As an internationally recognized public speaker and advocate of strategic online communications, Nikki is responsible for developing innovative solutions to advance the University of Michigan’s over 200-year-old legacy of impact. Nikki leads U-M’s social communication team, the strategic oversight of the President’s Public Engagement and Impact Initiative, and U-M’s Social Integrity project. These efforts each aim to ensure that all online communications provide additional value to university stakeholders while mitigating institutional risk, elevating brand perception, and educating users of all ages, around the globe, of the lasting impact of these critical tools.

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 organic and paid social media strategy across multiple platforms. Recently, she was promoted to digital marketing director where she leads web and social media strategy teams.

Social
Twitter: @AniceBarbosa/@Wheaton
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anicebarbosa/
 

Austin Braun is a Co-founder and Strategist Based in Chicago, IL where he serves at Ascend Engineering and alongside Alexa Heinrich at Social Media Tea. Prior, Austin served as Digital Media Strategist at the University of Colorado Boulder College of Engineering & Applied Science where he oversaw all social/digital publications from 2018 to 2021.

Austin holds a bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communications from the University of Colorado Boulder. 

Jonathan has a passion for photography and storytelling. He has 15 years of experience in communications in HESM (USF), secondary education (Junipero Serra High School), and government (U.S. House of Representatives).

USF's social media team earned the award for Best Overall Social Marketing: Instagram at the 2021 Higher Ed Social Awards. 

Jonathan grew up in the Bay Area and attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo for undergrad. 

Social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanallen07/

Lori Bachand serves as the statewide senior director of communications and marketing for the Community College League of California. She has more than 20 years in strategic planning and program implementation for higher education, with expertise in marketing, stewardship, special events programming, and advancement and campaign communications.

Lori serves on the CASE District VII Cabinet has been involved in planning CASE District VII and national conferences, including serving as the chairperson for the 2019 and 2020 Connect West conferences. Lori is Accredited in Public Relations by PRSA and holds bachelor's and master's degrees in communications from CASE District VII member institution Cal State Fullerton.

Originally from Springfield, Illinois, Abby has loved marketing since second grade when she came up with a winning marketing plan to sell Girl Scout cookies. Fast-forward a few years, and she has been fortunate enough to work in the marketing department for several great organizations, including the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Bloomington (Ill.) Center for the Performing Arts and currently serves as the Assistant Director of Digital Marketing for Purdue University Marketing and Communications. In addition, Abby performs cello in several ensembles and bands within Indiana and Illinois and recently graduated with her M.S. in Communication from Purdue University.

Adelina Elo is a marketing communications manager for university communications and marketing at California State University, East Bay. While new to higher education, she has 10+ years of experience in marketing strategy, advertising, content and social media strategy, and public outreach & communications.

Her core belief is that people have the power to affect change. She joined Cal State East Bay to help bring the transformative power of education to more students using distinct stories, communications technology and a multichannel approach that helps align internal teams and increase target audience engagement.

Yasin Id-Deen has spent the last fifteen years in the digital space with the primary focus 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, and now at UC Berkeley. Making stops in some obscure places, like NASCAR, a small health and medical institution, 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; these roles effectively allow him to see and understand the bigger picture. Join his session to see how that all comes together in leading the social strategy across campus for student affairs/activities.

Keith Hannon spent 10+ years at Cornell University where he worked within the digital innovation team before becoming a tech-minded major gift officer. Keith has been a frequent speaker at higher ed conferences, twice chairing the CASE Social Media and Community Conference. Keith has also made various appearances on higher ed podcasts, while also serving as a featured blogger for EverTrue and CASE. In March 2021, Keith joined BrightCrowd, where he works with 150+ higher ed partners on deploying digital books for students/alumni of various affinities. At BrightCrowd, Keith uses his higher ed and tech experience to support schools in their quest to engage students and alumni, discover donor prospects, and improve their institution’s data integrity.

Chelsey Holts is the Director of Content Strategy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, overseeing the development and implementation of campus-wide communications content in support of the University’s brand strategy and key messages. In her role, she advises leadership on strategy and reputation and works with a team to identify, produce and amplify impactful content for Carolina’s various audiences on its website, social media channels and email newsletter. She consults with colleagues across campus on strategy and crisis management and leads collaborative initiatives with departments and schools. 

Previously, Chelsey served as the Director of Social Media for Carolina. Her experience in social media and digital marketing spans various industries, including automotive, entertainment, agricultural and higher education. Chelsey is a graduate of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and has published several articles in the Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing.

Jeff Hunt is a Founding Partner of Legend Labs, a strategic brand and communications consulting firm, and author of Brand Under Fire: A New Playbook for Crisis Management in the Digital Age. Jeff specializes in crisis management and preparedness, branding, CEO communications, and reputation management. During the course of his 35-year career, he has worked with DuPont, IBM, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Dell, Nike, Whole Foods, and many other companies.

Jeff has lived throughout the world and navigated many cultures on behalf of clients. Prior to Legend Labs, Jeff co-founded PulsePoint Group and before that was president of Cohn & Wolfe, a global public relations firm formed following a merger with GCI Group. He has also served as CEO of GCI and Read Poland Associates. He spent 18 years at Burson-Marsteller, ultimately serving as chief operating officer for Europe, with responsibility for 16 offices throughout the continent. He also established the firm’s presence in Korea and Mexico.

