Assistant Director of Social and Digital Media at Colorado State University. She has worked on CSU’s award-winning Social and Digital Media team since 2013, and aids in executing the social media strategy for the university and elevating CSU’s brand and reputation on nine social media platforms. She enjoys creating unique and meaningful interactions with social media communities, work that has helped the team win a Webby Award and become a Shorty Awards honoree. Ashley earned her bachelor’s degree from CSU in Journalism and Technical Communications and her master’s degree in Communications and Media Management in 2020.

Kin Sejpal

Kinnari “Kin” Sejpal is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications/Chief Marketing Officer at University of Redlands where she oversees brand management, enrollment marketing and communications and digital teams. Before joining Redlands, Kin served as the Associate Vice President, Marketing and Creative Services at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Among her many accomplishments there, Kin developed RIT’s brand strategy and launched its first national reputation campaign.

Kin started her career in the U.S. by joining Purdue University’s Office of Marketing and Media where she held progressively responsible roles in the areas of advertising, marketing strategy and marketing intelligence.

Dedicated to advancing higher education and the importance of marketing in shaping the perception of our industry, Kin serves in prominent positions with CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) and AMA (American Marketing Association).

Kin has an M.B.A in Marketing and Strategic Management, and an M.A. in Communications from Purdue University.

Rebecca Shineman

Rebecca Shineman is the Executive Director of Marketing at York College of Pennsylvania. She is responsible for leading college-wide strategic marketing efforts, including brand stewardship, advertising and content strategy. With more than 14 years of marketing experience, she started her career in various corporate roles before finding a home in higher education. Rebecca, a graduate of Boston College, is passionate about cross-team collaboration, thinking outside the box, and lifting teams to tenaciously pursue goals.

Roxanne Sides

Roxanne Sides is a graphic designer, marketing director and project management enthusiast and has led teams through website redesigns, print and email marketing campaigns. She has won several awards, including CASE Gold and Silver, HOW Magazine Gold and a GDUSA Magazine Silver award. Her motto is that a good process produces good work. Develop a good process. Do good work.

Sandy Silver

Sandy brings a wealth of industry experience to the Stanford Center for Professional Development, including almost a decade marketing Intuit’s Quickbooks and consulting for clients that included Symantec and Kabam. An expert at looking at everything from the customer’s perspective, Sandy is now fully focused on building cross-organization customer experience initiatives that drive customer delight.

Jarrett Smith

Jarrett Smith is SVP of Strategy and a partner at Echo Delta, a full-service enrollment marketing firm for higher education. He’s also the host of The Higher Ed Marketing Lab podcast, which explores the intersection of enrollment and marketing through interviews with expert practitioners from both inside and outside higher education. As the former president of a social media marketing agency, Jarrett has spoken at dozens of industry conferences on a regional and national level. On a day-to-day basis, he provides strategic advice and counsel to nearly all of Echo Delta’s roster of clients.

Katie Camacho Smith

Katie is the Head of Education at TikTok, working with educational advertisers from Higher Edu, EduTech and Life Long Learning Brands to empower their knowledge of the TikTok platform’s powerhouse. She manages a team of Brand Solution Managers & Customer Solution Managers in the Education vertical at TikTok. She have over 15+ years of experience in digital marketing, and has been at TikTok since 2020. Previous to TikTok, Katie worked at RetailMeNot and Zappos.com. “I am super excited to merge the TikTok audience with the future of Education.”

Rebecca Stapley

Rebecca has a passion for research-driven higher ed marketing and enrollment strategies with a strong foundation in community building and audience-centered approaches. With over a decade of industry experience, she has a proven track record for aligning strategies with institutional goals and values.

Emily Stulz

Emily Stulz has spent her career in higher ed social media, manning the helm of flagship social accounts through brand updates, crisis situations and viral moments. As the Director of Social Media for the University of Arizona, she oversees the flagship and enrollment accounts and provides guidance and support for social media professionals across campus, working to create a cohesive university-wide presence on social media.

