Office of Communications and Public Affairs

Responsibilities: General management and oversight of the Office of Communications & Public Affairs, including proactive media relations, integrated marketing, public relations and publications programs, video and special events production, and strategic efforts in support of student recruitment and fundraising. Duties also include contributions to Bowdoin magazine, campus communications, speechwriting, and serving as primary College spokesperson. Member of the College Coordinating Group (CCG).

Background and Experience: Joined Bowdoin in August 1989, having previously served as news director of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPBN), as co-host of “Maine Things Considered,” and as a regular news contributor to National Public Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Monitor Radio, CBS Radio, and CNN. Holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Lake Forest College and a master’s degree in public policy and management from the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine. Graduate of Leadership Maine (IOTA Class – 2002).

Phone: (207) 725-3256
Email: shood@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities: Responsible for strategic development, planning, and oversight of all editorial, photographic, and design functions of the College’s alumni magazine. Also works on production and creative development of selected communications pieces and projects, often as a member of a project team.

Background and Experience:Alison came to Bowdoin in April 1993, after working for nine years in book and magazine publishing, marketing, advertising, and public relations, most recently as general manager and account supervisor of the Portland office of Arnold Fortuna Lawner & Cabot. She earned her A.B. in English and American literature and languages at Harvard-Radcliffe College.

Phone: (207) 725-3136
Email: abennie@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities: Develops newsworthy pitches to local and national media in attempts to raise the College’s profile, manages inquiries from news outlets, and oversees the "Campus News" and "Bowdoin in the News" sections of the Bowdoin Web site. Duties also include contributing to the editorial process in which news and information about the College is developed, written and published on the Web site and in print.

Background and Experience: Doug joined Bowdoin in December 2006, after working for 15 years in broadcast journalism, most recently as a news anchor and reporter for WMTW. An award-winning journalist, Doug contributed reports to ABC World News Now and CNN. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western Michigan University.

Phone: (207) 725-3964
Email: dcook@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities: The Sports Information Director (SID) handles all media and public relations for the Polar Bears’ 30 varsity athletic teams. Duties include maintenance of the Bowdoin Athletics Web site and the 24-hour Polar Bear Sports Hotline. The SID produces gameday programs for home athletic events and writes pre- and post-game news releases on each of Bowdoin’s athletic contests, which are distributed to regional and national media outlets. The SID also supervises the collection of school records and compiles each of the teams’ statistical data in order to report to the NESCAC and NCAA. Additional duties include acting as chair of the Athletic Department Awards Committee, serving on the Athletic Hall of Honor Committee, and contributing to Bowdoin Magazine.

Background and Experience: Joined Bowdoin in 2001 from Middlebury College, where he served one year as the Assistant Director of Athletic Communications. Previous experience includes public relations internships with the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs baseball team and Earlville (N.Y.) Opera House. Graduated from Ithaca (N.Y.) College in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in Communications, majoring in public relations with a minor in sport studies.

Phone: (207) 725-3254
Email: jcaton@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities: Maintains the clarity, quality, and accuracy of Bowdoin’s written communications, both in print and electronic form; produces the Bowdoin Catalogue, telephone directory, and Commencement and Honors Day programs; general writing, editing, and proofreading; oversees the "Featured Events" section of the Bowdoin Web site; works as part of the team that develops, writes, and publishes news and information about Bowdoin in print and on the Web.

Background and Experience: Sue joined Bowdoin in October 2000 after a 12-year tenure as marketing assistant and publications coordinator for the Portland Symphony Orchestra. During her PSO tenure she wrote and edited everything from season brochures and news releases to program booklets and special concert scripts, and managed the group and advertising sales campaigns. A native of Andover, Mass., Sue graduated summa cum laude from Merrimack College with a B.A. in English, and earned a master’s degree in English at the University of Vermont, where she also taught first-year writing for two years.

Phone: (207) 725-3832
Email: sdanfort@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities: Responsible for campus-wide web strategic planning and design, site architecture, usability, and best practices on the Web.  Builds and integrates large, complex sites and works to enhance the Content Management System with tools that allow campus web publishers to build organized, engaging, and highly usable web sites.

Background and Experience: A native of Texas, Robert Denton studied photography and art history in the BFA program at the University of Houston, where he began using computers as a tool in his art work. While a member of Houston's art community, he curated exhibitions for alternative art spaces, exhibited at galleries, and taught courses at the High School for Performing and Visual Arts. Robert earned an MFA in photography studio art, also focusing on design studies, at the School of Art & Design, University of Illinois - Chicago where he taught photography and multimedia courses. Moving to Maine in 1995 he and a partner started a multimedia company where they worked on educational, training, and promotional projects for local and national companies.

Phone: (207) 725-3934
Email: rdenton@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities: Develop written and multimedia materials that vividly communicate the excellence of Bowdoin’s academic program, with a special emphasis on faculty research, scholarship, performance and student mentorship. Content areas include Bowdoin’s Web site, Magazine, admissions materials, iTunesU podcasts, and print publications.

Background and Experience: Came to Bowdoin in May 2004, with 20 years experience in communications, including higher education, print and broadcast advertising, multimedia, and journalism.

