UCR Marketing & Communications Conference 2026

Don’t miss UC Riverside’s fifth annual Marketing & Communications Conference, September 10, on the 3rd floor of the HUB.

Join us for a jam-packed day of outstanding content, where you can learn from and interact with marketing and communications experts from across the campus, other universities, and outside industries. Immerse yourself in discussions on branding, storytelling, digital marketing, events planning, public relations, and more.

Best of all, the conference is free for qualifying UCR employees and includes free continental breakfast and lunch daily, plus social and networking opportunities!

Please note the preliminary agenda and session timings below are subject to change based on speaker availabilities.

Don't Miss the UCR Brand Excellence Awards “The Scotties”

Join us for the Sept. 10 lunchtime presentation honoring the UCR Schools, Colleges, Departments, and Units whose marketing efforts and communication assets best represent the UC Riverside brand through strategy, storytelling, and imagery. Four winners (one from each category) will receive a limited edition Scotty bobble head! Then you, the audience will have the chance to vote to see which of our four winners will be voted Best in Show and take home the Golden Scotty! Enter by Aug. 31

Marketing/Promotion - Static (Print or digital brochures, books, ads, etc.)
Marketing/Promotion - Interactive (Websites, email, social media)
Apparel, Branded Items & Giveaways (T-shirts, tote bags, etc.)
Video, Photography & Sound (Video, podcast, still photography, etc.)

Teresa Watanabe

Conference Schedule

9:00-9:30 a.m. | Registration & Continental Breakfast Sponsored by I.D. Me Promotions

Register for the conference in HUB 302 and enjoy a free continental breakfast sponsored by I.D. Me Promotions before the conference begins.
9:30-10:00 a.m. | Welcome and Opening Remarks from Chancellor Hu

Join Chancellor S. Jack Hu as he kicks off the 2026 UCR Marketing & Communications Conference with opening remarks and a welcome to UCR’s marketing and communications community.
10:00-10:45 a.m. | Keynote Address: Teresa Watanabe

Teresa Watanabe is an independent journalist and former longtime education reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where she spent 35 years covering higher education, immigration, religion, ethnic communities, and public policy. She also served as the newspaper's Tokyo correspondent and bureau chief, reporting on Japan, Korea, and the Asia-Pacific region. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Watanabe continues to write and speak on higher education, journalism, and issues shaping California and the nation.

11:00-11:45 a.m. | Morning Sessions

Location	Session Details	Presenters
HUB 355	How Not to AI: Ten Rules for Working Smarter Without Surrendering Your Judgment Great communication requires more than polished words—it requires strategy, taste, and human judgment. Learn ten practical “don’t” rules that will help you use AI to strengthen your work without losing your voice.	Sheree Winslow \| Sr. Executive Communications Manager, Communications & Marketing Jules Bernstein \| Senior Research Information Officer, Communications & Marketing
HUB 379	Communicators Guide to Mobile Video: Creating Content for UCR Elevate your department's social media presence with practical insights and tips from our team. Learn core strategies for campus storytelling alongside practical techniques for using your smartphone to capture content—including shooting, framing tips—and best practices for editing.	Christina Bristol \| Senior Video Communications Manager, Communications & Marketing Gina Muscato \| Social Media Manager, Communications & Marketing
HUB 367	Expand Team Capacity Through Student Talent Discover how your marketing, events, or external relations team can leverage student volunteers, interns, and employees to expand capacity, strengthen outreach and engagement, and enhance campus events. Learn practical strategies for recruiting, training, and retaining talented students while providing meaningful professional development opportunities.	Mark Manalang \| Director of External Engagement, School of Public Policy

Location

Session Details

Presenters

HUB 355

How Not to AI: Ten Rules for Working Smarter Without Surrendering Your Judgment

Great communication requires more than polished words—it requires strategy, taste, and human judgment. Learn ten practical “don’t” rules that will help you use AI to strengthen your work without losing your voice.

Sheree Winslow | Sr. Executive Communications Manager, Communications & Marketing

Jules Bernstein | Senior Research Information Officer, Communications & Marketing

HUB 379

Communicators Guide to Mobile Video: Creating Content for UCR

Elevate your department's social media presence with practical insights and tips from our team. Learn core strategies for campus storytelling alongside practical techniques for using your smartphone to capture content—including shooting, framing tips—and best practices for editing.

Christina Bristol | Senior Video Communications Manager, Communications & Marketing

Gina Muscato | Social Media Manager, Communications & Marketing

HUB 367

Expand Team Capacity Through Student Talent

Discover how your marketing, events, or external relations team can leverage student volunteers, interns, and employees to expand capacity, strengthen outreach and engagement, and enhance campus events. Learn practical strategies for recruiting, training, and retaining talented students while providing meaningful professional development opportunities.

Mark Manalang | Director of External Engagement, School of Public Policy

12:00-12:45 p.m. | UCR Brand Excellence Awards (The Scotties) & Lunch Sponsored by Monster Media

Enjoy lunch, sponsored by Monster Media, and then celebrate the winners of this year's Scotties, for the best marketing assets and campaigns across campus.