Jennie Sutherland

Jennie Sutherland helps lead Marketing for St. Edward’s University – a top-ranked private liberal arts university in Austin, Texas. Her primary focus is on driving innovative solutions and creating exceptional customer experiences. With 20+ years of strategic marketing experience and 10+ years of people management experience on both the agency and client-side, she’s had the privilege of partnering with outstanding organizations such as St. Edward’s University, Texas A&M, Dell, HP, Verizon, Michelin, Toyota, Pennzoil, Genentech, the US Air Force and more. The marketing team is responsible for the Recruiting, Retention, Branding, CRM, email automation, social, analytics, web, PR, etc., for the University. We are a small but mighty team! In a previous life, Jennie thinks she must have been a motivational speaker – she’s enthusiastic, loves exclamation points and adores emojis. When she can’t get on stage (improv), she writes and keeps checking things off her bucket list!

Molly Swagler

Molly Swagler fulfills a working leadership role in enrollment management to help students connect with the innovative community found at the University of Pittsburgh. She oversees undergraduate and international recruitment, transfer and strategic initiatives, visitor engagement and marketing. Molly began her work in higher education as a public affairs specialist and branched into teaching at universities in Florida and Georgia. In addition, she taught for two years in Ukraine and spoke at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv’s symposium, “Framing Public Policy in the U.S.” More than 20 years ago, Molly started her career as a journalist. Today she lives in Pittsburgh with her family, where they spend a great deal of time in search of laughter.

Katlin Swisher

Katlin Swisher is a senior strategist at Campus Sonar. She is dedicated to using data and storytelling to help campuses build trust with their audiences, support strategic planning and branding efforts, and inform organizational change. During her decade of on-campus experience, she led initiatives and programming in enrollment management, orientation and transition, and marketing communications. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Arts in higher education administration and a Bachelor of Science in journalism. She also teaches media and leadership studies and has presented research at numerous national conferences, including the American Educational Research Association, Association for the Study of Higher Education, and National Rural Education Association. In her spare time, you can find her hiking in West Virginia’s beautiful state parks and traveling the world as a clarinetist with the West Virginia University Alumni Band.

Katie Szalda

Katie Szalda has been Director of Admissions at Siena College since 2015. She has led the admissions team in entering new markets, engaging with a new generation of students, getting the wider campus community involved in recruitment efforts and the redevelopment of admissions programs. She was selected for Siena College’s Excellence in Administration award in 2019 and Capital District Counseling Association’s Counselor of the Year in 2021. Katie has an MBA from Sage College of Albany and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Siena College. She is a board member for Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany Schools.

Vanessa Theoharis

Vanessa Theoharis brought nearly fifteen years of integrated marketing experience when she joined The Ward Group in 2021, a retained executive search firm specializing in senior-level positions in marketing and communications. Previously, she consulted with clients in higher education and nonprofit institutions to develop integrated marketing solutions that leveraged marketing technology to unlock business value and data to drive decisions. Before joining TWG, Vanessa built and led the digital marketing business line at OHO Interactive, a digital agency that specializes in higher education and healthcare marketing solutions, and prior to that, she directed all College-wide digital and content initiatives as a member of the marketing leadership team at Babson College. During both experiences, she is most proud of her efforts recruiting and establishing teams of contemporary, dynamic marketers who delivered immense, measurable value for mission-driven organizations. Vanessa has spoken at dozens of higher ed conferences and summits, including AMA Higher Ed. Vanessa holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Babson College and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Emerson College.

Andrew Thompson

Andrew Thompson Landerghini grew up in Chicago but left the big city and the flat land for the mountains and the greatest snow on earth in Salt Lake City. A University of Utah journalism major, Andy wrote and edited for the Daily Utah Chronicle throughout school, after which he was hired by the University’s Marketing and Communication department.

There he cut his teeth working as a copywriter and account executive for various university clients, including the athletics department. He also oversaw a multi-year institutional marketing campaign called “Ski the U” that targeted prospective out-of-state students who liked to ski and snowboard.

