In this episode, host Meredith Metsker talks with Joretta Nelson, Vice Chairman of Credo (now part of the Carnegie family). With 25 years of experience in higher education—including time as a music faculty member, vice president for enrollment management, and now a national consultant to presidents and cabinets—Joretta brings a unique vantage point on how career services leaders can position themselves as strategic, institutional partners.

Drawing on her extensive work with presidents, provosts, enrollment leaders, student affairs leaders, advancement officers, and more, Joretta offers a behind-the-scenes look at what life is like for these senior executives. What keeps them up at night, who they’re accountable to, and what their day-to-day actually looks like.

Most importantly, she shares how career leaders can build relationships, align with institutional priorities, and provide the data and stories cabinet members need to be successful.

This episode is a practical roadmap for anyone looking to move beyond unit-level advocacy and become a trusted voice at the institutional strategy table.

Key takeaways (by cabinet leader):

The President:

• Manages nonstop demands: board relations, fundraising, community representation, finance/budget, parent concerns, etc.
• Works on a cyclical calendar tied to board meetings, fundraising campaigns, and more.
• Career services can help by supplying three key data points and ready-to-use student stories each month.

The Provost/Chief Academic Officer:

• Balances faculty governance pressures, budget realities, and program innovation.
• Faces heavy strain post-COVID, often balancing faculty's “grief” about higher ed’s transformation.
• Career services can partner by proactively working to integrate career into curriculum design, especially in arts and humanities programs where pathways are less clear.

The Chief Enrollment Officer:

• Lives in a world of numbers: yield, conversion, and net tuition revenue.
• Works under immense pressure to prove the institution’s value proposition to prospective students and families.
• Career services can strengthen recruitment efforts by embedding career outcomes and employer partnerships into admissions events, campus visits, marketing materials, and more. Learn more in our previous episode: How Career Services Can Partner with Enrollment to Drive Student Success

The Head of Student Affairs:

• Oversees student life, mental health, onboarding, retention, residence life, and sometimes athletics.
• Post-COVID, this group experienced the highest leadership turnover in higher ed.
• Career services can help by embedding career readiness into student affairs learning outcomes, first-year and second-year experiences, and high-impact practices.

The Chief Advancement Officer:

• Focuses on fundraising, donor relations, and institutional reputation.
• Has a direct line to the president and board.
• Career services can add value by sharing employer partnership data and student success stories that appeal to donors. Leading with transparency builds trust.

Joretta’s advice for career leaders:

• Lead with empathy, transparency, and how you can help cabinet members succeed in their roles.
• Always tie career services work back to the overall student success strategy.
• Provide a steady stream of data and student stories.
• Don’t be afraid to start small. Sometimes it all starts with a coffee meeting!

Resources from the episode:

• Joretta’s LinkedIn profile
• Credo
• Carnegie
• uConnect
• Previous episode: Jonathan Wehner (Carnegie) on the Chief Enrollment Officer perspective
• Brené Brown’s leadership book: Dare to Lead
• Surviving to Thriving (a book by Credo)

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