Q&A With Lori Friedman: L&C’s New VP for Communications
Lori is responsible for providing vision and leadership for Lewis & Clark’s external and internal communications initiatives, including public, community, and media relations; issues and crisis management; executive communications; the web; social media; and video, digital, and print marketing. Get to know Lori in the following Q&A:
What drew you to Lewis & Clark?
I was drawn to Lewis & Clark for its reputation as a top private liberal arts college in the Pacific Northwest with two stellar professional schools. I am always looking to serve at an institution that is having a positive impact on the community and the world.
What opportunities do you see in marketing and communications at Lewis & Clark?
Lewis & Clark is teeming with strengths, including its Portland location, strong academics, beautiful campus, passionate students, faculty, and staff, and a community based on caring and inclusiveness. The marketing and communications opportunities lie in raising awareness locally, regionally, nationally, and globally about all that this institution has to offer.
What challenges do you foresee, and how do you plan to tackle them?
The greatest challenges I see are external to the institution: a highly competitive marketplace and a societal questioning of the value of higher education. Luckily, I am undaunted. There is nothing I love more than advocating for a worthy cause. Higher education as a sector is of tremendous benefit to society. It is a public good, and Lewis & Clark is a great example of that.
The liberal arts-plus education it provides develops the leaders of the future. The law school is on the leading edge of legal education in highly relevant areas such as environmental law and animal rights. The graduate school equips teachers, educational leaders, and counselors with the necessary tools to support students and populations in need. The institution as a whole confers numerous benefits to the city and region. We have great stories to tell and a wonderful team in place to tell them. What we need to do is broaden our reach.
What do you do in your spare time?
Spare time?! What is this spare time of which you speak?
