VESTAVIA HILLS, ALA. (PRWEB) MARCH 10, 2022
In December of 2021 Brian Kraft was promoted to Associate Vice President of Operations. Since joining COCM in May of 2009, as a General Manager at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Brian has served COCM as a Regional Manager, Regional Vice President, Assistant Vice President, and now as Associate Vice President of Operations. Prior to joining COCM, Brian worked as a Hall Director, Coordinator of Residence Life, Conference Coordinator and Assistant Director of Residence Life at institutions including the University of North Florida, the University of San Francisco, Miami University and Ohio Dominican University. Brian holds a Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Mathematics and Psychology, a Master of Teaching from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Arts in College Student Personnel from the University of Maryland – College Park.
In recognition of Becky Sierp’s outstanding efforts and performance, COCM is pleased to announce her promotion to Regional Vice President. Becky joined COCM in 2008 as an Assistant Manager at University of Maryland College Park, and was promoted in 2011 to serve as General Manager at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Becky has also served as an Area Manager and Regional Manager for COCM. She earned an undergraduate degree from Rider University, and a graduate degree in Student Personnel Services from Rowan University. While a student, Becky was a Resident Assistant, Residence Director, and a Housing Assignments Coordinator. She also interned at Arkansas State University and Florida State University through the ACUHO-I Housing Internship Program. Becky is a former member of the MACUHO Executive Board and hosted the first ACUHO-I Intern from Australia in 2009.
Vallyn Merrick, who joined the COCM family in 2011 has been promoted to Regional Vice President. Vallyn began her accomplished career with COCM as the Director of Housing at Coppin State University. While with COCM, Vallyn has also served as Director of Affiliated Housing at Bowies State University and as a Regional Manager. She has worked in student housing for over 10 years, holding positions such as Resident Assistant, Graduate Assistant, and Community Director of a five-building undergraduate complex at Howard University in Washington, DC. She also enjoys presenting at conferences. At the 2012 NACAS conference, Vallyn offered insight into the topic of, Why Outsourcing Is In: Achieving Housing Success Through Partnered Management. Vallyn is a graduate of Howard University with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and a Master’s in Education.
Kern Williams, a ten year COCM employee has received a promotion to Regional Vice President. Kern joined COCM in January 2012 as the Director of Housing and Residence Life at The Towers at City College of New York. He has also served as a Regional Manager and Co-Chaired COCM’s DEI Taskforce. Kern holds a Master of Arts degree with a concentration in Student Affairs and Diversity from Binghamton University where he also began his professional housing career. After Binghamton, Kern was an area director at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and went on to become the Associate Director for Residential Life and Student Conduct at the University of Bridgeport. He has also led national webinars and conference presentations about undocumented students and access to higher education.
The COCM Corporate Marketing Division has grown with Brittany Oliver being promoted to Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Leasing. Brittany, who has worked with COCM since 2019, is responsible for the marketing and leasing success of COCM’s on-campus housing portfolio, providing critical leadership and support to all its regional and on-campus staff. Brittany joined COCM as the Site Marketing Coordinator in 2019 and was promoted to Director of Leasing and Marketing in 2020. Since then, she has worked with a variety of ownership groups and institutions and been involved with multiple start-ups. Brittany’s skills, experience, and dedication to COCM make her a great fit for this new leadership position.
COCM is also pleased to announce the addition of a Senior Leasing and Marketing Specialist to meet the increasing demand to assist existing and new campus housing partners with leasing and marketing initiatives. Rose Williams, previously the Assistant Director of Operations at the recently completed Entrepreneurship Living Learning Community (ELLC), at Bowie State University, made the shift into this new role in November 2020. Rose brings experience with creation and implementation of marketing plans, brand and reputation management, digital marketing, site-level training, as well as supporting various student housing communities with marketing challenges. Rose will work with the COCM on-campus management portfolio to increase occupancy, leasing, and marketing outreach for prospects within a strong competitive housing market.
ABOUT COCM
COCM is a company of talented student housing professionals focused on providing management and consulting services for on-campus housing communities. Their student housing professionals focus on helping their partners leverage campus housing to do greater things: recruit and retain students as well as enhance student success and satisfaction. Based in Birmingham, AL, they were recently recognized as the leading provider of on-campus, third-party management services by Student Housing Business magazine. COCM’s current portfolio serves over 34,000 students at 36 campuses across the United States. For more information, visit http://www.cocm.com.