Suzan Brinker

Suzan Brinker, PhD is a higher education strategist, marketer, author, and podcast host. She is the co-founder and CEO of Viv Higher Education, a Boston-based, woman-owned full-service marketing agency for colleges and universities. Suzan is the author of Pass / Fail: The Urgent Need for Strategic Leadership in Higher Education, which was published in 2024. She also hosts the Higher Ed Leaders Podcast. Suzan and her collaborative team specialize in helping colleges and universities differentiate themselves through market-aligned brands and programs rooted in market research, strategic planning, and a content-first approach to authentic marketing that builds trust and engages prospects at every stage of the funnel. In addition to leading her agency team’s work across projects with institutions of all types and sizes for the past five years, Suzan brings in-house experience from her roles as - Director of Marketing at Penn State World Campus - Director of Marketing at Northeastern University - Fractional CMO at Assumption University Suzan grew up in Germany with a Turkish father and a German mother. She fell in love with American higher education when she came to the U.S. to study English as an undergraduate exchange student at St. Norbert College. From there, she earned her M.A. in communication from Marquette and her PhD in Higher Education from Penn State. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and three children.