Read the full transcript here
Kevin Renton
Hi there, my name is Kevin Renton and welcome to Quick Fire from Volt. This is when we put higher education marketers on the hot seat and fire them 20 questions. Today we have Ashley Budd, senior director of advancement marketing at Cornell University. Welcome, Ashley.
Ashley Budd
Hi Kevin, it’s so fun to do this.
Kevin Renton
I know. Okay, give us your elevator pitch. What do you do at Cornell?
Ashley Budd
I ship a lot of marketing material to Cornell alumni. If you’re getting something as an alum from Cornell, it’s probably coming from my team.
Kevin Renton
I wanted to work in higher education because…
Ashley Budd
Because I graduated from private school with a painting degree and a college job as a tour guide. And I thought maybe I’ll make more money staying working at the university than opening up my own painting studio.
Kevin Renton
Great, and you learned how to tell stories as a tour guide?
Ashley Budd
Yes, yes, more, took more, did more classes, took communications classes.
Kevin Renton
The marketing tool I can’t live without is…
Ashley Budd
Project management tool.
Kevin Renton
Which one?
Ashley Budd
I use Basecamp. That’s the one we have at Cornell, and then I use it in my life too.
Kevin Renton
In the next five years I’d like to…
Ashley Budd
I’d like to tell, ooh, what do I want to do? See, I said tell because I like to share stuff. So just reach more people.
Kevin Renton
When I’m not working, I’m…
Ashley Budd
When I’m not working, I am watching reality TV.
Kevin Renton
Oh, you gotta give us the shows.
Ashley Budd
Okay, right now, Traders is the show.
Kevin Renton
The British traders?
Ashley Budd
I will watch that one when I get access to it. I hear it’s going really well. I’m watching the US one right now. And then I also kind of rotate Survivor and the summer Big Brother.
Kevin Renton
I start my day at…
Ashley Budd
Home. I work from home.
Kevin Renton
Coffee, bagels, fresh fruit?
Ashley Budd
Coffee, coffee, no breakfast.
Kevin Renton
I admire the marketing at…
Ashley Budd
Ooh, right now I’m really admiring the marketing at Yellowbird, their hot sauce. Go to their website and just sign up for their emails. Their intro emails are killing it.
Kevin Renton
The biggest challenge facing higher education marketers are…
Ashley Budd
Finding ways to be more efficient.
Kevin Renton
My favorite social media channel is and why?
Ashley Budd
I don’t really love social media right now. The first one I click on is probably Instagram.
Kevin Renton
Were you active on Twitter/X? Because the higher community was strong there but then moved away.
Ashley Budd
Yeah, old Twitter. Yeah, I dropped Twitter in 2017 and started my newsletter and that was a good move.
Kevin Renton
My biggest professional achievement is…
Ashley Budd
Writing my book.
Kevin Renton
Awesome. Tell me more about your book, what is it called, when was it published.
Ashley Budd
Yeah, it was published in August of 2024. And I co-authored it with Day Kibilds. It’s called “Mailed It.” It is an email book. The subtitle is a guide for crafting emails that build relationships and get results. And it’s fun. It’s a quick read.
Kevin Renton
It is a great read. I finished it a couple of weeks ago. Fantastic book. Check it out. Even if you’re not in higher ed, it’s a great email book. My biggest professional mistake was…
Ashley Budd
I have no regrets.
Kevin Renton
What’s working in higher ed right now is…
Ashley Budd
I think the thing that higher ed has going for it is the people who work at institutions are just so passionate. They are people that really love what they do, and that’s why it still feels good to go to work.
Kevin Renton
What’s not working in higher ed right now is…
Ashley Budd
The whole business model.
Kevin Renton
Okay, a key to my success has been…
Ashley Budd
Sharing things, getting feedback from people.
Kevin Renton
One thing I’ve learned about managing teams is…
Ashley Budd
It’s just such a human business getting to making sure you get to know people as people is both rewarding and how you have a really high functioning team
Kevin Renton
The hardest part of my job is…
Ashley Budd
I get so excited about everything and I want to put everything into everything. So it’s kind of like editing down and figuring out my schedule and prioritizing is hard because I want to do it all.
Kevin Renton
I love my job because…
Ashley Budd
Education is just such an important mission, and it’s easy to get up and do work for a cause like that every day.
Kevin Renton
Thanks for your time. It’s great for having you on. Go check out Ashley’s book. It’s called “Mailed It.” It’ll be on Amazon, right?
Ashley Budd
Everywhere.
Kevin Renton
Everywhere.
Ashley Budd
You can find it everywhere.
Kevin Renton
We’ll put it into the link when we post this on social media as well.
Ashley Budd
Thank you.
