Are you keeping up with employers’ changing expectations?
Employers’ requirements and their relationships to campuses are evolving.
The changing labor market; new technologies; the hybrid workplace; the expansion of internship, co-op and other experiential programs; and, expanded efforts towards diversity recruitment are all having a significant impact on the work of employer relations professionals.
Become better equipped to engage employers on your campus.
Register NowAre you responsible for attracting employers to your campus, developing opportunities for your students or strengthening relations with external partners?
The Employer Engagement Academy is designed for college professionals working in offices that partner with employers: career services, internship, cooperative education, and others.
Register NowProgram & Schedule
(All times based on Eastern time zone)
The Employer Engagement Academy features four, 3-hour sessions that include workshops, presentations and panel discussions that will be presented live online over a span of 4 weeks.
Weekly sessions will include opportunities for participants to reflect on their learning, take part in small and large group discussions, meet with their peers, and complete self-guided learning and research assignments.
In addition to the 3-hour sessions, it is expected that participants will complete 1-2 hours of homework each week. Homework will consist of posting and commenting on discussion board topics, connecting with other participants, watching video recordings, and/or completing quizzes.
Participants will be supported via a dedicated web portal to access educational materials, connect with peers, post and comment on coursework, discuss topics of interest, and share best practices and information over the course of the program.
All 3-hour sessions will be recorded and made available for review for 6 months after the completion of the program.
Week 1
Monday, Oct 23, 2023
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
- What Is the Role of the Employer Relations Professional?
- Employers' Top Challenges: How Schools Solve Problems for Their Employer Partners
- Employer Relations Pro Panel: Focus on Sourcing Leads & Business Development Skills
Week 2
Monday, October 30, 2023
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
- Panel: How Campus Recruiting Works: The Employers’ Perspective
- Evaluating your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities with the Employer Relations Scorecard
Week 3
Monday, November 6, 2023
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
- Creating High Impact Employer Events
- Building Employer Relations for the Long Term: Creating Client Ecstasy
- And Action! Practicing Consultative Conversations through Role Play
Week 4
Monday, November 13, 2023
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
- Employer Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: The Role of Schools in the DEI Challenge
- Helping Your Employer Partners Build a Solid Case to Increase Student Hiring
- Key Cohort Roundtables: Collaborative Group Work on Common Challenges
- Next Steps: Turning Learnings into Action Plans
All details are subject to change.
Speakers, Panelists & Facilitators
Fall 2023 presenters will be announced soon.

Megan Anderson
Vice President, North America Head of Campus Recruiting & University Relations, Talent Acquisition,
Northern Trust

Graham Donald
President,
Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.

Michelle Fox
Senior Campus Talent Acquisition Specialist & Team Lead,
Langan

Karin Hanson
Director of Employer Relations and Communications,
Michigan State University

Kelly Hart
Director of Employer Partnerships, Career Center,
Temple University

Nicole Ramirez
Manager, Early Talent,
Conagra Brands

Summer Salazar
Director of Employer Engagement, Texas Career Engagement,
The University of Texas at Austin

