Columbia Business School Executive Education

Led the development and execution of a direct marketing plan. Created various SOPs for the product management team, and introduced & implemented new platforms for generative AI, analytics, email, image design, and project management, resulting in an incremental increase in productivity and faster go-to-market. 

Directed SEO strategy, planning, and execution. Conducted in-depth analysis, developed strategies and detailed action plans, and trained the product management team on SEO best practices, resulting in significant increases in website traffic and conversions. 

Product managed a portfolio of executive education programs in Digital Business, Strategy & Innovation, Marketing, Negotiation and Decision Making, leading development, go-to-market, and adjustment of the next iterations. 

Led website management and UX optimization initiatives, resulting in a substantial increase in website engagement and conversions. 

Supported marketing campaigns for the Executive MBA program, resulting in increased lead generation, applications, and enrollments. 

Mentored a digital marketing manager at Africa Business School, resulting in the adoption and integration of digital marketing strategy best practices.

Senior Associate Director, Digital Marketing

WinWinStrategy.org

Provide digital marketing, generative AI, and digital transformation consulting services for select clients in education, non-profits, election campaigns and for personal brands.

We create value for companies by creating value for people. It’s always a Win-Win. 
Let's create something worth remembering!

Founder & Director of Digital Strategy

ASA College

Built and implemented digital marketing roadmaps, driving paid media campaigns and social media activations. Increased student enrollment and retention through cohesive strategies and effective cross-functional team management. Transitioned in-person ceremonies to online formats during the pandemic. Drove record-breaking traffic, engagement, and conversions through an integrated digital marketing strategy and the use of marketing automation tools in a CRM.

Key Achievements:
- Increased student enrollments by 30% through digital marketing during the pandemic
- Hired and mentored digital marketing teams, reducing hiring and training costs by over 45%
- Successfully transitioned Commencement and Nursing Pinning ceremonies to the online format 
- Earned Silver Excellence Award for a high-converting video commercial

Director of Digital Marketing

Developed and optimized digital marketing campaigns, improving conversion rates and lead quality. Led website redesign projects, resulting in enhanced student enrollment and retention. Directed lead nurture strategy and campaign execution. Trained and mentored junior marketing specialists. Initiated research and cost/benefit analysis of CRM solutions.

Key Achievements:
- Increased conversion rates by 46% through campaign optimization
- Saved over $500K in campaign costs through efficient targeting strategies
- Generated 48% more leads YoY, leading to AMA Higher Education Marketer of the Year nomination

Senior Digital Marketing Strategist

Measured, analyzed, and forecasted the impact of marketing campaigns on opportunity creation and lead generation. Developed interactive real-time reporting to track marketing campaigns and produced weekly reports and monthly dashboards with KPIs to demonstrate campaign progress and success. Defined and documented campaign tracking strategies across all marketing efforts and executed A/B and multivariate tests for landing pages, paid search, and social media campaigns, resulting in a substantial increase in lead generation quality.

Key Achievements:
- Conducted testing of marketing campaigns, resulting in increased lead generation quality by 38%
- Designed laser-focused digital strategies, boosting student enrollments by 25%
- Developed interactive real-time campaign reporting with KPIs across the entire marketing funnel

Digital Marketing Analyst

Eric Adams 2021

Helped with social media content creation, field campaign operations including canvassing, phone banking, visibility activities and fundraising events.

Key Achievements
- Eric Adams became the next NYC Mayor.
- Awarded the 2021 IFFM Best Upcoming Digital Filmmaker of Film Festival Director Award for developing and producing a 3-minute short documentary of fundraising events.
- New Yorkers elected the right person at the right time to make the right changes for the greatest city in the world.

Social Media and Field Campaign Operations

VSA Partners

Implemented a Web Analytics system for a large-scale website, including tags implementation, campaign tracking, and reporting setup.

Key Achievements:
- Successfully implemented and configured Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics 
- Set up real-time dashboards and reporting across all marketing functions
- Identified and implemented goal conversions and digital events tracking

Senior Web Analyst

Built and optimized online presence for small businesses and personal brands. Developed hypothesis and conducted A/B testing. Developed measurement plans, and defined KPIs based on business objectives. Performed campaign planning, keyword research, data analysis, and recommended campaign optimization opportunities.

