Carnegie's Slate Optimization services are powered by Underscore, the largest dedicated Slate team in the country and Technolutions’ first Platinum Preferred Partner. We’re transforming the higher education landscape by leveraging the power of Slate—one project at a time. From application status portals to custom implementations, we'll ensure your technology fulfills its potential.
This is Slate expertise you can count on.
We’re here to maximize your college or university’s Slate CRM investment. From application status portals and custom implementations to supporting your in-house Slate Student Search, we’re your Slate team. Every member of this team is a Slate specialist including our strategists, creatives, and project managers.
Implementations
From first-time implementations to reimplementations and everything in between, we provide consultation and training with any Enrollment Management, Student Success, or Advancement project.
Communications
We create segmented campaigns based on academic, demographic, psychometric, and custom data points to meet your audiences where they are—without data transfer and with real-time campaign reporting.
Portals
Impress all your critical audiences with a personalized experience—a dedicated portal, built and supported by our Slate experts.
Integrations
Your enterprise systems need to share data—we make sure that process is seamless and secure between any SIS, CRM, or legacy system.
Reporting
Gain real-time access to your marketing and recruitment efforts with custom reports built in your instance—from ROI to goal tracking by territory, the possibilities are endless.
Slate Recruitment Strategy
Leverage our recruitment expertise to unite your enrollment tactics in your instance, including travel research and planning, visit results, and survey execution, to name a few—our team supports you with analysis and thoughtful feature set-up, always in your instance.
Trainings + Workshops
Empower your team to become creative and thoughtful Slate operators with our custom and interactive workshops.
Slate Student Search
Carnegie offers an alternative to the traditional Student Search—one pillar of that strategy is maximizing your Slate investment by executing in your instance for a seamless, optimized, fully supported search.
Carnegie connects colleges with students through the power of human connection by measuring and then marketing to a student’s unique behaviors and motivators. This leads to action, enrollment, retention, and lasting affinity. Carnegie offers end-to-end custom solutions.
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
Executive Vice President of Strategy
Senior Vice President of Finance
Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Integrations
Senior Vice President of Enrollment Strategy
Senior Vice President of New Product Development
Associate Vice President of Business Development
Associate Vice President of Accounts
Director of Operations
Art Director
Senior Slate Strategist and Reporting Manager
The powerhouse. From emails to text messages to post cards, Amanda is here to help with all your communication needs. With 16 years of admissions experience at a private liberal arts college, she's had the opportunity to learn, implement and develop a Slate CRM instance from the ground up. Whether she's setting up inquiry forms, creating templates for events, managing queries, building a Slate-hosted application or developing drip marketing communications, Amanda is utilizing her skills and experience to assist clients with any and all Slate needs.
Senior Slate Strategist and Trainings Manager
The problem solver. In her seven years of higher education experience, Laura Murnen has dabbled in a variety of roles including communications, service learning, recruitment, and event planning. But when it comes to choosing favorites, it's helping piece together that perfect communication in Slate. This carries through outside of work, where you will likely find her honing her skills posted up at a local coffee shop with a crossword puzzle.
Senior Slate Strategist and Recruitment Strategy Manager
The passionate one. Allison got her first glimpse of the admissions world when she landed a job as a tour guide in college - and she's never looked back. After graduating from Penn State, Allison worked in various admissions roles at La Salle University, where she oversaw the implementation of Slate and all things CRM-related, among other things. Now, she's using her love of admissions at Underscore, bringing more than eight years of experience managing email communications and admissions data to her role as Slate Strategist.
Senior Slate Strategist and Communications Manager
The creative strategist. After working in Ball State’s admissions office as an undergraduate, Jessica Severt knew she wanted to combine her digital marketing education with her passion for enrollment services. Before joining Underscore’s Communications Division, Jessica served as a key member of the Slate implementation team at Ball State, where she soon became the go-to “Slate person” for her institution. When she’s not busy learning new Slate features or innovative communication tactics, you can find Jessica doing something creative, like photography and digital art.
Senior Slate Strategist and Enrollment Implementations Manager
The solver. With a background in developing admissions strategies under a lens of diversity, equity and inclusion, Laura brings years of information systems experience to her role at Underscore. Prior to joining the team, Laura worked for Portland State University, where she led multiple application and recruiting implementations, as well as maintained the organization and integrity of data.
Senior Slate Strategist and Integrations Manager
The automater. With more than 14 years of varied experience in enrollment management, it’s safe to say Matt has walked in your shoes. Whether he’s busy automating manual processes, working in Upload Dataset or creating rules, one thing remains – Matt is focused on making sure your Slate instance matches your institution’s goals and objectives.
