Background
I'm a higher education marketing leader with 25 years of experience at the University of Michigan, where I also earned degrees in Art & Design (BFA, Penny Stamps School) and English (BA, LSA). I came to Michigan as a first-generation transfer student from Henry Ford Community College—an experience that taught me resilience and fundamentally shaped my understanding of what transformational education looks like and who it's for.
Today, I lead an 11-person integrated marketing team for the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, U-M's largest school and college. My work spans brand strategy, digital transformation, creative team leadership, and strategic communications serving 30,000 students, faculty, and staff plus 200,000+ alumni.
Over two and a half decades, I've built award-winning teams, led institutional rebrands, enabled transformational gifts through strategic positioning, and driven digital transformation at enterprise scale. My work has earned national recognition including CASE Circle of Excellence awards and designation as UCDA's Best In-House Design Team.
What Drives Me
I'm driven by curiosity and a love of complex problems. Marketing in higher education offers endless challenges: How do you translate groundbreaking research into narratives that resonate? How do you build brands that advance equity, not just reputation? How do you tell stories that open doors and change trajectories?
I believe creativity is about more than aesthetics—it's about seeing possibilities others miss and having the courage to pursue them. The best solutions come from challenging assumptions and trying approaches that haven't been done before, whether that's developing a brand system from scratch or reimagining how we tell stories visually.
I've learned that laughter, psychological safety, and genuine care for people aren't soft skills—they're the foundation of exceptional work. The teams that produce award-winning creative work exist in cultures where people feel valued, trusted, and empowered to take risks.
Education transformed my life, and that creates responsibility. I'm committed to giving back—mentoring early-career professionals, training communicators on inclusive practices, serving as a judge for student competitions, and leading work that enables transformational philanthropy.
At its best, education doesn't just transmit knowledge—it fundamentally transforms how people see themselves and their place in the world. It creates pathways for those who've been told certain futures aren't for them. It produces research that solves problems we didn't know we could solve. Marketing in service of that mission—helping institutions reach the students who need them most, building brands that advance access and equity—that's meaningful work. That's why I'm still here after 25 years.
