Impact

Stars InfographicShe inspires, she creates, she leads. Dynamic, smart, intuitive, insightful and courageous, Chris motivates, builds and strengthens.

Chris shared her expertise at a time when we were preparing to embrace an exciting new strategic direction that would shape our future for years to come. Her knowledge and professionalism were a real plus as we navigated unknown territory. —Janet Troy, Executive Director of Ashland Community Health Foundation

The twinkle in Chris’s eye belies keen insights into what makes people tick, be it in the workplace or the marketplace. Perhaps it’s a twinkle of magic! —Emile Amarotico, General Manager of Ashland Food Co-op

What I appreciate about our work together is that your words are often like pebbles in a pond. Your thoughts and questions have a ripple effect that either immediately or over time provide me with a different perspective which in turn allows me to shift how I’m thinking or feeling about what is going on. —Margaret Nelson-Quin, SRA, Oregon Certified Residential Appraiser

In the entire history of winemaking, not one winemaker got into the business because she loved selling wine. In fact, the most common lament among winemakers is, ‘Selling sucks!’ Thank God then for Chris Cook. In addition to many years of experience in the marketing world, Chris also brings a unique knowledge of the wine industry to bear that permits her to hone your marketing to a laser focus. Remember: No matter how beautiful that bottle of wine is, nobody will buy it they don’t know about it. —Kevin Breck, Owner and Winemaker, North Bar Cellars

Chris helped us develop an overall marketing plan and started us in a good direction. She handled strategy, research, and initial PR work. Chris also helped us produce a video and get some media attention at a time that was particularly challenging due to COVID blowing up the news. —Suzanne Willow, Co-Owner of The Forest Conservation Burial Ground

When it came time to put together our online/on-demand course, we hired Chris Cook to edit the materials and ensure the continuity and flow of content. She and Sarah Wolcott were responsible for developing the course materials, writing the script, coordinating the videotaping of the lessons, and serving as on-camera instructors. I had great confidence in Chris’s abilities to understand the industry and package things in a way that would offer the greatest value to the people who take the course. Tim Hanni, MW (Master of Wine)

Chris brings a tremendous amount of passion for the subject matter. She credits the Emotional Intelligence course with changing her life and often gets the same reaction from her students. —Moneeka Settles, Southern Oregon University Innovation & Leadership Program

We are so fortunate to have Chris’s expertise on the board. She has a way of getting to the bottom of what makes an organization its very best. —Hiram Towle, Mt. Ashland Ski Area

Working with Chris over the past several months has given me a new perspective on leadership. I have learned that to be vulnerable and authentic in a leadership role is the only way to stay whole. Chris is flexible, supportive, and knowledgeable about the business world. With anxiety in the world high this year due to the pandemic, I was grateful to have Chris on my team as I took on a new leadership role in my organization. —Robin Conrad, MiM, Director of Operations, Ingram Content Group

Chris is masterful at bringing branding to life. For Rose Hill B&B, Chris artfully orchestrated the perfect team to implement the branding and marketing strategy. We created their new website with input from Chris every step of the way. I highly recommend Capiche! —Erin O’Kelley Muck, President, Ruby Slipper Designs

When my clients need a marketing expert, I often look to Chris—and my clients thank me. She brings a rare combination of deep expertise in marketing/branding; a gentle, insightful coaching touch; and a warm, outgoing personality to every interaction. Chris is more than effective—she’s an absolute joy to work with! —John Lamy, Owner, Lamy Consulting

Chris has helped me become a better executive. I’m a better listener, and I’m handling stress better by realizing when to let things go that I can’t change. During this time of extraordinary challenges in the entertainment business, Chris has helped us come to a common vision, function as a team, and communicate better using a shared language. This has made a difference in bringing organization back into the company. —John C. Schweiger, Chairman and CEO, Coming Attractions Theatres, Inc.

Chris is smart and action-oriented. Our project involved some deep and important discussion between faculty and staff at SOU; Chris moderated the process beautifully. Our work led to the development of a positioning strategy for SOU that Chris brought to life on a shoestring budget. She was incredibly productive in her efforts even though she had very little support and almost no budget. She is a very effective professional! —Elizabeth Scarborough, CEO and Partner, SimpsonScarborough

I had the delight of working directly under Chris in my previous role as director of communications at SOU. She was an absolute standout in every way. Her inspiring creative vision, stellar communication and listening skills, and strong leadership laser-focused SOU on a compelling brand strategy that was unprecedented in university history. Chris is a supreme professional, effective time manager, and tactful diplomat. She is also the finest boss I have ever had. Chris has a way of breaking employees out of their routine, honing in on their true strengths and talents, and boldly redefining their positions to generate the greatest possible employee happiness and organizational productivity. —Melissa Michaels, President & Creative Director, Michaels & Michaels Creative, LLC

One of Chris’s leadership and managerial fortes is diplomacy: she excels at organizing complex projects and delegating tasks to members of a workgroup. Chris engages collaborators through active listening, taking mutual understanding as the path toward buy-in and team achievement. —Hal Legg, Recruitment Communications Specialist, Genesee Community College

Chris is an incredibly creative and charismatic marketing professional. She possesses fantastic insight into the needs of a project and has the unique ability to work others’ opinions into that project without compromising the overall goal. I was extremely impressed with her leadership style as well as her ability to pull the creative voices of her colleagues into the project in a meaningful manner. If you should have a chance to work with her, I am sure you will appreciate her wit and positive energy. —Marvin Woodard, Multicultural Resource Center Coordinator, Southern Oregon University

