Ellen de Graffenreid is vice president of communications and marketing at Grinnell College (IA). She has more than 25 years of experience telling stories about the everyday heroes of higher education and academic medicine. She has led award-winning integrated marketing communications programs supporting institutional goals for philanthropy, enrollment, reputation, and institutional brands.
She has held communications and marketing leadership positions at Syracuse (NY), Duke University (NC), the University of Missouri, Brandeis University (MA), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Louisville and Washington State University. Her previous career experience was in market research, competitive intelligence, and thought leadership communications for technology companies.
de Graffenreid earned Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Indiana University where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She earned a Master of Arts in Russian and Soviet History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Business Administration from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.