But as social media grew in prominence, Andy’s role moved that way, and now his entire day is filled concepting, cultivating and creating social media content for the University of Utah and its institutional accounts. For the last decade-plus, he has worked with students and his marketing and communications peers to promote their endeavors, achievements, research and initiatives to a broader audience.

Allison Turcio

Allison Turcio is Assistant Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Siena College. She leads college-wide marketing, market research and enrollment communications efforts. Her work has won numerous awards and has been presented at High Ed Web, American Marketing Association’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education and other conferences. Allison was selected for the Albany Business Review 40 Under 40 and Siena College’s Excellence in Administration award in 2020. She is working on her doctorate degree at Northeastern University and holds a master’s in Communications and bachelor’s in English.

Kevin Tyler

Kevin Tyler is an Account Director at SimpsonScarborough and the host of the Higher Voltage, a podcast covering the defining topics of higher education marketing & leadership. In his role at SimpsonScarborough, he works with institutions across the country to use insights, trends, and research to develop smart and beautiful creative campaigns that meet campus goals. Kevin earned his bachelor’s degree in poetry from the University of Pittsburgh and has experience in politics, government, non-profit, charter schools administration, branding agencies, corporations, and institutions. A kindness enthusiast and tattoo collector, Kevin abides from two lessons from his father: “There’s always enough money for a book” and “never miss an opportunity to say nothing.”

Justin Vogt

Brian Wetherby

Brian Wetherby is RIT’s Assistant Director of Product Marketing/Creative Writer. Along with copywriting and developing creative campaign concepts, Brian crafts marketing positioning briefs that articulate what makes RIT rare, relevant, and recognizable, in areas such as New Economy Majors and Games. Before RIT, Brian held marketing roles at Syracuse University and Keuka College and spent nearly ten years working in film and television production in Los Angeles, CA. Brian graduated from the State University of New York at Oswego, earning degrees in English Writing and Communications. He received an MA in Television, Radio, and Film from Syracuse University, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Recently, Brian completed the Executive Master of Business Administration at RIT, Saunders College of Business, earning an EMBA.

Matt Williams

Matt is one of three Managing Partners of Brand Federation, a marketing and brand strategy consultancy headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Prior to joining Brand Federation, he was CEO of The Martin Agency, one of the world’s most creative advertising agencies. As Martin’s CEO, Matt managed relationships with world-class brands like GEICO, OREO, UPS, Discover Financial, and Walmart. Under Matt’s leadership, Martin was recognized as the One Show Creative Agency of the Year, won the first-ever Effie Award for Sustained Success for its work for GEICO, and was named to Ad Age’s Creative Innovators List four times. Matt is also a Visiting Clinical Professor at William & Mary and a contributing author of the book, Kellogg on Branding . He has served on non-profit, publicly traded, and association boards. Matt holds an undergraduate degree in marketing from William & Mary and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Alexa Yow

Alexa is a University Partnerships Manager at Unibuddy, based in the New York City office. She connects with universities to understand how the student’s voice plays a role in their enrollment strategy and to see how Unibuddy’s engagement platform can strengthen their recruitment efforts. Before joining Unibuddy, she worked at an EdTech company that empowers student-athletes in their recruitment process. She graduated from and played soccer at Columbia University in New York City.

Rob Zaebst

Rob is the former Director of Digital Strategy at Michigan State where he worked in the Central Marketing and Communications office. He also has a corporate marketing background, most recently serving as VP of Digital Strategy and Marketing Technology at TrueBlue, Inc.

He is currently an Industry Advisor at Salesforce, providing context and perspective around how to plan, develop and implement Digital Marketing Strategy for universities across the country.

Andres Zapata

Andrés ensures progress through communication based on connection, understanding, and clarity. He has led interactive projects for clients such as The Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, the University of Maryland, and Colgate University. In addition to leading idfive, Andrés teaches User Experience and Interaction Design at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Andrés received the American Marketing Association’s “4 Under 40 Emerging Leaders” award, has an MBA from Johns Hopkins, and is pursuing a Doctorate in Information and Interaction Design.