Chris was our primary day-to-day contact at the college during the time we conducted a thorough institutional brand study. Managing this process is, without question, more difficult than meets the eye. For any academic institution to embrace distinct language, imagery, and foundational communications concepts that will allow it to build a coherent brand identity amid its many publics, it typically must conduct a very open and inclusive process that engages as many people as possible. Chris understood this intuitively. What made it work were the strongcollegial, and very professional relationships she had taken the time to establish over her time of service at the college, not only with her own staff, but with faculty and staff from the Provost’s Office to the Grounds crew. It was clear to us that Chris had long ago won the loyalty and respect of her staff. They saw her as fair and respectful and a good advocate for their work within the college. This allowed Chris to get the best work from her staff that they were capable of doing as well as to urge them to higher levels of performance. Chris’s working style is collaborative, not confrontational; low-key rather than pushy. She’s not always the first one to speak in a meeting but when she does so, she is substantiveinsightful, and constructive. She’s not a self-important person, but she is a consummate team player and contributor. —Peter Holloran, Cofounder and President, Cognitive Marketing

In my experience with Chris, she was professionaldedicatedpersonable, and hard-working. I enjoyed interacting with her and found her to be open to differing points of view. I would recommend her in a number of areas. —Rick Bleiweiss, Independent Professional

Chris was a real visionary in helping move SUNY Brockport further ahead in the online space. In addition to overseeing a major website face lift, she was instrumental in some of Brockport’s early online advertising. She’s a great client and knows her stuff! —Peter Platt, VP, Online Media, Butler/Till Media

Chris was an extremely creativeintelligent marketing professional for SOU, leading us through an innovative marketing campaign at a challenging time within our organization. She is a dynamic and sincere person to work beside. —Elizabeth Sunitsch, Former Contracts Officer and Procurement & Risk Manager, Southern Oregon University

Chris was a great motivator who took the time to really know the employees under her and utilize their strengths to achieve the university’s goals. She was always concerned with how to use what we already brought to the table to make things happen. Chris was also a fantastic time organizer. So much was accomplished during her time at Southern Oregon University because she was able to think on her feet. Chris has a fabulous creative mind and really tried to see things from different perspectives. —Stormy Shannon, High School English Teacher, Baker Charter Schools

My company worked with Chris while she was director of marketing at The State University of New York at Brockport. Her knowledgeenergy, and skills were awesome, and I always looked forward to our interactions. She is smartdriven, and very personable. —David Mammano, Founder/CEO, Next Step Publishing/BackToLearn.com

Inclusive. Consensus builder. Leader. Emotionally intelligent. Inspiring. Chris came to a marketing department that had been in tremendous flux for many years. In just 18 months, Chris revealed our brand and advanced our marketing more than in the previous 7 years that I had been there. And she did it with substantially less budget and infinitely more grace. Where I think she was especially masterful was in listening to and honoring the feelings of all members of the university community. Branding an institution brings a lot of emotions and opinions, yet she inspired trust through a truly open and transparent process. Plenty of lip service is paid to transparency, but no one walks this walk as beautifully as Chris. —Dr. Vicki Purslow, Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Southern Oregon University

Chris was a wonderful colleague. I came to Brockport as a new chair. She went out of her way to help support my new vision for the department. During this time, we worked together to develop a successful marketing plan. Chris had an uncanny sense of what the college and what each department needed. Chris is personable, bright, and dedicated. I thoroughly support her. —Darwin Prioleau, Chair, SUNY College at Brockport

In the marketing world, especially in the college sector, a winning marketer has a forward-thinking perspective, is a person with vision, and has their finger on the pulse of what today’s audience responds to. Chris has those qualities. In order to take the lead, you cannot follow the competition. Chris has had the courage to look outside the ‘same old’ options and evaluate new ways to communicate to her audience. She has evaluated her marketing choices and chosen the right ones. A SUNY CUAD Award for Best in Category in Electronic Communications is just one example. Chris may not boast about herself much, but her results and recognition from her peers do a lot of the talking for her. —Chip Saresky, Director of Marketing & Sales, Corporate Communications, Inc.

Chris is an imaginative, well-organized marketing manager. She recommended sound, doable ideas and led them to fruition on time and on budget. She is also trustworthy, works well with others, and demonstrated great patience in conceiving and delivering new ideas. She is an excellent colleague who is professional in her demeanor and performance. She knows her stuff and is fun to work with. —Paul Steinle, Emeritus Professor of Communication and Former Associate Provost, Southern Oregon University

Chris is a take-charge marketing manager who looks at the big picture and follows through with the details. She initiated marketing programs that not only strengthened the SUNY Brockport brand, but positioned the college as a leader in education. Chris is a true professional and a pleasure to work with. —Linda Covington, Senior Account Manager, Rochester Business Journal

When Chris was hired as the marketing director for Southern Oregon University, I was responsible for the website. We soon developed a good working relationship. She was able to diplomatically work with me and other campus entities to achieve her goals without disrupting existing strategies or offending anyone. We made more positive progress with the website under Chris’s guidance than has been made since she left. Her main charge when she began at SOU was to do a branding analysis to help the University identify its core values and how to present them to the public. Chris did an excellent job with this, culminating in a report that contained both the verbal and visual elements that could serve as the foundation for our marketing efforts for years to come. —Paul Lieberman, Lead Web Developer for Central Web Services at Oregon State University and Former Network/Enterprise Services Manager, Southern Oregon University