Traci Parker leaving Carthage

After four and a half years with the Office of Marketing and Communications, Traci Parker will be leaving Carthage for a new opportunity.

Traci, who has led the College’s news and storytelling efforts since 2019, has accepted the position of Senior Manager for Public Affairs, Diagnostics at Abbott, where she will work on internal and executive communications for the diagnostics division.

Traci came to Carthage in October 2018, serving briefly as the College’s Advancement Marketing Manager before becoming our Associate Editor/Writer later that fall. In September 2019, she was promoted to Director of Content Development and Strategy, overseeing media relations and the strategic creation of news and feature articles in support of recruitment goals. She was recently promoted to Executive Director for Marketing and Communications.

During her time at Carthage, Traci has helped tell many exciting and inspiring stories about Carthage students, alumni, faculty, staff, and new College programs and initiatives. She has worked tirelessly to share all the great news that happens here, issuing news releases, writing articles, and playing a key role in our social media and online storytelling efforts. She has worked to help reporters from regional media get the best stories and photos possible when visiting campus, and has assisted countless Carthage parents during events like New Student Arrival and through our Parent Facebook group. She has served as a member of the College’s Title IX Committee, contact tracing team, and emergency response team, assisting with important communications during campus challenges ranging from blizzards to COVID-19.

Prior to coming to Carthage, Traci worked as a journalist and marketing copywriter. Her work in the news industry includes serving as a producer for CBS in New York and Miami, and as an assignment editor, producer, and reporter at WKBT-TV in La Crosse. She most recently served as a marketing copywriter for Penzeys Spices.

All of us in Mar-Comm wish Traci the very best! We already miss her great ideas, always-sunny spirit, deep compassion for her colleagues and our students, and willingness to jump in wherever she’s needed.

Traci’s last day at Carthage will be Wednesday, April 19. Please join me in congratulating Traci on her very exciting new role, and in thanking her for everything she’s done for Carthage. We look forward to seeing Traci back on campus in May 2025, when her son Thomas walks across our Commencement stage!

— Elizabeth Young