Key Achievements: 
- Coordinated Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube ads testing and optimization efforts
- Developed measurement plans, defined KPI’s based on business objectives, implemented website analytics tagging, produced multivariate and A|B tests from scratch to execution
- Performed data visualization and insights presentations for clients using the Hubspot CRM system
- Coordinated the design and development team to make on-site and creative improvements

Digital Marketing Strategist

New York Client Solutions

Developed and enhanced marketing and sales capabilities of new Account Executives. Responsible for leading comprehensive training programs, conducting second-round interviews to assess potential hires, managing business trips to ensure on-the-job learning, and facilitating workshops aimed at refining sales and marketing skills across the team.

Key Achievements: 
- Developed and delivered training modules that significantly improved the skills and performance of new Account Executives, resulting in enhanced sales outcomes.
- Successfully conducted over 70 second-round interviews, identifying and helping to hire top talent who contributed positively to the company's growth.
- Designed and taught specialized workshops that addressed key areas of development, leading to measurable improvements in team performance.

Corporate Trainer

Played a pivotal role in a team dedicated to a D2C Energy supplier. Responsible for prospecting new clients, nurturing relationships, delivering persuasive customer presentations, and closing sales. Excelled in aligning sales acumen with effective time and money management, consistently meeting and often exceeding weekly sales targets. Proactive participated in a sales field trip to Syracuse, NY, highlighted his ability to surpass expectations, leading to his rapid promotion to the Corporate Trainer position.

Key Achievements:
- Consistently achieved and surpassed weekly sales targets through strategic prospecting and client relationship management
- Played a crucial role in a team that significantly boosted the client base for the D2C Energy supplier.
- Led a successful sales field trip to Syracuse, NY, overachieving the sales targets and contributing to team excellence
- Recognized for outstanding sales performance and leadership potential, culminating in a promotion to a Corporate Training role

Markering Account Executive

Award-winning, AI-powered digital marketing executive with over a decade of experience in developing and implementing successful digital marketing strategies. Known for his strategic acumen in driving substantial increases across all stages of the marketing funnel, Denys excels at leveraging cutting-edge technologies, including AI, to optimize and grow marketing outcomes. He has a robust track record in leading cross-functional teams, executing high-impact marketing campaigns, and enhancing user experience through meticulous research, strategy, execution and optimization.

As a Digital Marketing Director, Denys has extensive experience in managing relationships with marketing partners, coordinating B2C and D2B efforts, and utilizing a comprehensive suite of digital tools to align sales and marketing team efforts, increasing productivity, and driving business growth through automation of workflows via CRM systems like Salesforce, Hubspot, CareerConext, and NationBuilder.

Denys is also a creative thinker and an innovative problem-solver who values a collaborative approach, working effectively both independently and within team settings. His excellent analytical skills, confident communication style, and exceptional storytelling ability make him a technologically savvy professional, adept at navigating and mastering new tools and software to stay at the forefront of digital marketing tech.

Denys Kapush

Rafael A. Castañeda

General Assembly

Workforce development - support and guide proliferation of educational programs into new markets
Social Impact - support and guide grant RFP submissions and procurement
Supplemental funding access - support and guide expansion of State & ETPL approvals

Enterprise partnerships, workforce development and social impact

MedCerts

Expanded the Workforce Division to include additional channels including K12, International and Apprenticeships.
•	Expanded growth from $25M-$48M by adding additional products and services
•	Expanded employer and academic partnerships to include over 150 revenue generating multi-year contracts
•	Expanded the Grants Team and secured over $4M in grant awards in 2023 in IA and KY with multiple RFPs pending awards.

Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Workforce Development

Led the Workforce Direct, Academic, Corporate Healthcare, Grants & Development and Regulatory & Governmental Affairs verticals. 
•	Developed and led strategy and results for growth from $6M-$25M in a multichannel division.
•	Oversaw and developed strategy for Regulatory Affairs and Compliance department (increase to 50 State Authorizations & dozens of ETPL Approvals)
•	Responsible for leading the Grants Team to research, identify, author, support post-award and procure governmental & private funding opportunities
•	Accountable for leading enterprise partnerships with large healthcare employers and academic institutions

Vice President of Workforce Development

Jobs for the Future

•	COMPANY: JFF is a national nonprofit that drives change in the American workforce and education systems to achieve economic advancement for all.

•	POSITION OVERVIEW: As a leader in Postsecondary Strategy and Innovation, JFF is a strong partner and intermediary consultant and I was honored to participate/lead on several projects.