Senior Slate Strategist and Portals Manager
The change agent. You can say Chris Carl lives and breathes higher education. Starting as an admissions counselor for his alma mater Marywood University, Chris spent his days working directly with students and parents in the recruitment process. He later went on to hold various roles in enrollment management at the University of Mary Washington, with his most recent position as a CRM manager.
Senior Slate Strategist
The Communicator. When people describe Amanda Johnson, you’ll hear the words “passionate” and “dedicated” frequently used. She comes to Underscore with years of experience in both higher ed and web development, most recently serving as assistant director of admissions for Charleston Southern University. With an appetite for helping institutions communicate effectively to ensure they are gaining the best fit students, Amanda is here to make sure you meet your enrollment goals. When she isn’t busy falling more in love with Slate, you can find Amanda kickboxing, petting her cat JJ, or collecting yet another coffee mug.
Senior Slate Implementation Strategist
The connector. Chris Besse unintentionally fell into the world of enrollment, like most higher education professionals do, but quickly realized he wanted to make a career out of it. With experience in both recruiting and operations, Chris has viewed enrollment from multiple lenses and perspectives. Before joining Underscore, Chris worked for his alma mater as associate director of admissions, where he became the bridge between operations and admissions when it came to all things Slate. Outside of work, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife, Sarah, and his Husky puppy, Tucker.
Senior Slate Implementation Strategist
The Slate Geek. Emma Hayek’s career in higher ed started immediately after college graduation, at place a place she knew and loved – her alma mater Creighton University. After serving as a counselor for a few years, Emma transitioned to managing digital marking for undergraduate admissions – which is when her love for Slate really grew. Emma’s specialties? Creating efficiencies, improving the student experience, and empowering Slate users. But when she’s not geeking out over configurable joins, liquid markup and portals, you can find her outside hiking, camping, or playing with her dog.
Slate Communications Strategist
The attentive one. Rachael Yates has spent her entire career living and breathing college admissions. Shortly after graduating, she joined her alma mater, St. Catherine University, as an admissions counselor and later transitioned to Assistant Director of Admission. In this role, she managed their email campaigns within Slate – which is when she realized just how powerful the CRM really was. Now as an Underscore Slate Strategist, she’s helping dozens of higher ed clients communicate more efficiently and effectively with students. And when she’s not geeking out over Slate, you can find Rachael at a hockey rink or playing with her dog.
Slate Portals Strategist and Software Engineer
As a Slate Portals Strategist and Software Engineer, Thomas Muscarello helps build and tailor Slate portals for multiple audiences, including Application Lifecycle, Prospect, Athletics, and Faculty. Prior to joining Underscore, Tom worked at multiple institutions in both Student Engagement and Residence Life departments. During that time, he developed a passion for creating a positive experience for students.
Slate Communications Strategist
The philosopher. In life, Nick takes a minimalist approach to things. As your Slate Strategist, however, he dives in with enthusiasm to get you the maximum return on investment. Having spent more than five years in college admissions marketing, Nick knows a thing or two about optimizing Slate for each audience. In his spare time, he is a cherry pie and donut connoisseur (not usually together), and enjoys surrealist art.
Slate Implementation Strategist
As a member of the Implementation & Consultation team, Jill assists clients with building their Slate instance from the ground up. She is here to help you dive into your business practices and translate those into the powerful tools available in Slate. Prior to joining Underscore, Jill worked at Columbia College Chicago for 16 years, first as a recruiter, then as a Slate specialist. Jill loves untangling tricky problems and finding the best path forward using the tools available in Slate. Outside of work, Jill enjoys knitting, quilting, and baking pies.
Slate Communications Strategist
Sydney has spent her professional career in higher ed working in Kansas at small private institutions as a counselor, assistant director, and most recently director. She served as a Slate Captain and quickly fell in love with all the Slate capabilities and is always excited to learn something new. When not working, she can be found on the yoga mat teaching or practicing or in the kitchen whipping up a beautiful cake.
Slate Communications Strategist Associate
Emily spent eight years working in undergraduate admission offices; most recently she served as the assistant director of admission and event coordinator at Mount Holyoke College. She immediately found her passion for admission and took on any any additional tasks from territory management and communications to virtual engagement and everything in between. As a Slate Strategist Associate, Emily works with our partners to ensure they are communicating with their audiences effectively and efficiently
Slate Implementation Strategist
Rocco Porcellio provides Slate support, training, and technical expertise for Underscore's partners. As a former one-man Slate management team for a regional liberal arts university, Rocco is an avid problem solver. He prefers elegant solutions over expedient routes. He is committed to leveraging technology to enhance the admission and enrollment process for both students and enrollment professionals.
