Communications Manager for Student Success
College of Arts and Sciences
Boulder, CO
Since fall 2018
When I began working at CU Boulder, I could not have imagined the fit of working in communications and marketing. As a poet, I love that words can shape our perceptions and experiences. But I am also fascinated by the way people respond to digital communications, the manner we quantify this behavior and our application of this data to inform our next steps.
I work with a phenomenal team tasked with bettering the way we communicate and market CU Boulder’s College of Arts and Sciences. We write and design content for websites, email, print, video and social media. We also organize user studies to understand our students’ experiences and launch strategies to improve their success.
My role gives me the opportunity to talk about A&S and higher ed at their best–a fantastic way to spend a day.
Manager of Professional Development & Training; Academic Advisor
College of Arts and Sciences
Boulder, CO
2013 – 2018
As an advisor, I helped students plan college experiences that exceeded their expectations. When I trained advisors, I created a competency framework of best practices, launched a speaker series that became the campus model for training in inclusivity, and redesigned our onboarding experiences. I had freedom to make the role as big as I wanted, and sought to grow it without limits.
Retention Specialist, Graduate Appointment
Eastern Washington University
Cheney, WA
2011 – 2013
The Eastern Scholars Program taught me the significance of a single conversation. I advised students on their courses and taught credit-bearing classes. Students’ academic choices would rapidly swing on my advice, which taught me to take my words seriously, especially when in a position of authority. I was also in charge of collecting our program’s data and visually representing outcomes for campus leadership and donors. During my two years, our program tripled in size and was pursuing national recognition for its work with underrepresented students.
Managing Editor Intern
Willow Springs Books
Spokane, WA
2012 – 2013
Willow Springs Editions gave me an editor’s eye for details. I had a wonderful time working with our team throughout the publishing process – from soliciting and selecting manuscripts, design and publication, to marketing. It gave me a glimpse into the publishing world, and helped me realize that we are on the cusp of a literary resurgence.
Managing Editor Intern
InRoads Literary Journal
Spokane, WA
2011 – 2012
As the managing editor for InRoads, I worked with a wide variety of writers: graders, high schoolers, college students, retirees, amateur authors and professional authors. I loved late-night conversations with our staff to try and work through how we might best collect and represent the work of as many people as possible in a single publication.
Barista
Starbucks
Fort Collins, CO
2010 – 2011
I was, in fact, one of those baristas with an English major who leveraged my command of the language to describe tasting notes. But besides rediscovering my love of discussing what amounts to the same thing in an infinite number of new ways, I learned brazen customer-centric service. Starbucks taught me that rapid, personal and meaningful connection was feasible even within a one minute meeting. Plus, I drank a ton of free coffee. I mean a ton.
ORGANIZATIONAL CONSULTANT
Courage Homes India
New Delhi, India
2008 – 2010
Courage Homes India provides holistic aftercare for survivors of human trafficking, most often minors freed from the sex trade. I worked with some of the best humans I have met to create a purpose and values, then organize our budget and structures, and begin to market their staff’s incredible work. I am thrilled to say that, ten years on, Courage Homes is doing their best work yet. In some ways, my connection to this unbelievable experience was an accident. But it was the kind of accident that entirely reshaped my life.
Grant Writer
El Centro de la Raza
Seattle, WA
2006 – 2008
El Centro continues its long history of helping people of underrepresented communities become self-sufficient. Our fundraising team grew our donor base by amplifying the amazing work of our staff. We built new relationships with private foundations and public grants. In both years I worked for El Centro, our team addressed significant funding deficits with new, longer-term funding sources (I raised roughly $1.5 million in new funding) that added to their staff’s ability to confidently focus on the work that really mattered.
Carpenter
Creative Construction
Castle Rock, CO
2006
When I came back to the US, I needed a job quickly. Eric Slagle, who owned Creative Construction, was kind enough to offer me work as a carpenter. For the summer, I flipped homes, installed roofing, laid wood flooring and replaced siding. I went home each night exhausted and thrilled that I could see and measure exactly what I had accomplished that day.
Laborer
Schloss Klaus
Klaus on der Pyhrnbahn, AT
2005 – 2006
After I graduated college unsure what I wanted in life, I moved to a small dorf in Austria and lived in a castle. In exchange for room and board, I helped renovate a 15th century tavern that became housing for the retreat center’s staff and I landscaped the grounds. On weekends, I poured over Vienna and Salzburg for experiences my limited budget could handle, and I took in the Alps’ outrageous splendor. Along the way, Schloss Klaus staff taught me true work/life balance, how to build things to last beyond my lifetime and to reflect on what, in the end, truly mattered to me.
Tim Grassley 