•	Competency Based Education pilot project 
•	IEPI Planning (Institutional Effectiveness Participation Initiative) 
•	Dell Foundation Student Transfer grant project
•	Postsecondary Network strategy design 

"In his time at JFF, Rafael made meaningful contributions to the Postsecondary Network growth strategy, played an important role in the CA Community College System Chancellor’s Office work, specifically the Competency Based Education Pilot Project and has also been a key thought partner for Unit leaders across JFF. I have personally appreciated Rafael’s approach on how to add value to the field, ways to measure success and his keen focus on the learner’s educational journey." - Stacey Clawson AVP Learning Unit at JFF

Director Postsecondary Strategy and Innovation

CBD College

•	POSITION OVERVIEW: Support fully integrated residential and online academic vertical. Pivot historical and fully residential programs to include additional hybrid and fully online modalities aimed at enhancing student experience and satisfaction while balancing with exceptional outcomes; retention, persistence, graduation and licensure.

Dean of Education - Residential, Hybrid, Online Programs

•	COMPANY: The Mission of CBD College is to provide educational opportunities, leading to careers or career advancement, in an open and supportive environment that encourages a lifelong quest for knowledge. The Institutional Goals are to provide quality educational programs that can be completed in a relatively short time period and provide students the tools necessary for immediate and productive employment.

•	POSITION OVERVIEW: Provide direct oversight to the academic operations department through thoughtful leadership. Oversee new academic program selection (residential & online) and development, increase student satisfaction, retention percentages and completion rates, increase certification and license attainment and improve overall efficiency of largest college department. 

•	Research, design, build and deploy online degree in B.S. Health Sciences, online A.A.S degrees in Health Information Technology, Radiography Technology & Cardiovascular Ultrasound w/in 9 months – additional program development underway.

•	Redesign and deploy a currently offered and fully residential A.A.S Occupational Therapy Assistant Degree to a hybrid modality of delivery to reach further audiences of non-traditional prospective students.

•	Oversee and successfully execute attainment of Institutional Regional Accreditation pivoting from Institutional National Accreditation.

•	Collaborate, participate and display ownership on decision making and ultimately execute on Policy Committee pivots aimed at enterprise efficiency and effectiveness improvements.


**NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS**

•	Successfully pivoted dozens of courses, faculty and hundreds of students to a live-virtual/remote learning environment with little to no disruption in retention or satisfaction due to COV19.

•	Consistently over-achieve retention, graduation and licensure rate for all programs.

•	Directed 1st time pass rate improvements for Certified Surgical Technology (CST) students from 49% to 77% within 12 months.

Chief Academic Officer - Residential Programs

Enrollment Builders

•	COMPANY: One enrollment equals one story. The heart of Enrollment Builders is filled with stories of real people fulfilling their dream of earning a college degree. Through experience, empowerment, and science, Enrollment Builders helps higher education institutions grow enrollment one story at a time.

•	POSITION OVERVIEW: I worked with institutions of higher learning in a consultative partnership aimed at improving operations in the following areas where they were;

• Struggling to determine whether budget and resources are aligned with enrollment/sales goals.

• Looking for more high-quality leads from their domain websites.

• Seeking improved results from digital marketing sources and media plan.

• Worrying about launching and/or keeping academic programs that do not align with enrollment/sales goals.

• Struggling with implementing or reinforcing fundamental management practices required to sustain growth. 

• Lacking access to performance data required to scale.

• Struggling to adapt to a consultative sales culture in recruitment and admissions.

Academic Partnerships Executive 

Cengage

•	COMPANY: Leading online continuing education provider, reaching customers across all 50 states and more than 16 countries.

•	POSITION OVERVIEW: Lead evaluation, administration, management, and support of 800+ academic programs for 1,800 U.S. higher learning institutions. Manage a $30 Million budget and administer reseller agreements for 5 regional organizations internationally.

•	Spearhead U.S. and International business development by prospecting and recruiting a highly engaged employer network of companies and maintaining partnerships through ongoing engagement strategies.

•	Onboarded 100+ new client contracts within 2 years.

•	Initiated international partnerships with EMEA in over 100 countries across 5 continents, including Asia, Australia, and India.
 
•	Added partnerships with high school districts across the country, creating a new company presence in the postsecondary and K-12 CTE space.

