Our Smart College Visit Team
Z. Kelly Queijo is passionate about two things: higher-ed marketing and technology. She's been called the "go-to college visit person" for blending both. Founder and president of Smart College Visit, Inc., a higher-ed marketing and college visit planning portal, she brings together college-bound students, their parents, and universities in an engaging and beneficial virtual environment.
SmartCollegeVisit.com has been listed in the Top 100 education advice blogs and as one of the top 5 college visit sites.
Her popular weekly Twitter chat "CampusChat" provides education experts, parents, and students with a forum for insightful interaction. A Virginia Tech alumna, Kelly held the position of Undergraduate Admissions Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator for Virginia Tech from 1993-2000. She is the former Director of i-Recruitment Services for Carnegie Communications and Internet Sales Manager for CollegeNET, both of which provide web-based services to college admissions offices. An award-winning writer and marketing campaign developer, Kelly is the 2010 VT Knowledgeworks Entrepreneurship Summit award winner for best business concept.
She recently conducted a tutorial: BUILD A BETTER COMMUNITY OF BLOGGERS, at the ConnectED the2011 Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education, sponsored by the American Marketing Association, November 2011.
Gail Billingsley has a strong, eclectic background of marketing and strategic planning. Her primary employers were Harrah's Entertainment (casinos, hotels, & theatres), PGA Golf Exhibitions, and theYMCA at Virginia Tech. With Harrah's Gail worked on the opening team of two properties, includingHarrah's first international casino, and worked on the beta launch for the Premier program. While with PGA Golf Exhibitions, Gail worked with a diverse team to develop and launch the new Golf DemoDays and worked on the development and launch of Play Golf America Days with PGA Magazine. She currently holds the position of Director of Marketing and Strategic Planning for Smart College Visit.
Su Clauson-Wicker is a regional travel writer and author of the Inn-to-InnWalking Guide for Virginia & West Virginia and West Virginia Off the Beaten Path. She is contributing editor at Blue Ridge Country and frequently writes on travel, civilengineering, and health for a variety of publications. A Cornell University alumna, her diverse career includes a decade as editor of Virginia Tech Magazine, as well as positionsin journalism, educational television, medical public relations and child welfare. She can also be found portraying a “wench” at Blacksburg’s Smithfield Plantation.
On the IT Side
Alex Edelman studies physics at Carnegie Mellon University. He likes to run in the summer, ski in the winter, and program year-round.
Deb Steenhagen is a mom, blogger, social media manager, and GIS analyst. In addition writing and tweeting for SmartCollegeVisit, she also writes for TravelingMom.com and runs two blogs of her own: momof3girls.net, momstakeonthings.com. Deb has a BA in Geography from the Western University of Michigan in Geography.
Advisory Board
Amy Africa is the CEO of Eight by Eight, a web marketing consultancy. She has been in the forefront of web usability studies, web design improvement, and successful e-commerce for over 15 years. An engaging, entertaining speaker, Amy has been featured at web conferences around the globe. Her specialty is neuromarketing and non-verbal communications and her depth of knowledge is backed by intensive field testing and web user studies, earning her the reputation of a voice to be heard on Internet topics ranging from site improvement, traffic building and SEO to analytics and email marketing. She shares her insights via her blog at Amy Africa's Qlog.
Jim Jarrett is an inspirational and talented software design manager, team lead, and creative director with deep expertise in user experience and product design for the enterprise. He currently heads design at BoxTone, a leader in enterprise mobility management systems. He has previously held design management and architecture positions at MedAssurant, Rockwell Automation, Chiron Diagnostics, and Roadway, and has received multiple patents and awards for his work. A graduate of Virginia Tech, he had the pleasure of launching his career with Kelly as a colleague and friend at an eduction-based multimedia firm in Blacksburg, VA.
Karen Torgersen currently serves as a board member of the Alumni Association at Virginia Tech and is also the Scholarship Coordinator at Leifur Eiriksson Foundation. Her 20-year career in higher-education began at Virginia Tech where she served as Director of Undergraduate Admissions, followed by her term as Vice-President at U21pedagogica, a global education consortium. Before relocating to Raleigh, North Carolina, she was Director of Marketing at the University of Virginia.
Creative Solution Collaborators
Nancy Berk, Ph.D. is a frequent SmartCollegeVisit collaborator. The most recent collaboration with SCV is College Mom Minute, an audio podcast with tips for moms of teens and college students. She is also a blogger for the Huffington Post, MORE Magazine, TravelingMom.com, and her own College Bound and Gagged Blog. In November 2011, Nancy will keynote ConnectED the2011 Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education, sponsored by the American Marketing Association. Click here to view a video excerpt from her upcoming book.
Anne Giles Clelland is the president of Handshake Media, Incorporated, a technology company specializing in public relations, founder of Handshake 2.0, a business news and public relations site, and co-founder of She Chooses, the social network for women. Anne Clelland combines creative forces with Z. Kelly Queijo on multiple enterprises. Highlights include online PR for the launch of SmartCollegeVisit and the release of campus mobile guide Visit Virginia Tech. Handshake 2.0 hosts First College Visit, a series of first college visit stories by business professionals, sponsored by SmartCollegeVisit.
Kelsey Sarles is an experienced Graphic Designer and Marketing Director. A graduate of Concord University with a BA in Graphic Design/Advertising and a minor in Business Administration, Kelsey is passionate about creating inspiring, result-driven marketing and design solutions for her clients. When she is not working or referring to herself in the third person, you will most likely find Kelsey enjoying the outdoors, whether water skiing, hiking, or lounging in the sun reading a good book. You can learn more about Kelsey's work and her quirks on her website, www.redk.us.
SmartCollegeVisit welcomes inquiries from artists, freelance writers, content creators, and guest bloggers. If you're interested in developing creative content for this site, please send an email with "Freelance" or "Guest Blogger" in the subject line to info@smartcollegevisit.com.
