Claire Machamer

As senior vice president of communications and marketing, Claire Machamer provides leadership and vision for all internal and external communications and marketing activities, harnessing the power of consistent, coordinated, and proactive creative messaging to drive greater visibility and awareness of Berklee’s unique characteristics, and elevating it to new heights in national and international distinction. Machamer oversees institutional branding, advancement communications, enrollment marketing, executive communications, social media, media relations, internal communications, publications, photo and graphic design, web development, editorial services, and events planning. 

Machamer, an award-winning and creative executive, comes to Berklee from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), where she served as vice chancellor for strategic communications. She brings nearly two decades of experience in driving marketing and communications strategies in higher education, academic healthcare, and publishing to her role. As vice chancellor, Machamer oversaw communications from the university’s leadership and collaborated closely with the chancellor on key messaging and institutional positioning. She developed and launched a branding and marketing campaign to support Powering Creativity, the $65 million UNCSA comprehensive campaign, and to bolster brand awareness and student recruitment. The campaign exceeded its original fundraising goal by $10 million, and enrollment increased 2.5 percent year over year.

Machamer oversaw the successful reorganization of the Marketing, Communications, and Digital Media departments into the Strategic Communications Division at UNCSA. In addition, she worked closely with university leadership and deans to dedicate resources and staffing to develop and maintain a proactive national media relations strategy to expand industry relationships and increase rankings. Additionally, she oversaw a continuous optimization and evolution of digital strategy and advanced targeted marketing executions. Machamer also directed a comprehensive crisis communications strategy for COVID-19 and worked across multiple task forces to coordinate timely, consistent, and accurate messages on all communications platforms. 

Prior to her position as vice chancellor, Machamer served as chief technology officer (CTO) at UNCSA. As CTO, she executed a comprehensive digital student recruitment strategy guided by in-depth market research about prospective students. She also led the development of an information technology three-year strategic plan and road map and ensured their integration with the university strategic planning process. Machamer additionally honed her brand building and storytelling knowledge over nine years as managing editor and assistant editor of SouthernLiving.com, a lifestyle publication reaching a monthly audience of five million at the time.

Machamer holds an M.S. in information technology management from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and a B.F.A. in graphic design from Auburn University in Alabama.