•	Propelled robust corporate expansion through employee learning and development programs with McDonald’s and Microsoft (including a MS partnership to launch 75 ‘stackable’ EdX programs).
 
•	Incorporated a very strong workforce for 3rd-party funding initiative to build modern educational resources and serve schools and other educational entities.

•	Doubled the size of the Strategic Partnerships team (from 9 to 19) and enhanced U.S. account management strategy to include more organized and efficient assignments.
 
•	Provide leadership for shared governance groups; analyze and interpret education law at the State and Federal level to determine and plan for impacts to academic partners and to promote institution/learner success.

**NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS**
•	Initiate 10% growth in top-line sales and revenue for FY18 and FY19 – a $6 Million increase which, when coupled with efforts to mitigate expenses on the backend, equals an earnings contribution of 30%
•	Consistently over-achieve the $30 Million annual sales goal

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Ellucian 

•	COMPANY: Technology solutions for the modern student, designed specifically to meet the needs of higher education.

•	POSITION OVERVIEW: Led all aspects of academic program launches, including market research, curriculum design, accreditation, admissions, enrollment management, operations, institutional finance, student finance, student and career services, and procurement.

•	Crafted and implemented strategic plans to compete in the national / global on-line education marketplace.
 
•	Managed day-to-day online operations and support activities; led project management, including space and resource allocations, data systems and technologies, and master schedules and record keeping.

Director of Academic Operations: Yeshiva University - Katz School of Graduate & Professional Studies

UCRI - University of Cincinnati Research Institute

•	COMPANY: Public research university with a 44,000-student annual enrollment, making it the 2nd-largest university in Ohio.

•	POSITION OVERVIEW: Championed UC2U™, UC’s newest eLearning initiative for non-traditional students, and all aspects of ideation and creation, including identifying the marketplace and developing a foundation for future success in eLearning strategies.

•	Within 24 months, created and delivered a fully-operational digital and direct marketing plan, hired and trained a recruitment staff, and ensured post-enrollment retention with student satisfaction tracking system.

•	Member of University Marketing Leaders Committee, University Brand Refresh Project, and Online Learner Success Project; Ex-Officio Member of University eLearning Committee.

Managing Director of Online Operations-uc2u

Anthem Education Group

•	COMPANY: Group of career-focused technical colleges.

•	POSITION OVERVIEW: Optimized and improved processes in admissions while strengthening overall performance in academics, business office, student finance, compliance, career services, facility management, and procurement.

**NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT**
•	Improved fiscal year campus performance by $300,000, achieved record-high sales/enrollment, and increased monthly New Student Starts 15%+

Executive Director

People to People Ambassador Programs

•	COMPANY: Educational travel provider with a focus is on providing the opportunity of global travel with academic credit.

•	POSITION OVERVIEW: Provided Mission and Vision, managed a $7 Million budget, and manage full P&L, process design/implementation, and human resource operations for 70 employees that serviced over 20,000 students in the enrollment/sales cycle.

•	Led PM on design and implementation of the Microsoft Dynamics (CRM tool) for the admissions department.

Vice President of Admissions and Sales Operations

• Enterprise Resource Planning • Operations Excellence • Available to Travel • rafcast42@gmail.com •

As a versatile and excellence-driven leader, I have 15+ years’ experience relentlessly pursuing opportunities to drive revenue and cut costs. 

With a strong business and financial acumen, exceling at taking on extreme challenges and navigating complex organizational dynamics, I am a strategist with a keen eye for detail and innovative approaches to continuous improvement. 

Known for building high-performance teams and creating team cultures to which others gravitate, I am a top performer who leverages breadth of experience, depth of knowledge, and dedication to delivery in order to achieve business objectives. 

**AREAS OF EXPERTISE**
•	Enterprise Resource Planning
•	Operations Excellence
•	Cross-Functional Leadership
•	Lean Six Sigma Methods
•	Strategic Partnerships
•	Global Team Building
•	Relationship Management
•	Engagement & Retention 
•	Continuous Process Improvement
•	Financial Analysis
•	P&L Management
•	KPIs
•	Data Analytics

**TECHNOLOGY** 
•	SaaS
•	PaaS
•	CRM
•	CMS
•	SIS
•	LMS
•	SalesForce
•	Microsoft Office Suite
•	Google Suite
•	HubSpot

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Rafael A. Castañeda

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