Tony Dobies is an experienced higher ed marketing and communications leader and speaker. He has spent the last 15 years at West Virginia University, most recently as the Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Brand Strategy. At WVU, he led a team of 40+ marketers, brand strategists, creators, and industry specialists, while overseeing a multi-million dollar budget and day-to-day operations. 

Tony brings a disciplined marketing philosophy: decisions grounded in data, strategies built around audiences, channels prioritized by digital, and creative work anchored in strategy. He believes that higher ed marketing and communications should accomplish the University’s highest level goals of engagement, enrollment, fundraising, and retention. His experience balances a deep understanding of the day-to-day work with a genuine commitment to building strong team culture and campus partnerships.

In 2025, Tony led WVU through a comprehensive brand refresh, a reimagining of tone, voice, and visual identity that re-energized the institution’s story and created a unified framework across a complex, decentralized environment. In addition, he led a team that built a new analytics and reporting infrastructure, an audience-focused marketing model in partnership with various campus units, and a more concrete project management workflow. His leadership has led to increases in enrollment, retention, and alumni engagement. 

Tony has spoken, chaired, and planned conferences within higher ed since 2017. He’s spoken at the AMA Higher Ed Symposium, the CASE Social Media and Community Conference, the CASE Annual Conference for Marketing and Branding Professionals, and others throughout his career. He has given keynote presentations about brand management, data-driven marketing, marketing executive leaders, building strong content through strategy, social media strategy, and more. 

Tony started working at WVU in 2011 and has had progressive growth in writing, social media, and various marketing leadership roles. During that time, he developed a track record of taking strategic risks, setting industry standards, leading successful teams, and winning numerous awards, including the Best Central Social Media Team award in 2021. He was also named a PR News “Rising PR Star 30 & Under” in 2015. 

Tony has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications, both from WVU. Prior to his higher ed career, he was a sports writer for various media outlets, including the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and The Associated Press. He’s originally from Western Pennsylvania, is a 2-time marathoner, and an avid traveler. 

Ravi Jain is a prolific multimedia storyteller, with over 25 years experience of implementing new technologies to engage audiences. A short form video evangelist, he has received numerous awards and recognition for his work, including a 2007 Webby Award nomination for his "talk-show in a car," DriveTime.

For the last seven years, Jain has devised multimedia solutions for clients served by Boston College's Office of Marketing Communications, including Boston College Magazine. One of his first products for the university was The Boston College Minute: 60-second fly on the wall documentaries that remain one of the most popular content offerings of the school. He manages a team of producers to develop custom multimedia experiences, including original features for @BC, the multimedia arm of Boston College Magazine.

Prior to his time at Boston College, Jain wrote and produced interactive content for the PBS series' American Experience, produced by WGBH in Boston. He served as the liaison between the film units and WGBH's in-house interactive staff in order to build out educational interactive features. Jain also served as field producer for many behind the scenes shoots, for both web and DVD platforms.

Jain's passion for non-linear, digital based experiences dates to the early 1990s when he created his own independent major of study at Oberlin College, combining film/video, computer science and studio art. After establishing his professional career as a designer in the Boston area, Jain moved to Stockholm, Sweden in the late 1990s to pursue opportunities in interactive multimedia design. He returned to the United States three years later to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts degree at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design's Studio for Interrelated Media.

Since receiving his MFA, Jain has successfully balanced three roles: professional multimedia strategist, part-time university professor and practicing conceptual artist. Concurrent with his roles at WGBH and Boston College, he has been an adjunct faculty member at Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies Digital Media program. Jain teaches graduate level courses on different aspects of digital media and also acts as thesis advisor for students.

As an innovative artist, Ravi has showcased his work both as a solo artist and in a number of regional group shows. His 2002 interactive web sitcom Three Abreast anticipated "second screen" synchronized content in popular media and was a Web Award nominee at the 2003 South by Southwest Interactive Festival. Most recently, Jain was one of the winners of the City of Boston's inaugural Fenway's 30 Second Cinema competition, producing a custom short form video optimized for an outdoor video screen adjacent to the Fenway Park baseball stadium.

Day is the Associate Vice President of Marketing and Community at SimpsonScarborough, where she brings people in the higher education industry together for shared ideas, sharper thinking, and braver work. 

For nearly two decades, she has led award-winning work with institutions around the world. An international keynote speaker and bestselling author of Mailed It!, Day is known for turning complexity into clarity and helping teams move from insight to action.

She teaches and shares her work widely, through workshops and courses, her volunteer roles with Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Digital Collegium, and American Marketing Association, and her weekly newsletter, You Ask, Day Answers.

Michael Tate has been a member of the advancement team at Stanford for nearly three decades. For the past five years, he has been a member of the senior leadership team at the Stanford Alumni Association, serving as a director of digital and data insights.  Michael's team manages the full scope of digital support for the alumni association, from email production, data analysis, alumni research, and insights. He partners with alumni association members and campus partners, including the office of development, university communications, and the individual school alumni relations offices.

Michael earned his BA in American Civilization from Brown University and received his JD from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the alumni association at Stanford, Michael spent three years in the Brown Alumni Relations Office, where he cut his teeth in alumni relations and fell in love with the profession. In addition to his work at Stanford, he is a fundraising consultant and auctioneer for local and national nonprofits, raising more than $15M over the last 15 years.  Originally from Cleveland, OH, Michael is a member of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and a frequent traveler (15 trips and counting) to Ireland, where his husband, Simon, was born and raised. 

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-tate-28488135/