Can You Make It Pretty?

S2, E10: Katie Norris' path to Ozarka College in Arkansas, where she serves as director of public relations & marketing, started when she enrolled as an Ozarka student. And Kim Lessner came to her role as vice president and chief operations officer at Tyler Junior College in Texas after she retired. As District 4's Rising Star and Communicator of the Year, respectively, Norris and Lessner chat with Peer and Simple guest host Matt Radcliffe, the District 4 director and digital strategist at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, at their district conference in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on Oct. 23. Norris shares how her experience as a community college student gives her an important perspective in marketing the college, and Lessner discusses how her past life in corporate marketing informs the work she does for TJC.

S2, E9: What lessons from journalism inform community college marketing? How can young professionals assure they have staying power at a new gig? North Dakota vs. South Dakota? Erin Wood, director of college relations at Lake Region State College in North Dakota, chats live at District 5's conference in Omaha, Nebraska, on Oct. 11, 2021, in this special episode of Peer and Simple. Wood shares insight into this year's NCMPR Leadership Institute cohort – the first! – and a bit about her state's history.

S2, E8: Steve Jessmore and Mark Carriveau have a combined 55+ years of photography experience. Jessmore, a Michigan-based freelance photographer, and Carriveau, who shoots for Elgin Community College in Illinois, discuss their careers, what community college marketers can learn from photographers and easy-to-follow tips for non-photographers to capture great art. This episode of Peer and Simple was recorded live on Oct. 5, 2021, at NCMPR's District 3 conference in Grand Rapids Michigan.

S2, E7: Finding the right music for your video promotions or commercials can be tricky. How can you find a tune that fits with your college's branding? Where can you find a clip that's affordable? Bret Figura, graphic designer at Moraine Valley Community College in Illinois, is also a drummer, and he talks about the importance of your institution's audio brand and how he wrote and performed the score for a Moraine campaign last year.

S2, E6 – Marketing fails: We've all faced them. Sometimes, no matter how many eyes study a project, a typo or an unfortunate photo still gets through. Or no matter how many times you host an event, you miss how much a factor like the weather can affect turnout. Four marketing professionals share some of their biggest marketing fails in this special video episode of Peer and Simple. View some of the marketing fails in the links below, or watch this episode on YouTube.

Our guests are 

S2, E5 – Dr. Toya Webb is a life coach, a TEDx and motivational speaker, and NCMPR's district 3 director. She discusses the importance of vulnerability in the workplace, plus some findings from her doctoral research, about the impact of microaggressions on Black women in leadership. This is Peer and Simple's first podcast recorded in-person – at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado, site of NCMPR's 2022 national conference.

S2, E4 – Sally Chapman Cameron spent more than three decades at Bristol Community College in Massachusetts. Though she's retired from the college, she's still active in NCMPR, presenting at conferences, writing for Counsel magazine and dropping in for a Peer and Simple interview. Chapman Cameron is 2021's Petrizzo Award winner, which recognizes a career of accomplishments. In this episode, she talks about the early days of marketing, how she got the most out of her team and why she just can't leave two-year colleges behind.

S2, E3 – Minneapolis College is just down the street from the spot where George Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020. As the community responded and the city became a center of the nation's social justice movement, the college had to figure out the best way to craft its messaging to the campus and larger community. Deanna Sheely, the college's vice president of advancement and marketing communications, and Patrick Troup, its vice president of student affairs and interim diversity officer, discuss how they worked together to ensure communications stressed the necessary heart and emotion while maintaining the college's voice.

S2, E2 – Meet Debra McGaughey, NCMPR's 2021-22 president. She chats with host Jeff Julian about how she got involved with NCMPR, why she wanted to move up to the executive board and her experience so far on the council's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee. Plus, she shares her experiences as a professional journalist and gives a peek into the memoir she's writing.

S2, E1 – Three community college marketers who are still working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic chat with host Jeff Julian about how their year has been going, what they miss about working in an office, and how they've stayed connected to colleagues. Guests are Greg Harris from Portland Community College in Oregon, Lisa Brosky from Pima Community College in Arizona and Shannon Rooney from Community College of Philadelphia.