Strategic Domestic Student Recruitment

Mary’s primary focus in higher education has always been on student success through the creation of offices that nurture people through creativity, openness, and continual engagement that serves to improve the student experience. Throughout her experience, she has gained diversity, breath, and multiple ways of assessing challenges and understanding opportunities across varied institutions.

Mary has served at both colleges and universities in Newfoundland, British Columbia, and the United States. Her career spans more than 25 years, with leadership roles that include Registrar, Director of Student Services & Enrolment, Admissions & Records, and Higher Education Consultant. In her last full-time role as Registrar, she was a member of a university executive team, greatly enhancing her ability to influence strategy, key directions, and decisions.

The areas of accomplishment within her career in higher education are:

• Strategic Enrolment Management;
• Student-based technology solutions;
• Staff development & training;
• Compassionate cultures & high-performing team;
• International & domestic recruitment;
• Policy development, writing, and implementation; and
• Process design & redesign.

Dr. Joe Stokes is the AVP International and University Registrar at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa Ontario Canada, where he is also an award winning professor (adjunct) in the Faculty of Education. Joe is the past Chair of the Ontario Universities’ Council on Admission, and the Ontario University Registrars’ Association, and has led work across the post-secondary sector on, Internationalization, governance, strategic enrolment management, and student retention and student success.

Dr. Stokes’ research interests include International student mobility, strategic enrolment management, leadership psychology, and higher education policy and governance. In the last 3 years Joe has lead groups that have attracted over $1.3 million in research funding including leading the creation of Ontario’s international study brand, and the development of a competitive internationalization toolkit for the province’s post-secondary system. His most recent publications focus on international student mobility in the pandemic era, and strategic enrolment management in a time of global disruption.

Kaylee is the Chief Marketing & Recruitment Officer at the New Brunswick College of Craft & Design (NBCCD), where she has built an integrated recruitment, communications, and marketing department from the ground up. Since joining NBCCD in 2021, Kaylee’s work has driven steady growth in domestic enrolment, facing the challenges of a Canadian region experiencing long-term demographic decline through effective adult learner recruitment. Kaylee serves as a board member for a Local Immigration Partnership (LIP), supporting cross-sector collaboration to strengthen welcoming communities for newcomers to Canada. Her background includes global student recruitment, admissions, financial aid and scholarships, brand creation and implementation, and certification in SEO and digital marketing strategies. Kaylee is a business owner of her own photography and videography production studio, and she frequently guest lectures in post-secondary creative entrepreneurship courses.

Danny Freire is an energetic and dedicated professional with a combined fifteen plus (15+) years’ of experience in student recruitment, registrar services and enrolment management. Danny was born in Ecuador and moved to Canada on a high school exchange. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and his Master of Leadership in Postsecondary Education at the University of Saskatchewan.

Danny began his career in the language education sector, working for more than six years in Japan and China. In 2010 Danny accepted the position of Assistant Marketing Coordinator at the University of Saskatchewan Language Centre where he was responsible for recruiting students from Latin America, Japan and China.

Danny was promoted to the position of Manager of Student Recruitment at the University of Saskatchewan in 2014. He was responsible for providing leadership and coordinating student recruitment activities across the university’s 17 Colleges and schools, assisting the university with meeting its ESL, undergraduate and graduate student enrolment goals. He also ensured that the university was aware of new partnerships, collaborations, and research opportunities.

In 2022, Danny joined Saskatchewan Polytechnic as the Director of Enrolment Services and Registrar where he had an opportunity to lead a team of 6 Managers and a combined 80 staff members in service of the institution. Modernizing the office of the Registrar was a priority task with the successful implementation of MyCreds, a digital credential platform, a comprehensive review of the Admissions Policy with a Strategic Enrolment Management lense, the implementation of the Academic Scheduling (provincially) and the Customer Relationship Management (application and admissions), and finally to modernize and re-organize the office to reflect the provincial model.

Jennifer Powell is a passionate advocate for student success and is dedicated to empowering the next generation. With over a decade of experience in enrolment management, including roles in marketing, recruitment, admissions, academic advising, work-integrated learning, employer relations, and a college board member. Jennifer has cultivated expertise in creating positive post-secondary experiences and facilitating academic-to-career transitions.

As Director of Programming and Community Engagement at Brainstorm Strategy Group, she leverages her skills as a connector, systems thinker, and solution-oriented professional to support Canadian post-secondary institutions and campus recruitment teams across North America. Jennifer helps organizations refine their approach to student support and recruitment through engaging workshops, webinars, and training sessions.

Her enthusiasm extends to stakeholder relations, event planning, partnerships, marketing, and communications. Jennifer’s forward-thinking and dynamic approach reflects her optimism and unwavering commitment to improving student success and outcomes.