Keynote Speakers

Dr. Pam Cox-Otto

Highly skilled, a brilliant strategist, and with a wild sense of humor, Pamela Cox-Otto, Ph.D., brings a wealth of experience to meeting the marketing needs of community colleges. Pam has created statewide image and recruitment programs for community colleges, implemented government relations effort, and recreated the brand of colleges coast-to-coast. She has written the book on best web practices for colleges, and college branding (LRP, Publishers). She's a frequent national keynote speaker, blending the latest in research with a deep understanding of two-year colleges. As a founding partner of Interact Communications, she, her partners, and staff, are committed to serving the unique needs of America's two-year colleges.

Pam is a dynamic and charming speaker, who says the community colleges she works with aren't just clients, they're partners. "We solve problems and offer the colleges solutions," said Pam. "You don't just pay for a stack of paper that sits on somebody's desk." Communications strategy and tactics come alive under Pam's able leadership.

Pam's current expertise in research, planning, and communications began simply, as a television news reporter in the tiny California town of Eureka, back in 1974. From there her experience as a reporter developed through covering Salinas/Monterey, the State capitol (Sacramento), and ended as a reporter in the San Francisco television market.

"Whether I'm teaching classes, making a presentation to college presidents, or developing a marketing plan for a college board, the emphasis remains that I'm finding out what people need to know, and developing the models to enable problem solving and communications," said Pam.

Her all-time favorite speaker's review came from a college president at an AACC presentation. "If Robin Williams were a woman, he would be Pam."