Texas A&M University Communications Summit
Virtual Series
Welcome and thank you for joining our virtual seminar series for Texas A&M University, and invited System, Agency and Affiliate communications staff. We want to help ensure that you are taking care of yourself, finding the motivation you need to keep working, even when it's hard, and that you feel supported by your fellow communicators across The Texas A&M System.
Let's stay connected, lean on and learn from one another as we face many of the same challenges at our unique campuses.
Thank you and I hope you enjoy this opportunity,
Texas A&M Division of Marketing & Communications
If you attended the first four sessions of the Communications Summit Series, you will be entered into a Grand Prize drawing. The winner will be notified via email in April.
Past Events
Social Media: The Front Lines in Communication
Krista Berend
Director of Social Media, Texas A&M University
Jamie Lewis
Social Media Coordinator, University of Georgia
Ellen Doepke
Social Media Director, Michigan State University
With a public health crisis, social unrest and students and staff mostly online, being a communicator on social media is like being on the front lines. This session will focus on how to restructure your content strategy to adapt to the ever changing times and how to respond to the barrage of incoming information while sticking to your brand and message.
Exercising Our Mental Health
Kelly Brown
Associate Vice President, Division of Marketing and Communications, Texas A&M University
Andrea Bonior
Author, Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Professor at Georgetown University
Like our student body, some of us continue to work from home while others are back on campus. Whether it’s a co-worker, employee, boss, colleague down the hall or even us as individuals- we all know someone who is suffering because of all the change and uncertainty, and yet still we all are supposed to be moving through the calendar as though everything is steady and sure. This session will be a cleanse of sorts. We will learn what to look for with stress and how to build up our resilience to manage that stress. Get ready to connect with each other better, while strengthening our teams and improving productivity.
Perspectives in Branding: A conversation with Kendra Lewellyn
Laura Root
Creative Director, Texas A&M University, Division of Marketing and Communications
Kendra Lewellyn
Senior Graphic Designer, University of Texas at Austin, Cockrell School of Engineering
Laura Root talks with senior creative Kendra Lewellyn about her experience working as a designer for Texas A&M University, University of Texas, and Southwestern University, and on keeping perspective when designing within any brand’s guidelines.
Captivating Your Audience with Visuals and Digital Experiences
Tierra Graves
Director of Brand Experience, Texas A&M University, Division of Marketing and Communications
Erica McCarthy
Marketing Manager, Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC)
When the world moved online in 2020, normal face-to-face engagement opportunities were put on hold. Hear how to keep your audience engaged with your messaging through visual media and digital experiences.
Global Branding: A Conversation With ESPN’s Fernando Palomo
Amy B. Smith
Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Texas A&M University
Fernando Palomo
Soccer Play-By-Play Commentator and Host of "Fuera de Juego" ESPN/ESPN Deportes
Join Amy Smith and ESPN host Fernando Palomo ’95 as they discuss his lessons learned in leadership, communications and engagement in global sports broadcasting. Find out what drives Fernando’s continued passion for Texas A&M, how he shares content about his work and life with his million social media followers, and suggestions to those of us responsible for telling the story of A&M.
Jamie Lewis
Social Media Coordinator
Division of Marketing and Communications, University of Georgia
Jamie Lewis joined the University of Georgia's Division of Marketing and Communications in the role of social media and email marketing for Development and Alumni Relations. She speaks fluently in gifs and memes and is always ready to share the latest in pop culture news. Jamie is an avid reader and runner.
Ellen Doepke
Director of Social Media
Michigan State University
Ellen Doepke is the director of social media at Michigan State University. She is responsible for developing and implementing the university’s social media strategy and overseeing the institutional social media accounts. With a focus on social media, storytelling and writing, she has more than a decade of experience in higher education marketing and communications. She graduated from Central Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Andrea Bonior, Ph.D.
Author, Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Professor at Georgetown University
Andrea received her B.A. with distinction in psychology from Yale University, with an additional major in American Studies. She completed her M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at American University, with a pre-doctoral clinical internship at the University of Miami, and a post-doctoral fellowship at George Washington University. Her training focused on individual and group psychotherapy for adults, specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders and depression. For 13 years, she has served on the faculty of Georgetown University, where she is a multi-year nominee for the Academic Council Honors Teaching Award, given to those professors who, by student nomination, are said to have had a meaningful impact on students’ lives.
