Introducing Higher Ed Icons

Higher Ed Icons celebrates the pioneers, thought leaders, trendsetters, and change makers in higher education marketing — the people whose decisions transformed it from a campus afterthought into a strategic function.

Co-hosts Voltaire Santos Miran and Mallory Willsea pull back the curtain on the origin of Higher Ed Icons—from a single text message to a full platform built to document the people and moments that shaped modern higher ed marketing.

But this isn’t just a launch story. It’s a recognition of something the industry has missed for too long: the insights that built today’s strategies have been scattered across conference decks, hallway conversations, and people’s memories—with no real record.

This show is an attempt to fix that.

In this kickoff conversation, they unpack:

• Why higher ed marketing finally earned its seat at the table

• The moments that changed the trajectory of the industry

• And why capturing institutional knowledge now matters more than ever

They also tease their first guest—someone they both credit with shaping not just their careers, but how they think, lead, and show up.

If you’ve been in this work long enough to remember how it used to be—or you’re trying to understand how we got here—this episode sets the stage.

Welcome to Higher Ed Icons.

Thank you to our founding sponsor. OnDeck Marketing keeps colleges and universities visible where high school decisions actually start—inside the school day. Their North American in-school network puts branded screens in high schools and runs digital channels that maintain consistent presence in feeder markets, so institutions don't go dark on students before they ever start searching. Learn more at ondeckmktg.com.