Public Affairs

 

Pete Boyle photo
 
   Pete Boyle
Vice President for Public Affairs 
pete@naicu.edu

Pete Boyle joined NAICU in 2013 as Vice President of Public Affairs. Prior to joining NAICU, Boyle spent nearly 15 years working on national higher education policy issues and directly with colleges and universities for two Washington, DC-based public relations and communications agencies. At NAICU, Boyle oversees the Association’s internal and external communications activities, including media relations, publications, the website, and social media strategies.

Boyle joined NAICU after leading the Education and Advocacy practice in the Washington, DC office of Lipman Hearne.  There he helped publicize and advance the agendas of his clients in the media, on Capitol Hill, with key publics and constituencies, and at the grassroots level. Boyle provided expertise and counsel on message development, media relations, branding and marketing, crisis communications, market research, issue advocacy, and awareness building. His clients included colleges and universities, higher education nonprofit and membership-based organizations, as well as foundation and foundation-funded grantees working on issues of access and accountability, persistence, cost of college, and college completion.

Before joining Lipman Hearne, Boyle served as vice president and director of the higher education communications team for Widmeyer Communications. In this role, he managed public affairs and enrollment management research efforts for a diverse group of organizations and higher education institutions.

Earlier in his career, Boyle served as a political communications director providing counsel for candidates for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and ran campaigns for the Ohio State Legislature. Boyle served as Ohio deputy press secretary for Clinton/Gore ’96.

Boyle graduated from Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in business administration with a marketing concentration, and a minor in journalism. 

 
     
   Paul F. Hassen
Director of Communications & Marketing
paul@naicu.edu

Paul Hassen has more than 30 years of experience in higher education and association communications and marketing, including strategic communications management, media relations, branding, crisis communications, issues management, executive communications and publications.

Prior to joining NAICU, Hassen served for five years as vice president, public affairs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, where he managed the association’s communications program including media relations, publications, website and social media.

Previously, he spent six years as assistant director of public affairs at the American Council on Education and led the communications departments at ORBIS International, New Jersey Institute of Technology and the National Association of Purchasing Managers (now the Institute of Supply Management).

He earned a master’s degree in management at New Jersey Institute of Technology and bachelor’s degree in mass communications at St. Bonaventure University (NY).

 
     
Galen Vandergriff Photo    Galen Vandergriff
Integrated Media Coordinator
Galen@naicu.edu  

Galen Vandergriff plays an integral part of NAICU’s public affairs, communications, and marketing department where he helps implement digital, social, and traditional communications strategies and tactics to advance the mission and objectives of NAICU. Vandergriff transitioned NAICU from a traditional listserv to a modern membership engagement platform. He works closely with NAICU’s Membership and IT departments to ensure the functionality and integration of NAICU’s multitude of software platforms.

Prior to joining NAICU in 2012, Vandergriff worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for Lindquist LLP where he analyzed union collective bargaining agreements to perform Taft-Hartley audits to ensure companies were paying their union pensions and health care benefits. He managed several teams to discover more than $1.5 million in unpaid benefits. Vandergriff earned a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in Global Economics. He is fluent in Spanish and French and is a native English speaker and has visited more than 40 countries. Vandergriff is an accomplished public speaker.


 
     
Top