Phone: (207) 725-3961
Email: sframe@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities: Provides primary phone and front desk coverage. Duties include implementation of campus-wide stationery and business card orders, inputs selected information into the Bowdoin online events calendar, maintains student hometown newspaper database, assists with photo database maintenance, enters class news notes into alumni database for Bowdoin Magazine, and performs other general office duties.

Background and Experience: Joined Bowdoin in September 2005, after 11 years as an executive administrative assistant with the PVH/Bass Headquarters in South Portland.

Phone: (207) 725-3522
Email: cgreenl2@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities: Support and enhance the academic priorities of the College through the creative use of new media. Consult with faculty & Deans to develop engaging academic media projects involving web, multimedia, mapping, and interactive applications.

Background and Experience: Prior to joining Bowdoin, David spent a decade building brands as a creative director, technologist and strategist. He has worked at Disney, Young & Rubicam, USWeb/CKS (marchFIRST), and Active/Interactive. His clients have included Fortune 100 companies and a variety of cultural institutions.

Phone: (207) 725-3139
Email: disrael@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities: College marketing strategy, including oversight of digital communications and strategic marketing plan. Member of the College Coordinating Group (CCG).

Background and Experience:Came to Bowdoin in January of 2006 after five years as Director of Marketing & Information Services at Brown University’s Continuing Studies division. Prior to Brown, spent eight years in the technology sector in Seattle, most recently leading the marketing efforts for Amazon.com’s Advantage program for independent publishers, musicians, and filmmakers.

Phone: (207) 798-4253
Email: rkerr@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities:
Assists in the design, production, coding, and testing of Web solutions. Provides hands-on technical support to both front-end and back-end Web sites and execution of Web site maintenance and development.

Background and Experience:
Kelli joined Bowdoin in August 2008, having previously worked at KG Partners, an advertising agency in Portland, as a Web designer/developer. Prior to KG, she worked for both corporate and non-profit organizations designing and building a variety of Web solutions. Her clients have included ESPN, ABC Daytime TV, National Geographic, and Hannaford Supermarkets.

Phone: (207) 725-3137
Email: kmcnicho@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities:
Manages a major portion of the College’s publications from programs and brochures to invitations and posters. Publication production, from concept to delivery—evaluation, planning, editorial oversight, design oversight, photography selection, and print production. Includes pieces such as those for Commencement, events, student recruitment, and special programs. In addition, produces the Arts and Culture calendar, Commencement and Orientation materials, and the Campus Map, among others.

Background and Experience:
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Megan joined Bowdoin in July 2001, having previously worked at an academic catalogue publishing firm, where she was a proofreader and did layout and graphics. Prior to that, she served as publications associate in the Office of Communications at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, working on The Exeter Bulletin (alumni magazine) and managing the school’s photo database. Megan holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of New Hampshire. 

Phone: (207) 725-3769
Email: mmorouse@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities:
Oversees portions of Bowdoin magazine including advertising, the Bookshelf and Bowdoinsider sections, Class News, alumni profiles, and the magazine Web site. Edits and distributes monthly Bowdoin News e-newsletter to alumni, parents, and friends of the College. Assists the Office of Alumni Relations as a coordinator for Reunion Weekend.

Background and Experience:
A Maine native, Matt graduated from Holy Cross College and earned an M.F.A. in poetry at the University of North Carolina–Greensboro. He joined Bowdoin magazine in 2000. A long-time professional ski instructor, Matt also directs a telemark ski program for the Bowdoin College Outing Club; and as founding editor of From the Fishouse, an online audio archive of emerging poets, he produces a visiting poets reading series on campus. He co-edited the collection “From the Fishouse: An Anthology of Poems that Sing, Rhyme, Resound, Syncopate, Alliterate, and Just Plain Sound Great” (Persea Books, 2009).

Phone: (207) 725-3133
Email: modonnel@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities:
Content development for Web and print. Oversees the College's visual identity standards and works closely with Web, print, and broadcast to ensure quality, consistent communications across all college media.

Phone: (207) 725-3259
Email: arichard@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities:
Manages and schedules vice president’s calendar of appointments, provides administrative support to the director of news and media relations, and helps with administration for the office. Other duties include managing the Association of Bowdoin Friends; producing the Bowdoin Bulletin, a bi-weekly listing of campus events and exhibitions; and moderating classified advertisements on the Web. Provides general administrative support and office service as requested by staff.

Background and Experience:
Came to Bowdoin in July of 1999, with more than 15 years administrative experience, including office management, billing, sales, and customer service.

Phone: (207) 725-3306
Email: ssmith@bowdoin.edu

Responsibilities:
Interface design, motion graphics, animation, and video editing. Project management for complex Web development projects and primary liaison with the Division of Information Technology.

Background and Experience:
Kevin has been at Bowdoin since 2001 in various roles involving design, technology and project management. He has worked in Web design and multimedia since the early 1990s. A native of Wiscasset, Maine, Kevin studied art and design at the University of Southern Maine. He lives in North Yarmouth with his wife, Marcia, and young son, Zack.

Phone: (207) 725-3943
Email: ktravers@bowdoin.edu