Thomas Volpe
132-25 58th Road
Flushing, NY 11355
917-359-0693 home
212-346-8504 office
212-346-8493 fax
Executive Summary:
Fifteen years' experience producing branding and marketing materials and advertising and promotional campaigns by utilizing writing, editing, art direction, graphic design, and production skills.
Capabilities:
• superior communications skills – as a writer and designer I am in a unique position to understand, articulate, maintain, and deliver client needs and requirements
• excellent branding experience – creating new identities and working with a wide variety of existing ones has given me the broad experience necessary to know how to strengthen and build the visual presence of organizations
• diverse client background - working with different sized companies in a variety of industries developed my abilities to execute campaigns from research to concept to production within a broad range of budgets and deadlines
Accomplishments:
My most recent advertising campaign is highlighted in the article “Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: Community Colleges in the Future of Higher Education” by Ileana P. Rodriguez. The College Board Review No. 209, Fall 2006.
Created a new brand for the Borough of Manhattan Community College and implemented it across all communications directly resulting in an increase in applications and enrollment of 25% over my tenure.
Received numerous awards for marketing campaigns from Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the University and College Designers Association (UCDA), the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), and the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR)
Presented “Transit Advertising” twice at regional conferences for the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations and addressed both techniques and demographics.
Presented “Academic Design: Recruiting After Tragedy Strikes” at a regional design summit for the University and College Designers Association and addressed marketing and retention in the face of disaster.
Wrote and designed new communication materials for prospective New York University students. Highlights of the strategies and its success were published in an article in The New York Times.
Non-Profit Clients:
Borough of Manhattan Community College, The International Preschools, Lehman College, New York University, Princeton University, Queensborough Community College, United Nations International Schools, Winston Preparatory School,
For-Profit Clients:
Amtrak, Broadway Sound, Aspen Publishing, CMC Inc. (Catalog Media Corporation), DDB Needham, Frontier Telecommunications, J. Lamb Manufacturing Inc., McCann-Erickson, The McGraw-Hill Companies, N.F.I.B. (National Federation of Independent Businesses), Siegel & Gale
Employment History:
Director of Publications, Office of Public Affairs
Borough of Manhattan Community College, The City University of New York
New York, NY from 6/99 to present
Responsible for the external communications the college produces including the website, the college catalogue, direct mail and email recruitment campaigns, outdoor and transit advertising, and fundraising efforts. Supervise Communications staff of nine including web and graphic designers, writers, photographers, programmers.
President
InfraRed Design
New York, NY from 6/94 to the present
Write, design, and produce marketing materials for clients.
The McGraw-Hill Companies
Copywriter and Designer, College Marketing Division
New York, NY from 6/91 to 4/94
Wrote and designed book jackets for college textbooks. Wrote and designed marketing materials to support sales staff presenting books to college professors.
Education:
New York University, B.A. English and Creative Writing, 1991
Hunter College, M.F.A., Studio Art (Combined Media), Enrolled Fall 2006