Krista Berend
Director of Social Media
Division of Marketing and Communications, Texas A&M University
Krista Berend is the Director of Social Media in the Division of Marketing & Communications at Texas A&M University. Krista works to curate the digital presence of the university to grow the Texas A&M brand and provides strategic direction for the university’s social media program. She has built and managed content and campaigns across Texas A&M’s social media platforms, leading to the university consistently being recognized as one of the most engaging and influential universities online. Krista holds a B.A. in Communication from Texas A&M and an MBA with a concentration in marketing from the University of Houston.
Kelly Brown
Associate Vice President
Division of Marketing and Communications, Texas A&M University
Kelly is working at her alma mater after 25-plus years of reporting and editing for newspapers. As MarComm AVP, she manages the news and social media teams, oversees media relations and crisis communications, and directs KAMU TV-FM, Texas A&M’s public broadcasting stations. She is the 2018 recipient of the Jack Douglas Award, the top honor given annually to a journalist by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors. She was inducted in 2019 into the Texas A&M Former Journalism Students Association Hall of Fame. Kelly was a longtime board member for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and the Brazos Valley Sexual Assault Resource Center.
Laura Root
Creative Director
Texas A&M University, Division of Marketing and Communications
Laura has nearly 20 years of experience working with large brands in both agency and in-house settings. She has worked at Texas A&M University for nearly a decade, and as Creative Director for Texas A&M’s Division of Marketing and Communications she oversees a team dedicated to university branding with a specialization in brand strategy, advertising and design.
Kendra Lewellyn
Senior Graphic Designer
University of Texas at Austin, Cockrell School of Engineering
Kendra has spent nearly two decades designing in higher education. With over 14 years at Texas A&M, 2 years at Southwestern and most recently at The Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas, she understands the ups and downs of designing in an academic environment and is looking forward to this conversation with her peers.
Tierra Graves
Director of Events and Brand Experience
Texas A&M University, Division of Marketing and Communications
Tierra oversees the brand experience team for Texas A&M University. With 14 years in higher education experience, she possesses a diverse skill set combined of recruitment, financial aid, client services and university marketing. In her current role, Tierra works to cultivate opportunities to elevate the Texas A&M brand and message position through strategic programming and immersive experiential events both digitally and in-person, she seeks opportunities to strengthen relationships with key brand partners and identify prospective brand partners, develop multi-platform digital marketing campaigns to support licensed products, and provide strategic vision for the new TAMUbrand channels.
Erica McCarthy
Marketing Manager
Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC)
Erica McCarthy directly manages CLC’s marketing efforts for Texas A&M. Collaborating with the Partnerships team, she is responsible for developing unique marketing programs that elevate Texas A&M’s brand through consumer connections and brand experiences. Erica joined CLC after graduating from Oklahoma State University in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication. While in college, she gained valuable industry experience interning with CLC and NASCAR.
Amy B. Smith
Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer
Texas A&M University
Amy leads Marketing & Communications for Texas A&M, including a team of professionals in news, visual and social media, design, advertising, events, web, IT, brand licensing and development, broadcasting and presidential communications. She has served in senior leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies Raytheon (USA) and Invensys plc (UK), as well as Burson-Marsteller, one of the world’s largest public relations firms. In 2004, she served as Director of Communications for the U.S. Army in Iraq, after which she was awarded the Joint Civilian Meritorious Award for outstanding service by the Secretary of the Army. Amy earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Clemson University and a Master of International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management. She is a student at Texas A&M, graduating in May with an Executive Master of Public Service Administration from the Bush School of Government and Public Service.
Fernando Palomo
Soccer Play-By-Play Commentator and Host of "Fuera de Juego"
ESPN/ESPN Deportes
Fernando uses his vast soccer background to bring depth and insight to his work as the lead soccer play-by-play commentator covering European soccer in Spanish. He is the host of Fuera de Juego, ESPN Deportes and ESPN International’s highest-rated international soccer program since 2006. He regularly contributes to ESPN’s soccer coverage in English as a studio commentator and play-by-play for select marches. He joined ESPN in 2000 as a SportsCenter anchor for ESPN in Latin America and also served as an anchor for SportsCenter for ESPN Deportes from 2004-06. Palomo started his broadcasting career in 1999 with Channel 4 TV in San Salvador as a sports commentator covering a variety of events including the Olympics and the Pan American Games. In his native El Salvador, he also showed his journalistic range as a correspondent for Radio Cadena YSU and as a columnist for El Diario De Hoy. Fernando was on the track-and-field team at Texas A&M and graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics. In January, Fernando received the 2021 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, which recognizes distinguished individuals on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their college athletics careers.