- Master of Fine Art, illustration, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, Calif., 2015.
- Master of Business Administration, concentrations in finance and organizations & markets, William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y., June 1992.
- Bachelor of Science in marketing management, cum laude, Crouse-Hinds School of Management, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.; member of Beta Gamma Sigma, national business honor society; four-year volleyball scholarship (NCAA Division I), Academic
All America, 1986 & 1988.
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
- Exceptional, experienced higher education instructor focused on student engagement and experiential learning instructional strategies. Top student rankings for teaching and advisement.
- Extensive online teaching experience including course development, instruction, and assessment.
- More than a dozen years of experience working for Fortune 500 companies in marketing and communication roles.
- Creator and scholar focused on storytelling and messaging to the youngest of audiences with both scholarly and commercial publications.
- Award winning creator and scholar — recognized for excellence in contributions to the commercial publishing field and recognized for excellence in research and scholarship in the academic field.
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
Harris is an experienced Fortune 500 marketer, communicator, and entrepreneur. She began her professional career in marketing after getting an M.B.A. from the William E. Simon School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester. In the following
12 years, she worked for three different fortune 500 companies in several different industries including medical, food, and toy.
She has launched over 250 products and managed them through their entire life cycle from concept to obsoletion, utilizing marketing planning and strategy, marketing communication, and financial management to achieve profitable gains for the companies
that employed her. Heather has led multi-functional teams, directed creative agencies, and managed product categories ranging from $25 million to $250 million in sales.
She has also concepted and built several entrepreneurial businesses based in the arts and arts communication. Her work concepting and leading redFISH Art Studios and Gallery helped lead an evolution in the arts scene in Western New York and launched her
as an emerging artist. She also concepted and built her own illustration business, which has won several industry awards in illustration and storytelling and services clients in both the toy and publishing industries.
ACADEMIC PROFILE
Harris teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses within the Communication and Journalism programs. She has a proven track record of bringing the best pedagogical practices into the classroom, adapting to student learning needs and styles across
multiple educational levels, institutions, and modalities, and developing curriculum that advances student proficiency and keeps the university on the forefront of education.
Harris is a passionate educator who meets the learner where they are in their educational journey and uses a transformational approach in her teaching to help students achieve their goals. Engaging students in the learning through constructivist strategies,
where students construct meaning from active learning experiences, makes the learning accessible and memorable.
Transformational teachers know that artful teaching without science lacks efficacy, and scientific teaching without aesthetics lacks vision. Harris’ academic credentialing in both “right-brain” and “left-brain” subject
matters means that artful teaching with scientific rigor comes naturally to her and is her sweet spot in the classroom.
RESEARCH AGENDA
Harris’ research interest lies in storytelling and visual engagement and its power on audiences. Her most recent scholarly work focuses on messaging to the youngest of audiences through kid-centric mediums such as song, video, and books. Her
current research is exploring the changes of messages delivered by Disney animated film songs and visual imagery used to market the movies to the youngest of audience over the past 70+ years.
Exploring the changes of messages delivered to children over time, Harris focuses on song and imagery as modes of communication to children and uses content analysis of words and imagery to identify trends and their potential impact. Harris’
scholarly work is the fuel that informs her original creative work in children’s books which she authors and illustrates.
CREATIVE AGENDA
Harris authors and illustrates stories for children ages 1–8 years old with the goal of empowering them to understand and navigate the world around them. Mindful of her findings from her scholarly research, Harris utilizes imagery, language,
shape, and color to create stories that engage the youngest of audiences and invites wonder and awe.
Purposeful use of animal characters, careful language and social emotional learning subject matter are tools Harris uses to invite inclusivity into the worlds she creates. Harris has illustrated 11 children’s books and won numerous awards including
The Moonbeam Award, The Purple Dragonfly Award, and the NYC Big Book Award.