A Guide to AMA Higher Ed 2025

What to Eat, Who to Hear, and Where to Eat

Sunset over the Potomac from Gaylord National during AMA Higher Ed 2022

We’re back in National Harbor for the American Marketing Association Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. The last time AMA Higher Ed was here was just three years ago, though it somehow feels like much longer. That 2022 conference marked an inflection point: a moment of reunion and renewed purpose as we found ourselves in community again after the pandemic pause.

This year feels like another kind of inflection point, one where our collective work to advance the mission of higher education has never felt more vital. For me personally, it marks the launch of Navigate Gray, where I’m helping higher ed marketing and communications leaders navigate change and build organizations capable of advancing their institutions’ highest priorities.

Join me for sessions

This year, I’ll once again lead a pre-conference session, “From Principles to Practice: Marketing Essentials for Higher Education.”

While designed for newer attendees, seasoned leaders often join to revisit fundamentals and sharpen their strategic thinking. Together, we’ll explore core marketing principles through the lens of higher ed’s many complexities.

My goal is for you to leave feeling more capable and confident: equipped with practical frameworks you can use right away, energized about your work and the difference it makes for your institution, and clear in your strategic influence. Attendees have also shared that it’s helped them get more out of the rest of the conference.

I’m also thrilled to join Christine Szustaczek and Carolina Almonte from the University of Toronto and Aimee Hosemann from Strata Information Group for a session on human-centered talent strategy in higher education marketing.

This collaboration with the University of Toronto has been especially rewarding work, and we hope sharing it (including the thinking and generative process behind it) inspires marketing leaders to pursue similar efforts at their own institutions. Quite simply, it’s an area still underdeveloped in higher ed marketing and communications.

Keynoters

Kudos to the AMA planning committee — this year’s keynote lineup is outstanding.

I’m particularly looking forward to Kevin McClure’s keynote, “The Caring University: A Roadmap to Reimagining the Higher Education Workplace.” As Kevin shared in a webinar we did together a year ago, “Institutions at best have a tradition of being inattentive to the employee experience and at worst negligent when it comes to the employee experience.” It’s another area where marketers can bring their expertise to bear. He went on to note that “an institution’s employer brand is very much a function of the real lived experiences of the people who work there.”

Author Todd Henry will also keynote with “Creativity, Bravery, and Brilliance.” When I interviewed Todd back in 2018 for Marketing Live (shoutout to the Higher Ed Live network), we talked about leading creative teams. As he said then, “Creative people need both stability and challenge. They need to know the ground beneath them won’t constantly shift, and they need to be pushed to do work they didn’t think they were capable of.” It’s a message tailor-made for our field right now.

Exploring D.C. and beyond

If you’re arriving early, you might be planning to spend the weekend sightseeing in Washington, D.C. — and navigating what’s open during the government shutdown. I’m hoping to sneak in a run through the National Mall and catch up with a few colleagues in the city. 

I’ll also be returning to Succotash, just a short walk from the conference hotel, featuring Chef Edward Lee’s James Beard Award-winning soulful Southern menu. I hosted an event there in 2022, and let’s just say the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie is reason enough to go back.

To help make the most of your time, I asked a few marketing leaders from the D.C. area to share their favorite spots. Many thanks to Cynthia Martínez, Julie Zito, Mark DeLong, and Teresa Flannery, for sharing their local expertise! 

Cynthia Martínez, Senior Director, Brand Marketing, University of Maryland

Welcome to the DMV and more importantly, to Prince George's County, home of the University of Maryland. Go Terps!

The culinary scene in D.C. is very diverse and guarantees to satisfy your cravings. Ambar offers Balkan cuisine and has several locations in the area, with two in the District: Capitol Hill and Shaw. Their brunch is what does it for me. AND, if you are excited about Bad Bunny’s halftime show, grab some traditional Puerto Rican dishes at Qui Qui DC. You will not be disappointed.

Whether it is your first time in the area or your tenth, I always encourage people to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (when open). Seeing the Lincoln Memorial at night is a must! 

Julie Zito, Associate Vice President, Marketing, The George Washington University

“Old Town” Alexandria, Virginia, is just a hop across the bridge from the National Harbor and Gaylord National. Here are some of my Old Town favorites. Virtue Feed & Grain is tasty and has something for everyone. It’s also located in a very charming historic building on Union Street, near the water. If you’re looking for views, chef-owned Hummingbird, inside Hotel Indigo, is a great choice. Landini Brothers is an Italian Old Town institution in the middle of Alexandria’s historic district. Eat dinner and wander around the cobblestone streets. Taverna Cretekou has classic Greek food with a great patio. BARCA is a fun tapas and floating wine bar right on the Potomac. Not sure November will bring us patio weather, but you never know in D.C.!

If you have more time to spend and want to explore some D.C. “sights,” here are a few spots that I love and that are open. The National Building Museum always has interesting exhibits, and the building itself is dramatic and spectacular. Both The George Washington University and American University have fantastic art museums that remain open during the shutdown.

Mark DeLong, Enrollment Communications and Marketing Director, The George Washington University

Take the ferry from National Harbor to the Georgetown Waterfront and grab a drink or a bite at Farmers Fishers Bakers, Sequoia or Fiola Mare. Union Market in Northeast D.C. has a wide variety of food and beverage spots, from steaks at St. Anselm to Latin American delights from La Cosecha and rum cocktails at Cotton & Reed.

For a shutdown-proof museum experience, check out the National Museum of Women in the Arts or the Rubell Museum. For a very D.C. experience, explore the Go-Go Museum & Cafe or the DC Alley Museum (garage door murals in an alley full of great restaurants, including Tiger Fork, The Dabney, Calico, Amazonia or Causa). 

Terry Flannery, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, CASE

If you’re coming into downtown D.C., there’s a really cool Latin American restaurant that serves small plates near CASE’s office called Seven Reasons, in City Center.

There is a Potomac Water Taxi that connects National Harbor to destinations including Mount Vernon (George Washington’s home), The Wharf (great restaurants and night life) and Georgetown. Check weather and schedules. If going to the Wharf, Del Mar is Chef Fabio Trabocchi’s tribute to the food of Mallorca, Spain (think seafood).

Since the holiday season will be underway, there is a nightly tree light show from sunset to 9 PM that happens every half hour at National Harbor. And the Gaylord will be building its massive ICE! show while we are there, but it won’t be open until the following week. Still, it’s fun to watch it all go up.

See you in National Harbor

Whether you’re new to AMA Higher Ed or returning once again, I hope this year brings inspiration, connection, and clarity. There’s always something about this conference: the mix of smart ideas, honest conversations, and shared purpose that reminds me why our work matters.

Stop by one of my sessions to say hello, or find me during a break. I’d love to connect and hear what you’ve been working on.