Leslie Wright

Faculty Member	Marketing Communication Major
Pronouns	Please Use My Name
Areas of Expertise	Marketing Digital Marketing Graphic Design Content Marketing
Connect Online	LinkedIn Personal Website
Home State	Arkansas
Fun Fact About Me	I have almost a million views on TikTok on a video of my son trying to "duck walk". :) I've been in an independent movie (War Eagle, Arkansas) where I performed the song I wrote for the movie.
Contact	Remote

Biography

Leslie Wright is a dedicated professor with extensive experience in both music and marketing. With dual careers spanning these two creative and strategic fields, she brings a wealth of real-world expertise to her teaching. Leslie began performing live on stage at just six years old and has since appeared in venues across the United States. She holds a Master of Science in Digital Marketing and a Bachelor’s in Music Business from Berklee College of Music, enabling her to seamlessly integrate creative artistry with data-driven strategy in her work.

As a faculty member at two universities, Leslie has authored four MBA-level marketing courses, focusing on innovative approaches that engage students and prepare them for today’s dynamic market challenges. Her teaching philosophy centers on building confidence, fostering a lifelong love of learning, and encouraging students to develop critical thinking skills. She believes that every student learns uniquely and that growth and achievement stem from curiosity and creativity rather than rigid adherence to textbook standards. By nurturing an environment that inspires exploration, resilience, and meaningful connections to knowledge, Leslie helps her students master not only the technical aspects of marketing but also the broader strategic vision.

Outside academia, Leslie runs her own digital marketing business, providing clients with a full suite of services that include website design and development, graphic design, social media strategy, SEO, ad campaigns, email marketing, and marketing research. She views her work as “creative marketing,” where she helps clients transform their ideas into impactful, successful campaigns. This hands-on industry experience enriches her teaching, offering students insights into how theory translates into practice.

In addition to her marketing endeavors, Leslie is an accomplished musician. Alongside her partner, Randall, she operates a music studio, George Guitars, which also features a newly established online music university. There, they teach lessons in guitar, bass, drums, vocals, and piano, as well as music business and songwriting courses. Leslie and Randall perform live regularly and are actively expanding Randall’s career as a guitarist and comedian. This dual commitment to music and marketing exemplifies Leslie’s ability to balance creativity with professional rigor.

Family is a central part of Leslie’s life. She has a blended family that includes a step-daughter, a daughter, and two sons she adopted from foster care. Her experience as a parent—particularly as an advocate for children and adoption—shapes her approach to teaching, where patience, empathy, and a focus on individual growth are key. Beyond her professional and family life, Leslie enjoys spending time near the water, whether it’s by the pool, on a boat at the lake, kayaking on the river, or relaxing by the ocean. She is also an avid sports fan and a dedicated sports card collector, reflecting her diverse interests and her ability to find joy and inspiration in many facets of life.

Leslie’s background, combining rigorous academic preparation, industry expertise, and a deep love of both music and marketing, equips her to guide students toward both professional success and personal fulfillment. She looks forward to helping her students grow their skills, gain valuable insights, and discover their own paths to success.

Professional Associations

National Society of Leadership and Success, National Council on Strength and Fitness, ASCAP

More Faculty in Marketing Communication Major

Lindsay Bumps

Adjunct Professor

Marketing Communication Major, Marketing Major and Stiller School of Business

Keith Oppenheim

Program Director

Division of Communication & Creative Media and Marketing Communication Major

Barrie Silver

Full-time Instructor

Business Administration Major, Division of Communication & Creative Media, Marketing Communication Major, Marketing Major and Stiller School of Business

Van Dora Williams

Assistant Dean, Program Director

Division of Communication & Creative Media, Filmmaking Major, Game Sound Design Major and Marketing Communication Major

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Lindsay Bumps

Adjunct Professor

Faculty Member	Marketing Communication Major Marketing Major Stiller School of Business
Pronouns	She/Her/Hers
Areas of Expertise	PR Writing Influencer Marketing
Contact	Remote

Keith Oppenheim

Program Director

Additional Roles	Associate Professor
Faculty Member	Division of Communication & Creative Media Marketing Communication Major
Pronouns	He/Him/His
Education	Columbia University, Master of Science; Brown University, Bachelor of Arts
Areas of Expertise	Television news, journalism, documentary production, video storytelling Broadcast television, social media, digital communication
Contact	CCM C204

Biography

Keith Oppenheim is a former correspondent for CNN who has been teaching college since 2009, at Champlain since 2014. He is the program director for Broadcast Media Production and a content creator as well. His most recent documentary, Will It Live On; Growing Up in A Small-Town Jewish Community will air on public television stations and other venues.
At Champlain, Keith helps his students develop as non-fiction storytellers and producers. His students create award-winning documentaries, which have received recognition at the regional and national level. They shoot, write and edit content to succeed as journalists, social media managers and content creators for companies and non-profits. They develop show-creation skills, learning techniques in radio, podcasting and multi-camera studio production. (The college’s internet-radio station, sound studio and Sonic Arts programs enhance give students additional opportunities.) And they get internships and media employment during college, helping them bridge the gap to a marketplace seeking their talent.
Keith is also President of the Board of The Media Factory, a community media center that collaborates with Champlain College in broadcast courses and documentary production.

