Fundamentals of Student
Recruitment Marketing

Graham Donald is one of North America’s leading experts on attracting, recruiting, and engaging students and graduates.

He founded Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. in 2003 to focus on improving students’ school-to-work transition by advising and training both the employers that hire students and the educators who support their career development on campus.

His clients have included KPMG, PwC, University of Toronto, Deloitte, GE, McGill University, HSBC, UBC, Rutgers University, Kraft, and many others.

He chairs several conferences annually including the Campus Recruiting Forums in cities across Canada and the USA; the Canadian Career Development Summit; and, the Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management Forum. He also speaks regularly at conferences across the US and Canada.

Graham Donald is a firm believer in the value of a general arts education and makes use every day of the skills he developed pursuing a double-major in English and Literary Studies. He received both his BA and MBA from the University of Toronto.

JP Rains serves as Director of Communications & Digital Strategy at Laurentian University and teaches Sport, Media & Communication as a lecturer in the School of Sports Administration, within the Faculty of Management at Laurentian. He also spends time as President of Rains Media, working with clients in postsecondary education on student journey mapping and search engine optimization.

He earned his Masters in Business Administration and Bachelor of Commerce, specialized in Sports Administration at Laurentian University. JP is a past chair of the board for the Post Secondary Education Web Conference of Canada, a past board member with the Laurentian University Alumni Association, and the Chair of the Golf Marathon Sudbury an organization which has raised over $500,000 for children’s health in Sudbury. In 2012, he was named to Sudbury’s Top 40 under 40.

He is a published author in the Journal of Education Advancement and Marketing.

Debbie Rogers is a strategic marketing leader with a diverse global marketing and team management background. She’s all about achieving exceptional results by combining a visionary approach with meticulous planning with data-driven insights.

As the Associate Director of Global Marketing at St. Lawrence College in Ontario, Debbie leads the development of worldwide strategies and multilingual campaigns to attract prospective students, boost the College’s image, and hit those enrolment goals.

A proud graduate of SLC’s Integrated Marketing Communications program, Debbie’s marketing career has taken her through roles in economic development, tourism, arts & culture, sustainability, bioenergy, and various local small businesses before landing her in the education sector in 2015.

Besides making the marketing magic happen, you’ll find Debbie exploring the world (while searching for the best lattes), raising a kind little human, and ambitiously tackling DIY projects at home. She’s not just a marketing pro; she’s a force of passion and creativity!

Born and raised in Saint-Boniface, Christian is a proud franco-Manitoban Métis who spent six years in Alberta before being drawn back to his homeland. With decades of experience and higher education in business, marketing, law, and tourism & leisure, Christian likes to think big, and see the big picture.

Christian is the Director of Marketing and Web Presence for RRC Polytech. As an intrapreneur (not a typo), he leads a talented team of professionals while marketing one of Manitoba’s Top 10 most valued brands to audiences both locally and globally.

You may have heard of or even experienced some of his bold initiatives, including the Glass Floor attraction at the Calgary Tower, the Flags of the World display outside the Royal Canadian Mint, and the very first marketing campaigns and public programs offered by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. He also spearheaded the effort to honour Manitoba icon Gabriel Langlois (Dancing Gabe) with an Honourary Diploma from RRC Polytech and initiated Winnipeg’s successful Guinness World Record attempt for the longest frozen river trail (much to the chagrin of the City of Ottawa).

In his spare time, Christian is a community advocate, ball hockey organizer and coach, mentor to young entrepreneurs, and an active Director on multiple Boards for organizations and causes, including:

☆ The Forks North Portage Partnership (Board of Directors)
☆ National Film Board of Canada (Board of Trustees)
☆ CreativeMornings Winnipeg (Co-Founder / Steering Committee)
☆ Clear Lake Cabin Owners’ Association of Riding Mountain National Park (President)
☆ Champlain Community Centre (Board of Directors)
☆ Canadian Colleges & Institutes MarCom Leaders Guild (Co-Founder / Co-Chair)
☆ Festival du Voyageur’s Wise Wolf Trading Post (Co-Founder / Co-Chair)

Christian has often been told (and not just by his mom) that his optimism is contagious, his drive is unwavering, and his contributions are invaluable. While Christian tends to shy away from the spotlight, he takes great pride in making a meaningful and lasting impact on his community.

Jackie Cox is the Director of Marketing and Recruitment at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), where she leads strategic initiatives to elevate the institution’s brand and drive enrollment. With more than two decades of marketing experience, Jackie is adept at crafting and executing effective and impactful integrated strategies and campaigns.

Vicky is the Associate Director, Marketing and Communications, for the Faculty of Arts and Science at Queen’s University.

Vicky supports the Executive Director of Communications and Marketing, and the Dean and senior leadership team, on internal and external communications. She is responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of marketing and communications strategies for the Faculty. This includes providing advice, tools, and expertise through the Dean’s Office to the over 30 academic units within the Faculty of Arts and Science, the largest faculty at Queen’s.

In addition to her previous positions at the School of Graduate Studies, Faculty of Education, and University Research Services at Queen’s University, Vicky has over 20 years of work experience in higher education in Canada and abroad. She has worked as a marketing consultant, program manager, and instructor. Her passion for stories and storytelling dates back to her own experience as a graduate student, when she wrote a biography as her thesis for her Master’s in Russian History.

Vicky’s passion for stories and culture has brought her around the world, as well as closer to colleagues and friends on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples, where Queen’s University now sits.

It is also what brings her to this course – in her presentation on niche marketing, she will share her experience of working in partnership with the Faculty’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures and Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na Language and Cultural Centre in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory to launch and continue to support the unique Queen’s Certificate in Mohawk Language and Culture that is delivered in Tyendinaga.