Rob Zinkan

Rob Zinkan is Vice President for Marketing Leadership at RHB, a higher education firm. Rob joined RHB in 2019 after more than 20 years in higher education administration focused on reputation enhancement, resource development and the breaking down of organizational silos. He spent 17 years at Indiana University in various senior roles, from campus-level vice-chancellor (leading an integrated advancement model) to system-wide associate vice president. Rob holds a doctorate from Creighton University, a master’s from Xavier University and a bachelor’s from Wabash College. Rob is co-author of the 2021 book What Makes a Strategic Plan ‘Strategic’? , and he contributes to Inside Higher Ed’s “Call to Action” blog. A recent AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education committee member, Rob also teaches graduate courses in both strategic communications and higher education leadership.

Sam Thorson

As a growth strategist, Sam’s top priority is always your bottom line – and how to leverage data and insights to drive strategy and creativity. He’s a silo-smashing collaborator who elevates marketing projects by digging in to understand your school, students, and competition. He oversees all higher education strategies at Epicosity, but his true passion is to think beyond the here and now to focus on what’s next – especially when it comes to digital and social media. When he’s not applying insights to strategy for killer campaigns, Sam enjoys creating sports videography for local teams and spending time with his wife and two boys on their farm in Southeast South Dakota.

Gene Lewis

Gene began his career in digital marketing at the dawn of the internet, and his fascination with the experiments and puzzles of the early web bloomed into an obsession with digital media. It’s a focus that is fundamentally driven by his love of technology, a passion for clarity in communication and the power of engagement. Gene now leads the agency’s creative force – and is celebrated as a thought leader by his peers in the industry.

Brian Loube

Brian Loube has been making new media in NYC for over 30 years, producing everything from websites to computer games to interactive education. In 1990, he founded R/GA Interactive, one of the country’s top interactive agencies, and later he spearheaded digital teams at Imaginary Forces, Sesame Street and AOL. All this earned him a deep knowledge of design, education, marketing, CRM, user interaction…and a lifelong passion for creating magical experiences.

Dennis Franczak

Dennis Franczak, Founder and CEO of Fuseideas, is an innovative strategist who helps businesses solve problems through strategy, creative, technology, and media. With a degree in Higher Education Administration, Dennis has not only worked at Boston College and MIT, but has been a leading marketer in higher education for the last 16 years. Dennis has spoken at conferences across the country on topics of deep interest to organizations trying to manage and thrive in a world of continuous marketing disruption.

Erin Francis-Cummings

Erin Cummings, President & CEO of Destination Analysts, is at the forefront of developing research solutions that marry technology, big data and market research to assist industries with deepening the understanding of consumer decision processes and measuring ROI. Erin has planned and facilitated marketing studies and national consumer research for numerous clients across a wide range of topics, including marketing, branding, customer satisfaction, economic impact studies, ROI and conversion.

John Farrar

As the Industry Director of Education at Google, John is a trusted partner and adviser to top education institutions and leaders to transform their digital footprint. Raised by two public school teachers turned professors, John has witnessed the immense opportunities and challenges within traditional education. He brings that passion to the table as he helps CEOs, college presidents and deans strategically innovate to solve their toughest challenges and adapt to meet the needs of their evolving student population.

As an avid thought leader, John has been featured in Forbes, the mainstage of ASU GSV, the Carnegie Conference, and as a frequent guest host on The EdUp Experience podcast talking about why we must first focus on student outcomes, build a “well-traveled” bridge between employers and education, and embrace digital transformation. You can also find him on his YouTube channel, ManifestED, where he and his team interview the movers and shakers of the education ecosystem.

Before joining Google, John was President and General Manager of Brand.net, a programmatic display platform in San Francisco. He spent the majority of his career at Valassis Communications, Inc. in several capacities, including Vice President of CPG Sales and Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy/M&A. John earned his Master of Business Administration from Notre Dame and his Bachelor of Arts from Hillsdale College where he was named “Graduate of the Last Decade.” (Many years ago ;-))

John lives with his wife and two daughters in Northern California. Outside of work, John trains for triathlons and geeks out over college sport. He also co-founded a retro barber shop in historic downtown Chicago with his long-time friend.