Barrie Silver

Full-time Instructor

Faculty Member	Business Administration Major Division of Communication & Creative Media Marketing Communication Major Marketing Major Stiller School of Business
Pronouns	She/Her/Hers
Areas of Expertise	Integrated Marketing & Communications Nonprofit/Cause-Related Marketing
Connect Online	LinkedIn
Contact	S.D. Ireland Global Center

Biography

Barrie is an innovative, mission-driven marketing and communications professional who is passionate about social justice and social change and has been helping organizations share their stories for more than two decades.

Having spent the majority of her career working in the nonprofit sector (for large organizations like Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and hyperlocal ones like CCTV Center for Media & Democracy) she says she “specializes in performing miracles on shoestring budgets.” She is also a consummate volunteer and has been on the board of Slow Food Vermont since 2015.

A lifelong learner, Barrie likes to collect and archive information, craves to know more, and is energized by other people, new ideas, and, of course, her students.

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

Favorite Quote

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”

-Hillel

Van Dora Williams

Assistant Dean, Program Director

Additional Roles	Professor
Faculty Member	Division of Communication & Creative Media Filmmaking Major Game Sound Design Major Marketing Communication Major
Education	Regent University, Master of Arts; CUNY Hunter College, Bachelor of Arts Communication; Regent University, PhD
Areas of Expertise	Documentary Filmmaking Media History, Journalism African American History
Connect Online	LinkedIn
Contact	402A/CCM Email Me

Biography

Dr. Van Dora Williams brings over 30 years of industry experience as a journalist, documentary producer and researcher to the classroom and is dedicated to teaching the next generation of journalists, writers, audio and documentary producers. She currently serves as Assistant Dean of Administration for the CCM Division and holds the rank of full professor as well. She co-created the Game Sound Design program by combining sound design and audio production courses with Game Studio courses and is currently its program director. She has earned multiple Emmy and Telly awards along with having her work seen on the PBS network and through multiple film festivals that include Sundance. She created content for the print, radio, video and web platforms for several years before moving into teaching at the higher education level. Her multiplatform storytelling experience provides her the flexibility to teach the tenets of journalism and storytelling through several mediums.
She believes in bringing real world experience to students within the classroom as well as outside of the classroom. As faculty, Williams co-led two international service-learning trips to The Gambia in West Africa and to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where students worked with local journalists and filmmakers to create two short films and three short documentaries. A few of those productions earned regional Student Production Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and were broadcast statewide on Vermont Public. In coordination with the College’s Special Collections and community organizations, she worked with her colleagues to gain funding from the Council of Independent Colleges’ Humanities for the Public Good. The grants allowed her to work with students on two documentaries titled Forget Me Not Vermont (2020), Outside the Fence (2023) and a website, Green Mountain Melodies, all examining the historical impact of culture on music and urban planning.
As a researcher Dr. Williams most recent work included serving as an archival researcher for the documentary, Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (2017). She served as an associate producer on Banished (2008) as well as many local documentaries and news programs as a senior producer at WHRO, the PBS station in Norfolk, Virginia where she earned multiple Emmy and Telly awards. Some of her research and producing work include Church Street: Harlem of the South (1997, WHRO), Common Ground: Legacy of Race in Religion (1999, WHRO), Noble Desire (2001, WHRO), Century: 100 Years of Life in Hampton Roads (2001, WHRO), Matters of Race (2003, ROJA Productions), Citizen King (2004, ROJA Productions). In between working on historical documentaries, Dr. Williams earned her PhD in Communication in 2017. Her dissertation focused on the impact Birth of a Nation (1915) had on three Virginia communities. She published a chapter in two international peer reviewed edited books focusing on the film’s 100th anniversary as a controversial and groundbreaking film.
She continues to conduct archival research and produce compelling documentaries on the national and regional events of the Progressive Era that continue to have an impact on American culture and society.

Publications & Abstracts

Resisting The Birth of a Nation in Virginia

Standing their ground: A southern community’s response to The Birth of a Nation

The Growing Resistance: Virginia’s Response to The Birth of a Nation, 1915 – 1925

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

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