This free event is now available for on-demand registration and access through April 21, 2026. Once registered, the on-demand content will become available.
Connection is at the heart of today’s student experience—and it increasingly begins online. Social media, TikTok trends, and AI-powered tools are reshaping how students find, choose, and engage with colleges. This session bridges the critical—but often siloed—worlds of social media strategy, student engagement, and website search.
Dr. Josie Ahlquist will highlight how authentic digital leadership fosters trust, belonging, and connection with today’s digital generation. She’ll share practical strategies for student engagement that move beyond posting for attention to creating purposeful digital pathways that strengthen community on-and offline.
Jeff Dillon will connect the dots to the often-overlooked “digital front door” of your institution: your website. Discover how AI-powered site search improves how students find essential resources (from admissions deadlines to mental health support) and how the insights generated reveal what students truly need. These discoveries give leaders across marketing, enrollment, and student engagement the ability to respond with clarity, speed, and confidence.
Josie Ahlquist
Josie Ahlquist guides leaders, organizations, and students to practice purposeful digital leadership through speaking, coaching, and consulting. Josie’s work is grounded in the grant-funded and award-winning research that has allowed her to train thousands around the globe as a speaker; provide consulting services to institutions and companies; and coach professionals in branding, voice, and positioning.
Josie was selected as a 2023 NASPA Pillar of the Profession, one of the highest honors for student affairs. Josie is a three-time LinkedIn Top Voice in Education, for six years has been recognized by Ed Tech Magazine as the “Top 50 Must-Read Higher Education Technology Blogs” and her podcast, Josie and The Podcast, has been featured by The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed. Her book, Digital Leadership in Higher Education: Purposeful Social Media in a Connected World, was listed as an Amazon #1 new release for college and university student life.
Jeff Dillon
Digital Strategist for Higher Education, SearchStaxJeff Dillon is the Digital Strategist for Higher Education at SearchStax and is the founder of EdTech Connect, a technology marketplace designed exclusively for the higher education community.
Jeff has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the higher education technology sector with expertise in search engines, artificial intelligence, digital experience platforms, personalization strategies and communication tools.
