Employee Spotlight: Heather Hindin

Our mission at Participate Learning is to create global, cultural, and language connections that empower students and educators to positively impact the world. To drive this mission forward, we offer dual language and global leaders programs.

Achieving this goal would not be possible without our marketing and design team who work to amplify our message to the public so that all students are prepared to contribute to the world community and compete in the global marketplace. Read on to learn more about our marketing program manager Heather Hindin.

Path to Participate Learning

Before starting at Participate Learning, Heather worked as a special education teacher and an educational nonprofit leader. Her strong foundation in the field of education along with her marketing and communications expertise made her the perfect fit for her role as the marketing program manager.

When asked about her marketing team, Heather shares that they are a tight-knit group that can count on each other for support, advice, or help on any project that comes their way. The nature of their role in the company gives them many opportunities to work cross-collaboratively with other departments to create content that shines a spotlight on the diverse and innovative projects that Participate Learning seeks to champion.

Outside of her team, Heather has spent the past several months getting to know the entire Participate Learning family in the home office of Chapel Hill and beyond. She believes that being approachable and available is important to build a rapport with her colleagues, as well as getting to know them both personally and professionally.

A Day in the Life

For Heather, there is no such thing as a typical workday. She spends the majority of her time creating and drafting content and communications, working with other authors, and developing collateral for other teams within the organization. She also serves as the point person for a number of external partners, such as WUNC and Chapel Hill Magazine.

Heather says the most challenging aspect of her job is juggling her responsibilities and balancing urgent needs with longer-term projects. She loves problem-solving and finding opportunities to streamline the marketing approach for efficiency and maximum creativity. She prefers to work proactively rather than reactively, but her role includes a healthy balance of both.

Currently, she is excited about her newest, large-scale project: gaining brand recognition for Participate Learning in the local area. The marketing team has created advertisements that will soon be seen and heard throughout the Triangle area through radio and print. Heather enjoys developing relationships with different local media outlets and sharing news and stories with them.

One highlight of Heather’s time with Participate Learning has been the various orientation events that she was able to be a part of this summer. It was her first orientation season, and she loved being able to see everyone’s hard work come together in a way that was meaningful for the ambassador teachers. It was a truly rewarding experience for the entire organization since everyone had played a part in its success, and, ultimately, this event set our ambassador teachers and their students up for a successful year.

Looking Ahead

For her entire career, Heather has been committed to ensuring that all students have equal access to opportunities and a fair shot at being successful. She has taught in several impoverished schools and also served high-achieving students from low-income families by developing programs to ensure college access and affordability.

When asked about her professional goals and how they would contribute to her work at Participate Learning, Heather explained,

“Where you live and where you are from should be far less important than who you are and what you have to offer. I am committed to continuing to empower our most fragile students and families by teaching students and parents to advocate for themselves.”

Regarding upcoming projects, Heather is looking forward to leading the Crisis Communication strategic initiative. This project is exciting for her because she can use her knowledge and leadership experience to help create a system to be established in the case of a crisis or emergency. She has a wonderful team assembled that she is eager to start working with!

In her free time, Heather enjoys cooking, eating, and reading. When asked about the three things she can’t live without, Heather exclaimed, “My family, my dog, and books!”

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of employees like Heather, Participate Learning can continue to spread and amplify the message of the life-changing, positive impact that a global education can have on today’s students and tomorrow’s leaders to reach our audience of international teachers, parents, and school administrators.

Keep up with Heather on Twitter or click here to learn more about our global programs to see how Participate Learning can bring global education opportunities to your school.