Our University Relations Staff
- Executive Director
- Public Affairs
- Marketing & Advertising
- Internal Communications
Executive Director of University Relations
David C. Dawson
Executive Director of University Relations
Phone (954) 262-2119
ddawson@nsu.nova.edu
David C. Dawson is the Executive Director of University Relations at Nova Southeastern University. As such, he serves as the university's overall marketing director and brand manager. He oversees the development and implementation of NSU's brand strategy and related messaging, while managing and coordinating all communications channels. The university's advertising, internal communications, social media and public affairs departments report directly to him.
Most recently, Dawson had been Group Director of Marketing Communications for Ryder System, Inc., after serving as Ryder's Director of Public Relations, and prior to that, Director of Advertising. He had previously held marketing leadership positions with American Hospital Supply, Deltona Corporation and Tinsley Advertising. He holds a BBA from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida.
Public Affairs
Julie Spechler
Director of Public Affairs
Phone: (954) 262-5348
Cell: (954) 591-3361
julies@nova.edu
Twitter: http://twitter.com/juliespechler
Julie Spechler is the Director of the Office of Public Affairs at Nova Southeastern University. She is responsible for development and implementation of communications, marketing and public relations services that advance NSU's mission, vision and core values.
Spechler and her public affairs team are charged with disseminating information to media and internal audiences locally and globally about the programs, students, faculty, alumni, events, achievements, research and activities of the university. The team works to enhance NSU's reputation as a leading academic and research institution.
Spechler provides public relations and marketing support for a myriad of university and community-wide initiatives such as NSU's Student Educational Centers located throughout Florida and The Bahamas, and Institutional and Community Engagement. She also serves as the communications liaison to the Offices of Alumni Affairs and Athletics, as the executive editor for NSU's Annual Report, and as the primary media contact to NSU's executive and senior level officers. Spechler and her team are also responsible for most of the content of NSU's award winning premiere magazine, Horizons; NSU's weekly SharkBytes electronic employee newsletter; as well as content for NSU’s social media profiles and website.
Prior to joining NSU, Spechler spent 25 years at AT&T, where she served as the company's Public Relations Director for Florida. Her responsibilities included supporting the firm's business and consumer efforts in a variety of public relations and marketing initiatives including media relations, marketing, employee communications, executive counseling, strategic philanthropy, and public policy. After leaving AT&T, she formed a boutique PR agency representing clients ranging from entertainment to communications to education. Spechler got her start in academia at Barry University, where she served as Alumni Director before joining AT&T/BellSouth.
She currently serves on University of Florida's Public Relations Advisory Council; an active member in her local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA); and a member of American Association of University Women and of the Society of Professional Journalists. Spechler has a B.S. in Journalism and Public Relations from University of Florida and a M.A. degree, with an emphasis in marketing and public relations, from NSU's Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Felecia Henderson
Associate Director of Public Affairs
Phone: (954) 262-5315
fhenders@nova.edu
Felecia Henderson is an Associate Director of Public Affairs for Nova Southeastern University. Her duties include providing public relations and marketing support for the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences and the Division of Applied Interdisciplinary Studies which includes: the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Center for Psychological Studies, Mailman Segal Center for Human Development, Human Services, the Substance Abuse Institute, and the Criminal Justice Institute. Henderson also provides public relations and marketing support for the Don Taft University Center, Special Events for University Relations, University-Wide Initiatives, and Public Safety.
Prior to joining NSU, Henderson served as the Sports Information Director for Florida Memorial University, a Historically Black College (HBCU) located in Miami. She was responsible for all internal and external communications, event management, game operations and the marketing and promotional activities of the University’s intercollegiate athletic program.
She serves on the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Davie and the Sports Society of Miami.
Brandon Hensler
Associate Director of Public Affairs
Office of University Relations
Phone: (954) 262-5385 or (954) 262-5170
brandon.hensler@nova.edu
Brandon Hensler, APR, is an Associate Director of Public Affairs at Nova Southeastern University. He provides public relations and marketing support for the Office of the President, Oceanographic Center (including the Center of Excellence in Coral Reef Ecosystems Science; the National Coral Reef Institute; the Guy Harvey Research Institute; the Save Our Seas Shark Center; and the Broward County Florida Sea Turtle Conservation Program), the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship, the Shepard Broad Law Center, Undergraduate Admissions, Enrollment and Student Services, International Affairs, the Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences, and serves on the university’s Hispanic Heritage Month committee.
Prior to joining NSU, Hensler was the Director of Communication for the ACLU of Florida, a statewide non-profit organization based in Miami. He oversaw the organization’s media relations, public relations and advertising strategy, web and social media platforms, media training, crisis communications, community relations and internal communications. He also served as the organization’s bilingual spokesperson, both locally and nationally. Prior to the ACLU, Hensler worked for PR Newswire, a New York-based international news organization, working his way from bilingual editor to senior account manager.
Hensler is a past-president and current board member of the Public Relations Society of America’s Gulfstream Chapter, is on the Board of Trustees of the Miami University LGBT Alumni Association, and is a member of Leadership Broward Class XXX. Hensler has written and produced radio programs on many subjects including immigration and health issues.
Hensler is Accredited in Public Relations by the Universal Accreditation Board and is certified as a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt. He holds a B.A. in International Studies/Latin American Studies from Miami University, and is currently pursuing a M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from NSU’s Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Andra Parrish Liwag
Associate Director of Public AffairsOffice of University Relations
Phone: (954) 262-5309
andrali@nova.edu
Andra Parrish Liwag is an Associate Director of Public Affairs for Nova Southeastern University. She provides strategic, external and internal public relations and marketing support for:
- NSU’s Enrollment and Student Services Division (ESS), which encompasses Undergraduate Admissions, International Affairs, and Veteran’s Affairs;
- NSU’s Division of Student Affairs, which encompasses Student Events & Activities, Student Leadership & Civic Engagement, Career Development, Campus Recreation, and Residential Life & Housing;
- NSU’s Abraham S. Fischler School of Education;
- NSU’s Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center;
- Special Olympics Broward County, which permanently resides at NSU; and the prek-12 private preparatory University School of NSU Lower, Middle and Upper school system.