Claudia Howard

Claudia Howard is currently Head of Industry, Education at Google, supporting Higher Ed and Ed Tech companies reach their business goals. Previously she was a Sr. Account Executive supporting government partners, working closely with many of the civilian service agencies, most recently leading the COVID-19 Vaccine Public Education Campaign with the Department of Health and Human Services. Before Google, Claudia spent her career in television and entertainment in various marketing positions at The Weather Channel, FOX Sports, and Warner Bros. Discovery (formerly Turner). She earned her MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Claudia resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with her husband and two young sons.

Brady Warren

Brady Warren is a Senior Account Executive at Monsido powered by CivicPlus. Brady has background in sales, and enjoys speaking and educating organizations on the important of an accessible and inclusive website experience.

Mike O'Brien

Michael (Mike) O’Brien is passionate about innovation. He is currently the founder and CEO Mingle, LLC whose properties include Conext.me & Postings.com. Postings.com enables companies to distribute job postings and manage candidates in the cloud, while saving up to 60% on their recruitment advertising. Conext improves business insight and electronically streamlines communication with students, graduates and employers.

In 2012, Mingle was recognized as the 6th fastest growing company in San Diego and 673rd fastest growing company nationwide by Inc, 500|5000. The company also made Inc 500|5000 list in 2013 and 2014.

Mike is an investor and advisor to Understand.com, RehearsalVRP and LawVeritas.com. Mike is currently a Board Member of the Pacific Southwest BBB. Mike is an advisor and investor to crypto asset fund Luna Capital, LLC.

Prior to Mingle, Mike was a co-founder and the CEO of financialaid.com, a pioneer in providing college finance solutions online. Founded in 2000, financialaid.com became one of the most successful student loan companies in the U.S., capitalizing on Mike’s direction and innovative Internet marketing strategies. financialaid.com funded more than $1 Billion in student loans each year. At financialaid.com, Mike conceptualized and created CampusDirt.com (at the time, the number one online college search engine), RateYourCampus.com (online feedback community) and CampusClix.com (a college social networking website). In October of 2004, Mike sold financialaid.com and properties to Education Lending Group (now Student Loan Xpress) which in turn was purchased by CIT (NYSE: CIT) for $400MM in January 2005.

Utilized as a media expert in higher education finance and Internet marketing, Mike has been interviewed by numerous national television and print news media — including The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, NBC Nightly News, Fox News Network, the Chicago Tribune and Kiplingers.

Mike received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from California State University, Fresno. In 2006, he was recognized as Entrepreneur in Residence in 2006 at his alma mater. In 2007, he was on the Fresno State Alumni Association Board. In 2015, Mike was recognized as a finalist for the Most Admired CEO’s in San Diego by the San Diego Business Journal.

Brian MacDonald

Brian is a creative leader with a long history of award-winning work in print, broadcast, digital, and social media channels. He brings his consumer-packaged-goods background to many higher education brands, including UW/Madison, NYU, Cornell, Emory, Johns Hopkins, University of Massachusetts, University of Surrey. Colgate, Bradley, and Brandman. Previously at Ogilvy & Mather, Brian worked on global consumer brands such as Dove’s campaign for Real Beauty, American Express’ Realize the Potential campaign, Hellmann’s, KFC, Magnum Ice Cream, and Scotiabank. And at Leo Burnett, Brian worked on a wide array of brands across the local/global spectrum, including P&G’s laundry portfolio, Kellogg’s snack foods and cereals, Wrigley’s gum and mints, and Visa.

Jamie Pragnell

Jamie Pragnell has worked in the higher education marketing space for over 5 years. During that time, she has had the opportunity to strategize, build and execute marketing campaigns for some of North America’s top institutions. In her role at Glacier, Jamie works directly with over 40 higher ed institutions annually, running a multitude of campaigns with goals ranging from increased enrollments to brand lift. Jamie utilizes her experience and knowledge to deliver customized campaigns for any objective.