Natasha Stough
Campus Recruiting Leader,
Ernst & Young LLP
Dedicated Support

Julie Rahmer
Learning Success Manager,
Employer Engagement Academy
Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
As the Employer Engagement Academy’s dedicated program support person, I’m committed to ensuring that participants and presenters get the most out of their experiences. I am happy to answer questions and provide information and updates to ensure that you are well equipped for this unique learning opportunity.
If you work directly with the employers that hire your students, then the Employer Engagement Academy is designed for you.
Join our graduates and become an invaluable resource for your employer partners.
Testimonials
This course pushed me way outside my comfort zone. Beyond growing as a confident speaker, I was able to learn how to think like a recruiter and discover ways to help employers reach students.
Amanda Mansfield
Career Experience Coordinator, Career Services, Murray State University
I recently took part in the Employer Engagement Academy where I met with and learned from Employer Relations professionals across the nation. We had the opportunity to share our thoughts, ideas, failures, and wins. The program provided opportunities to hear from employers as well as my counterparts to gain clarity, validation, and resources to help each and every one of us be the best we can be.
Karen Fritchman
Director of Employer Relations, Career Center, College of Charleston
It was great to meet so many professionals doing similar work. It will definitely help me to work better and smarter.
Susanne Mata
Workforce Development Director, Tomorrow's Talent
I am excited to announce my graduation from the Employer Engagement Academy USA!!! It was an honor connecting with professionals across the nation, and I absolutely loved the curriculum! Big thanks to the Brainstorm team for all their support and help in advancing my career in Employer Relations!
Danielle Kolman
Assistant Director of Employer & Alumni Relations, Career Center, Lawrence University
The course was just the right length and substance and offered an opportunity to connect and brainstorm with peers from across the U.S. Graham did an outstanding job of laying out course expectations and next steps in each session. Would highly recommend this, especially for someone new to the employer relations career!
Amy Kienast Taig
Employer Relations Manager, Career Development, University of Michigan, Ross School of Business
It is our every effort as a college to support our students in their educational and occupational endeavors. It is just as significant and important to support our businesses and industries in productive communication and partnerships to develop a strong workforce and economy. The academy offers an opportunity of learning to support our collegiate teams to create the needed communications and programs to continue to expand and grow student and employer connections and fortuitous outcomes!
Julia Siderakis
Cooperative Work Experience Coordinator, Mendocino College
This program gave me insightful information and an opportunity to learn from professionals in the field and my peers. Highly Recommended.
Kathy Krause
Assistant Director of Experiential Learning, Career Development, DeSales University
I am so grateful that I got to participate in the Employer Engagement Academy! This professional development resource allowed me to learn more about how to be more effective on my campus through employer relations. The 4-week course connected me to other Employer Relations colleagues from around the US and allowed us to work together to understand and develop the skills that we use within our specific roles. I recommend anyone who is new and has had experience in this area to engage with this academy. I'm looking forward to applying all that I learned.
Meghan Pippenger
Employer Relations Administrative Manager, Stuckert Career Center, University of Kentucky
Convenient way to connect with peers, learn better approaches to working with employers and you also walk away with tools that will help you immediately. Good intro to employer relations for two of our new employer relations staff members.
Steve Sellars
Associate Director, Career and Professional Development, West Texas A&M University
Thank you and everyone involved in putting on such an awesome learning experience! The information, networking, and resources provided were excellent. I am excited to take what I have learned back to my campus and team.
Derrick Dancer II
Pasadena City College, Freeman Center For Career & Completion
As someone new to employer relations, I found this very helpful. I was able to learn the basics and dive into some of the nuances of this industry as well. I would highly recommend this to anyone in employer relations at a college or university.
Jennifer Johnson
Employer Relations Specialist, Career and Employment Services, Amarillo College
Throughout my career, I have attended hundreds if not thousands of hours of training. This training was the most engaging, informative, and had the most impact. Our team came away from each week with new strategies and ways we can improve. Thank you.
Pamela Heston-Becthol
Faculty, Administration of Justice, Mendocino College
This course really opened my eyes to employers' perspectives (and frustrations and limitations!) on the recruiting process. I feel more confident about my ability to be an effective partner to them moving forward.
Karissa Chabot-Purchase
Assistant Director, Career Services, Michigan State University
This was the most beneficial virtual training I've ever attended! It had helpful content delivered in an effective way and supported by a sleek, easy to use virtual platform. I increased my understanding of employer relations and had the opportunity to network and learn best practices. I look forward to applying what I learned in this program.
Corissa Wandmacher
Associate Director, Global Employer Engagement, Krannert Professional Development Center, Purdue University, Krannert School of Management