1:00-1:45 p.m. | Afternoon Session 1

Location	Session Details	Presenters
HUB 355	The Grove: Building Secure AI Agents for Everyday Work Communication and marketing teams are stretched thinner than ever, with fewer hands and tighter budgets despite increased demands. In this session we'll explore how The Grove, UCR's new agentic AI platform grounded in the university's own data, lets you build AI agents that take on repetitive, time-consuming tasks. Presenters will share practical use cases and real-world examples showing how faculty and staff are using The Grove to automate routine tasks, access institutional information, and work more efficiently. You'll learn how to design and deploy an agent for your specific workflow, freeing you to focus on the strategic, creative, people-centered work that matters most.	Alex Chrystal \| Communications and Training Manager, Communication and Assessment Johnny Lam \| Digital Marketing Manager, Communications & Marketing
HUB 379	Concision Decisions The competition for attention grows more intense every day. In a world of shrinking attention spans and data abundance, communicating complex ideas clearly, accurately, and memorably has never been more important. Join veteran science communicators Jules Bernstein and Iqbal Pittalwala to learn strategies for making your message stick in today’s media landscape and beyond.	Jules Bernstein \| Senior Research Information Officer, Communications & Marketing Iqbal Pittalwala \| Senior Public Information Officer, Communications & Marketing
HUB 367	TBD

Location

Session Details

Presenters

HUB 355

The Grove: Building Secure AI Agents for Everyday Work

Communication and marketing teams are stretched thinner than ever, with fewer hands and tighter budgets despite increased demands. In this session we'll explore how The Grove, UCR's new agentic AI platform grounded in the university's own data, lets you build AI agents that take on repetitive, time-consuming tasks. Presenters will share practical use cases and real-world examples showing how faculty and staff are using The Grove to automate routine tasks, access institutional information, and work more efficiently. You'll learn how to design and deploy an agent for your specific workflow, freeing you to focus on the strategic, creative, people-centered work that matters most.

Alex Chrystal | Communications and Training Manager, Communication and Assessment

Johnny Lam | Digital Marketing Manager, Communications & Marketing

HUB 379

Concision Decisions

The competition for attention grows more intense every day. In a world of shrinking attention spans and data abundance, communicating complex ideas clearly, accurately, and memorably has never been more important. Join veteran science communicators Jules Bernstein and Iqbal Pittalwala to learn strategies for making your message stick in today’s media landscape and beyond.

Jules Bernstein | Senior Research Information Officer, Communications & Marketing

Iqbal Pittalwala | Senior Public Information Officer, Communications & Marketing

HUB 367

TBD

2:00-2:45 p.m. | Afternoon Session 2

Location	Session Details	Presenters
HUB 367	Choose a Channel: Navigating UCR’s Communication Tools Learn how to choose the right UCR communication channels to reach your audience and promote your programs, events, and messages. Using a new decision-making chart as a guide, we’ll explore campus resources including ScotMail, ScotMemo, newsletters, social media, digital screens, campus posters, Localist, video, Chancellor’s Monthly Messages, and more. You’ll also learn how and when to submit content for each channel, with practical tips for getting your message in front of the right audience.	Malinn Loeung \| Digital Content Manager, Communications & Marketing David Edgerton \| Director of National Reputation & Marketing, Communications & Marketing
HUB 379	This Isn’t Very Funny: Using Humor Even Amid Crisis 2020 wasn't a very funny year. 2021 wasn't a lot of laughs either. But amid challenging times, we found ways to utilize humor in executive communications, strengthening connection among a broad range of internal and external stakeholders and capturing media attention while delivering important messages. In this session, we will review these examples, then examine the strategic benefits of using humor. We'll also address when it's not appropriate. Finally, we'll review some ideas for cultivating humor, ending with an understanding of how this contributes to institutional health.	Presenter: Sheree Winslow \| Sr. Executive Communications Manager, Communications & Marketing
HUB 355	A layman's guide to AI-generated images and Photoshop Can't find an image that works for your web post? AI generation can provide the right image that fits with your text content and layout.	Dave Danelski \| Senior Public Information Officer, Communications & Marketing

Location

Session Details

Presenters

HUB 367

Choose a Channel: Navigating UCR’s Communication Tools

Learn how to choose the right UCR communication channels to reach your audience and promote your programs, events, and messages. Using a new decision-making chart as a guide, we’ll explore campus resources including ScotMail, ScotMemo, newsletters, social media, digital screens, campus posters, Localist, video, Chancellor’s Monthly Messages, and more. You’ll also learn how and when to submit content for each channel, with practical tips for getting your message in front of the right audience.

Malinn Loeung | Digital Content Manager, Communications & Marketing

David Edgerton | Director of National Reputation & Marketing, Communications & Marketing

HUB 379

This Isn’t Very Funny: Using Humor Even Amid Crisis

2020 wasn't a very funny year. 2021 wasn't a lot of laughs either. But amid challenging times, we found ways to utilize humor in executive communications, strengthening connection among a broad range of internal and external stakeholders and capturing media attention while delivering important messages. In this session, we will review these examples, then examine the strategic benefits of using humor. We'll also address when it's not appropriate. Finally, we'll review some ideas for cultivating humor, ending with an understanding of how this contributes to institutional health.

Presenter:
Sheree Winslow | Sr. Executive Communications Manager, Communications & Marketing

HUB 355

A layman's guide to AI-generated images and Photoshop

Can't find an image that works for your web post? AI generation can provide the right image that fits with your text content and layout.

Dave Danelski | Senior Public Information Officer, Communications & Marketing

3:00-5:00 p.m. | Networking at The Stable sponored by Gorilla Marketing

Join us at The Stable as we wrap up the day with conversation and connection over refreshing mocktails and delicious nibbles. Catch up with colleagues, make new connections, and enjoy a relaxed close to the conference.
Our session sponsor, Gorilla Marketing, will be demonstrating their custom hat and tote bag activation station, with free keepsakes for you to customize and take home!