Slate Portals Strategist
As a Slate Portals Strategist for Carnegie's Underscore division, Monica Brazil started her journey in higher education in Chapman University's Office of Admission. She started leveraging Slate's power to target audiences on social media, and that's when her love of Slate started. She continued on to be the Slate go-to for the communications team building portals, managing email campaigns and much more. Monica also brings expertise in art and design, which translates to building beautiful, functional experiences for students and campus partners. As a self-proclaimed lifelong learner, Monica is always learning new Slate features, growing her coding skills, and staying up to date on user experience best practices.
Slate Implementation Strategist Associate
Slate Communications Strategist Associate
As a Slate Strategist Associate, Carolyn Meyers studies data, market trends, and specific benchmarks in order to help colleges utilize Slate efficiently and effectively. Prior to joining Underscore, she worked in hospitality. As a student at the University of North Carolina Asheville, Carolyn studied economics, specifically in terms of development. Since graduating, she has continued research in her field and hopes to someday publish her work.
Slate Communications Strategist Associate
Senior Account Executive
The advocate. If you’re looking to optimize and leverage the power of your Slate instance, look no further than Ryan. Working several years in higher education enrollment and marketing, Ryan has industry experience managing campaigns, planning events and recruiting students from around the country. Always ready to step up to the plate, he brings Slate-specific experience to help you exceed your goals. With anything from enrollment marketing needs to implementation and support, give Ryan a call.
Senior Account Manager
The planner. Sabrina Gregrow’s motto? “Coordination is key.” While earning her bachelor’s degree from the University at Albany, Sabrina spent her undergrad years working as a marketing intern and executive assistant, where she helped manage projects, coordinate events and organize website content. After graduating in 2018, Sabrina honed her skills in client services and project management at places like Ameriprise and the NYS Office of General Services, before joining the Underscore team.
Account Manager
The Go Getter. If there’s one word we’d never use to describe Ansley Donaldson, it would be unenthusiastic. As a recent communications studies graduate from Appalachian State University, Ansley has been able to dip her toes into many different areas of communication, from organizational to intercultural to her personal favorite, interpersonal. With a passion for relationship building and collaboration, Ansley is ready to serve as her clients’ right-hand woman, keeping them on track, organized and ready for just about anything.
Account Manager
As an Account Manager, Molly Hovden serves as the day-to-day point of contact and main communication liaison between clients and Underscore’s internal teams. She manages print, email, and digital communications plans through the coordination of project information and timelines as well as cross-divisional collaboration. Her educational background and prior student affairs roles have uniquely positioned her to be a passionate storyteller and relationship builder who takes great joy in creating the best possible experience for our clients.
Senior Graphic Designer
The #1 fan. From designing for your favorite NCAA sports to helping educational institutions across the nation stand out from the crowd, Nina is every university brand’s biggest fan. Whether she’s working on a big or small project, nothing excites her more than showing the world what an institution has to offer. Her experience in fan-engagement and athletics’promotion has given her the know-how to create engaging, beautiful pieces that best represent each brand in a simple, enticing, and professional way.
Copywriter
The wordsmith. Lizzie has always had a passion for writing. What started out as short stories scribbled on construction paper as a child hast urned into a portfolio of stories in various mediums. With a bachelor’s in creative writing and soon-to-be master’s in English from Western Michigan University, Lizzie brings a wealth of writing, editorial, tutoring and teaching experience to Underscore’s creative team. When she’s not busy putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard), you can find Elizabeth taking nature photos with her husband or watching The Office for the hundredth time.
Senior Graphic Designer
Prior to joining Underscore, Kelsey worked at Georgetown College as the Director of Design and Branding. In her previous role, she managed Georgetown College's visual branding and designed all college materials, including the GC Alumni magazine each semester. Kelsey has over 10 years of experience in graphic design, marketing and branding; and is passionate about using her talents to support higher education.
Copywriter
As a copywriter, Ellen plays an essential role in the execution of creative projects, including writing email campaigns, editing and fact checking, reviewing campaign effectiveness, and ensuring brand tone and voice. Ellen is passionate about connecting students and families to education and as a creative at heart, immensely enjoys writing for a variety of audiences and clients.
If you are ready to get started on your next Slate project or are interested in learning more about Carnegie's Slate Optimization services, please get in touch.