Based in Austin and a graduate of The University of Texas, Jeff serves as adjunct professor of Strategies in Public Relations at the university’s Moody College of Communications and is a frequent lecturer at its McCombs School of Business.
 

Cameron is a founder at Dunroe. He’s into data transparency, data analytics, and the power of communities. He grew up in a small town in southern Canada and has 3 children under 3 y/o. He loves playing hockey, trail running, hot yoga, hummus and tacos.

Social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-macniven-445627152/

A Special Advisor to the CEO at CASE, Rob Moore is also CEO emeritus of Lipman Hearne and the author of The Real U: Building Brands that Resonate with Students, Faculty, Staff, and Donors (CASE 2010). He previously served as the vice president of marketing and communications at CASE.

A Duke University grad, Page has served as the Chief Marketing Officer of the Stanford Alumni Association for the past 4.5 years. In this time, Page has utilized his 25+ years of marketing experience to ensure Stanford AA remains at the forefront of innovative advancement strategies. Before joining Stanford, Page served as VP of Global Marketing at Hewlett-Packard. He’s also served in various marketing roles for companies such as Comcast, Palm, and Apple. 

Acacia O’Connor is a queer and nonbinary writer, audio/video content producer, and social and digital media marketing expert with diverse communications and journalism experience including brand management and crisis communications. Currently, they work for the University of Pittsburgh as Executive Director of Social Media in the Office of Marketing and Communications. They hold degrees from Columbia Journalism School, the University of Rochester and Vassar College.

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.

Aliyah Scott is the Communications Coordinator at the University of South Carolina School of Law. She is a passionate and committed communication and public relations professional with experience in social media, website management, research, writing, and messaging.

Aliyah attended the University of South Carolina for her Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Masters in Mass Communication.

Social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliyahbscott/

As the one who holds the key to the University’s social content calendar, Ashlee’s strategy-first mentality ensures the right message is posted on the right channel and geared toward the right audience. She’s energized by the impact of social in spreading the good news about Purdue, particularly when prominent Boilermakers amplify content she’s shared.  

When she wants to unplug, Ashlee strolls to a downtown coffee shop for an iced latte and then pauses outside the Lazy Cat Lounge to observe feline antics through the window. She’s an avid concertgoer — country music is her favorite. She also appreciates rising acts before they make it big.

Tess Stevens is the Social Media Specialist at San Francisco State University. She comes from a background in journalism, where she quickly adapted a Gonzo storytelling style with multimedia and interactive elements that combined journalism with an off-the-wall spin that has made her work go viral. She has created innovative digital stories for ABC7 News Bay Area, GonzoToday, The Bold Italic, and more. Her experiences as a creative strategist for clients like AT&T, Cricket Wireless, and Salesforce Transit Center prepared her for any social media ecosystem, leading her past journalism and agency life to higher education. She is also a professional musician and personal brand builder with an online social audience of more than 415,000 on Tik Tok and more on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. She brings her Gonzo style to social media creating unexpected experiences for San Francisco State University and aims to continue the institutions incredible traditions while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on social media and beyond.

Social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessfstevens/
Website: https://www.tessstevens.com
Instagram: http://instagram.com/tessfstevens
Tik Tok: http://tiktok.com/tessfstevens

Drew Sykes is the Director of Content Production and Community Management at Ignite Social Media in Raleigh, NC, where he leads a team of marketing professionals working together to create scroll-stopping content for the world to see. Before landing at Ignite, he worked in higher education marketing at his alma mater, NC State, where he started as the university’s first-ever social media specialist and worked his way up to the role of Director of Social Media. Drew’s mantra at NC State was that he wanted people to see the content they created and say, “Wow. A university did that?” No matter where he goes, his number one goal is to move people with what he helps create. 

Outside of work, he’s a husband, a dad of two boys, a doggy dad, and he’s one of the world’s biggest John Mayer fans (“There’s a Mayer song for everything.” — Drew). He calls himself “Clark Kent nice with a Superman heart,” and believes that if more people lived like Ted Lasso, the world would be a better place.

Chi is a marketer, strategist, content creator and sustainable design expert. She has experience working in film production, publication, advertising agencies and events across USA, India, Canada and Japan. Chi was recently named on the Forbes India 30 under 30 list for her work in marketing, specifically her accomplishments at Yanko Design and on her personal brand on Twitter. She advocates for sustainability, mental health, and an equitable creator economy through her work (and memes!). Chi graduated from Emerson College (Boston) with a Masters in Global Marketing Communications and Advertising in 2015 as the youngest person to do so in the history of the school. She is currently working in tech and also creates content full-time.

Morgan Trachtman is the Social Media Manager at Duke University where she oversees and manages the University’s social media accounts. Morgan leads and mentors the @DukeStudents social media team, and consults and collaborates with social media leaders across the university. Previously, Morgan worked as UNC-Chapel Hill’s Social Media Manager. Morgan is a graduate of the UNC-Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism and a Durham native. Outside of work, she enjoys teaching classes on social media marketing, traveling and spending time with her fiancé and dog, Macy.