She also serves on the university’s CommunityFest, DisAbilities Expo, Wellness, African Presence and Black History Month committees.
Prior to joining Public Affairs, Liwag was Communications Manager for NSU’s Innovation Zone (IZone) where she created marketing and public relations materials and educated faculty and staff about online course development services. Before joining NSU, Liwag spent more than 10 years working with the Sun-Sentinel Company in various capacities, including as: Teenlink’s Designer and Photo Editor; as the company's public relations Communications Associate; as a Forum Publishing Group Assistant Editor and Reporter; and as a college and high school correspondent.
Formerly, Liwag also worked in the communications department of the University of Florida’s College of Dentistry, and was an adjunct journalism writing strategies instructor at Florida International University. Liwag is a member of the Public Relations Society of America.
Liwag has a B.S. in Journalism with a minor in History from the University of Florida, where she graduated from with honors. She also has an M.A. in Writing from NSU’s Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences.
Ken Ma
Associate Director of Public Affairs
Office of University Relations
Phone: (954) 262-5408
ken.ma@nova.edu
Ken Ma, M.B.A., is an Associate Director of Public Affairs at Nova Southeastern University. He provides public relations and marketing support for NSU’s Office of Research and Technology Transfer, Center for Collaborative Research, Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine, Office of Clinical Research, Office of Community and Governmental Affairs, Health Care Centers, Lifelong Learning Institute, Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research, Institute for Disaster and Emergency Preparedness, and the Health Professions Division, which includes seven colleges: osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, dental medicine, optometry, medical sciences, health care sciences, and nursing. Ma is also a past managing editor of NSU’s wellness magazine, Wellness Made Simple.
Prior to joining NSU, Ma was a social services and minority affairs reporter at the Orlando Sentinel, where he was a part of several reporting teams that covered NASA’s first space shuttle launch after the Columbia shuttle tragedy; the Terri Schiavo story in Tampa Bay; and the destructive Central Florida tornadoes of 2007. Previously, Ma covered politics, government, education and public safety at several Southern California newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times. Prior to that, Ma interned at The Chronicle of Higher Education in Washington, D.C., where he wrote stories about the U.S. Department of Education and congressional legislation relating to higher education.
Ma serves on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Broward County’s Children’s Advocacy Center, and he is the immediate past president of Public Relations Society of America’s Greater Fort Lauderdale Chapter.
Ma holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Hawaii, where he also minored in U.S. History. He also holds an M.B.A. from NSU’s H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship.Marketing and Advertising
Gabriela J. Vignolo
Director of Marketing Communications
Office of University Relations
Phone (954) 262-5355
gabyjv@nsu.nova.edu
Gabriela Vignolo is the Director of Marketing Communications at Nova Southeastern University. She is responsible for the planning and implementation of NSU's strategic marketing plan. In her role Vignolo oversees the university's advertising, online and social media initiatives.
Working closely with NSU's marketing communications agency, she manages the university's advertising expenditures and supervises the creative execution of NSU's broadcast, print and online media. Vignolo also supports the Executive Director in managing the brand by working
collaboratively with academic units to advance a unified marketing strategy and brand image. Additional responsibilities include coordinating University-wide Open Houses; and providing marketing support to University entities, including the Museum of Art I Fort Lauderdale and NSU's Health Care Centers.
Vignolo is a well-rounded marketing communications professional with experience in advertising, public relations and broadcasting. Prior to joining NSU in 2005, she served as the Communications Director for a Fort Lauderdale based organization specializing in fine art event marketing and production. She oversaw advertising and public relations, and was responsible for the promotion of over 40 fine art events across the U.S. She spent several years at WPBT-PBS Channel 2 in Miami where she worked as a television producer and publicist. Vignolo has also taught a public relations writing course as an adjunct instructor at Florida International University.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication with a concentration in television and radio production from the University of Florida, and a Master of Science in Mass Communication with an emphasis in integrated marketing communications from Florida International University.Internal Communications
Mara L. Kiffin
Director of Internal Communications
Phone (954) 262-5350
mkiffin@nsu.nova.edu
Mara L. Kiffin is the Director of Internal Communications for Nova Southeastern University. In this role, Kiffin plans and manages internal communications and execution strategies for university-wide initiatives and campaigns; creates, develops key messages and executes communications plans in support of strategic objectives. Additionally, she serves as Executive Editor of the university magazine, Horizons, and manages content for internal communications channels including SharkBytes, SharkTube, digital signage, SharkLink, and iShark mobile application.
In the advancement of NSU’s Core Value of Diversity, Kiffin serves as chair of the committees for Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month. As chair, she coordinates cultural programs/activities/events and collaborates with representatives from university departments, colleges, schools and centers to create integrated programs that recognize and celebrate diversity. Since 2003 she has served as chair of the organizing committee for the annual African Presence Art Exhibition.
Kiffin joined NSU in 2000 and has previously served as the Associate Director of Internal Communications and the Assistant Director of Public Affairs. Prior to joining NSU, she served as Communications Manager with Girl Scouts of Broward County.
She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Baptist University, a Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management from NSU, and is currently a doctoral candidate at Florida Atlantic University, pursing a Ph.D. in Comparative Studies.