This course helped give me the knowledge and confidence to advocate to leadership a need to invest in employer engagement. I was able to share about possible strategies, tools, and customer service skills to support building positive relationships that can ultimately support the success of our students and community.
Megan Blaser
Program Coordinator II, Business and Technology Division, Aims Community College
As a Career Specialist for a long-standing, metro-City, Community College, a background in Workforce Development, B2B Sales, and Training and Development...this program was top drawer. I didn't expect to gain more than I have experienced but I did. I liked the "break-out" sessions to share among professionals from other post-secondary institutions from all over the country.
Kathleen Williams
Career Specialist, Career Services, Macomb Community College
I appreciated the approach presented in the Employer Engagement Academy that provided fundamental strategies and tactics that are proven best practices in relationship building, sales and CRM – which are typically outside of higher education – we were encouraged to use these to add value for our universities and employers.
Chrys Tsilibes
Assistant Director, Corporate Partner Relations, Center for Career Development, University of Connecticut – Stamford
As a brand new Employer Relations professional this training gave me a great opportunity to connect with new colleagues and learn from employers right away.
Whitney Jorns Kuhnlenz
Associate Director for Employer and Alumni Engagement, Loeb Center for Career Exploration and Planning, Amherst College
As someone who is not new to this field, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I learned in the Academy. It was a pleasure!
Daniel Spiess
Industry Relations Manager, Feld Center for Industry Alliances, Boston University - Questrom School of Business
As someone who started in employer relations in the pandemic, participating in this program was a great opportunity for me to learn more about my area as a whole since everything has been so different for the majority of my time in this role. From breakout sessions with peers, to employer feedback on key topics surrounding our role, to best practices, this program gives employer relations professionals at all levels something to takeaway.
Dylan Tedder
Assistant Director of Employer Relations and Internships, Arkansas State University
The Employer Engagement Academy allowed me the opportunity to network with amazing professionals and learn great insights on how to build our relationships with employers!
Erin Bruce
Associate Director, Employer Relations, Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, Indiana University College of Arts & Sciences
The Employer Engagement Academy is a great resource for those who are new to the field and for seasoned professionals who'd like a refresher. The material is broad, relevant, and useful.
Shana Love
Assistant Director, Experiential Learning, Career Center, UC Berkeley
The Employer Engagement Academy was such a valuable experience as we spent each week diving into content that impacts the day-to-day work of employer relations professionals. From discussing how employer relations professionals aid their employer partners with their top challenges, to how our work ties into our employers' DEI initiatives, the content was relevant, current and insightful. I also loved making connections with many employer relations professionals from across the country! It was great hearing and learning from employer relations professionals at various stages within this career.
Naomi Pollek
MBA, Manager, Student & Employer Relations, CareerHub, Milwaukee Area Technical College
The employer engagement academy was such a unique experience. As a new employer relations professional, I enjoyed interacting with professionals from other institutions as well as the leaders of the EEA. I learned so much from the panel professionals as well as my team members. All the topics were great and engaging, I acquired an insurmountable amount of knowledge that will help me throughout my career. Thank you Employer Engagement Academy.
Carissa Forde
Associate Director, Joyce K. Salzberg Center for Professional Development, College of Liberal Arts, Temple University
The Employer Engagement Academy is so great! The panels are enlightening and group discussions were collaborative and informative. This is perfect for professionals new to employer relations, or in need of a refresher.
Jess Arrazolo
Events & Employer Relations Coordinator, Liberal Arts Career Services, University of Texas at Austin
FAQs
What is the schedule and time commitment?
The core of the program is four, 3-hour sessions held over 4 weeks. In addition to the 3-hour sessions, it is expected that participants will complete 1-2 hours of homework each week consisting of posting and commenting on discussion board topics, connecting with co-participants, watching video recordings, and/or completing quizzes.
All sessions will be recorded so that participants can access any sessions that conflict with their personal schedules.
Will there be recordings available?
Yes, all sessions will be recorded and available exclusively to program participants on the dedicated web portal for 6 months after the completion of the program.
What happens if I miss a session?
There’s a good chance that a session or two may conflict with your other commitments. Recordings of sessions will be posted on the web portal along with educational materials within 24 hours of each workshop, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to catch up.
Who should participate?
If you work directly with the employers that hire your students, then the Employer Engagement Academy is designed for you.
Can you help me convince my boss to invest in this?
Absolutely. Please send an email to Julie Rahmer at julie@brainstorm.ca and I will send you an email template.