Q: Can you tell us about your role at the University of Chicago and provide a brief description of what you do?

I am the Director of Recruitment Analytics and Marketing in the Student Recruitment and Global Outreach Department at the Harris School of Public Policy. My analytics work encompasses leading a team using analytics tools and methods to create dashboards and other business tools that allow our Admissions office and other departments to make data-informed business decisions. Additionally, I lead our Recruitment Marketing team and efforts where we innovate and engage with prospective applicants on the web, through social media, email nurture campaigns, print assets and events. I also bring my data hat to this work, as my team and I work to optimize the prospect to enrollee funnel.

Q: How long have you been with the University of Chicago, and what drew you here?

I started working for the University in May, 2020. (Interesting time I know.) I was in the process of pivoting from the Non-Profit Management space and was completing a joint MBA and Master of Science in Business Analytics. I aspired to work at the intersection of Public Policy and Data Analytics. As I was transitioning out of my non-profit role I worked on a project with the UChicago Urban Labs (housed at the Harris School), which was very motivating and inspiring. The professor I studied with the most at UIC and with whom I completed two internships was a University of Chicago Social Sciences PhD and previously worked at NORC. He was a mentor to me, and our relationship motivated my interest in the University of Chicago. As I began my job search and found the opening at the Harris School it felt serendipitous, for sure.

Q: What are some highlights of working at the University of Chicago?

Being surrounded by smart and passionate staff, faculty and students is very invigorating. Being part of a historically important research institution that has made significant contributions to society is very rewarding. I find the culture of innovation and new ideas and approaches to be very welcoming. I think a lot of people view higher education as a sector that is very resistant to change. I have not found that to be the case in my experience here at all. My day-to-day work is always evolving, and I always have myriad opportunities to learn from peers and engage in new projects.

Q: How did you become interested in working in this field?

There are so many ways to use data analysis skills in the employment world. My goal was to contribute to an organization I believed in and where my skills and knowledge would be an asset. A lot of folks with similar training aspire to data scientist jobs in the private sector. This never appealed to me. I have always been involved in and wanted to do mission-driven work and the Harris School of Public Policy, where faculty and students are engaging in critical social issues, allows me to continue a career trajectory focused on social impact. My mother was a tenured professor of art history and my father was involved in public relations. I hate to say it but my comfort level working in higher ed and engaging in marketing likely was also influenced by the spheres I grew up in and around.

Q: What do you find most rewarding about your work at the University of Chicago?

The chance to interact with staff, faculty and students who are making a real difference in the world.

Q: What are the key factors you consider when creating a marketing campaign for student recruitment?

We consider a few key factors: How are we effectively differentiating the University of Chicago and the Harris School from our peers? How are we communicating the key value propositions of our program (ROI, UChicago culture and brand, the city of Chicago, curriculum, faculty, community and student experience)? Are we highlighting these value propositions from the perspective of our prospective students, and are the channels we are using engaging our prospective students where they are and speaking to their aspirations?

Q: What are your long-term goals for recruitment at Harris, particularly regarding global outreach and diversity?

We aim to ensure that folks all around the world who want to engage in a scientific, data-driven approach to public policy analysis and creation know who we are and seriously consider us as a top option for graduate studies. This means hosting yearly events like Diversity Visit Day where we support prospects to come on campus and hear from faculty and staff about the UChicago and Harris toolkit, and hosting events at campuses around the country and globally. Additionally, we work with global employers particularly in the public sector to understand their needs for employee upskilling and to create pipelines to our degrees for their employees. Our long-term goals are to continue to build awareness and to strengthen these partnerships with domestic and international schools and employers so that as soon as someone thinks rigorous public policy analysis they think of the University of Chicago in the same breath.

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I enjoy exploring Hyde Park with my 6-year-old daughter, taking hikes, exploring nature and playing guitar and banjo.

Q: Can you share a bit about a project or initiative you are currently working on?

I am about to start a project where I will be working with my team to consult with all of the departments at the Harris School from the Career Development Office to Alumni Relations and Development to Academic and Student Affairs. We will work with each department to build dashboards that will allow the units and school leadership to monitor progress towards KPIs as well as make more data-informed decisions as they work to achieve their key departmental goals. I expect to learn a lot about how my colleagues currently use data and hopefully help them build tools to leverage their data more effectively.