Shaping the future of education through strategic marketing
Hi, I’m Melissa McElhill, a higher education marketing professional with over 15 years of marketing and communications experience.
As a strategic marketer, I deliver measurable results while honoring education’s noble vision: to help every student pursue a fully realized life.
Areas of specialization
Built and led high-performing marketing teams, driving awareness, enrollment and retention through innovative strategies and cross-department collaboration.
I analyze data to determine the optimal strategies to reach and influence target audiences, providing regular insights on enrollment marketing initiatives across media channels, platforms, and campaigns.
By prioritizing student feedback, I ensure that our marketing initiatives authentically connect with our audience and encourage a student-centric experience at every stage of the student lifecycle.
Content marketing strategy
Campaign management
Building small teams
Marketing automation
Partnering with vendors
Leveraging tech and GenAI
Delivering on budget
Guiding principles
Human-centered
At the heart of education lies a fundamental appreciation for humanity, a shared reverence for the human life fully lived. Everyone, whether student or colleague, deserves to be seen, heard, and valued.
Practice in public
I practice “thinking in public” to help promote the idea that human beings continue to learn and grow beyond childhood; that you don’t have to think the same thoughts all your life just because you had them in the past.
The “Goethe career trajectory”
Goethe said that when we treat people as if they’ve already fulfilled their potential, we help them become the best version of themselves. Applying this philosophy to the workplace helps create an environment that uplifts and encourages.
Valorization of work
I appreciate all forms of work that contribute positively to reaching shared objectives. It’s easy to say no, to criticize, to tear down. It takes effort to build. Creating things through the economy of exchange deserves recognition and celebration.
