The Team of the Year Award was established in 2026 to honor communications and marketing teams that deliver exceptional results through collaboration and bold, new ideas.
2026 Team of the Year Award Recipient
The Montgomery College marcom leadership team includes Mary DeLuca, associate senior vice president for marketing and communications; Jodi Neal, executive director for brand & creative; Marcus Rosano, media relations and public relations director; Emily Schmidt, marketing director. Mary and Jodi participated in this Q&A.
Congratulations on being named NCMPR’s very first Team of the Year. MD: I was ecstatic when I got the email. I know I let out some sort of a cheer from my desk in my office. We definitely know we’ve got an amazing team. JN: If we wouldn’t have won, I would have really wanted to see who did more than we did this past year. Our nomination was just jaw-dropping. Just seeing it all together, how much they’ve accomplished this year is amazing. MD: Jodi and I have—not to date us—but we have many, many years of experience working (at community colleges). I just had never seen a team produce so much (and) in such a fast fashion and just off-the-charts quality wise.
Looking at the duties of the folks on your 33-person team, it’s incredible to have so many videographers. Some teams struggle to get even one full-time video person. MD: People see that and think, “Wow, you must be able to get everything done.” But surprisingly, we still can’t do all the things we would like to do.
You mentioned your experience in community colleges. How long have you been in the industry? MD: This is my 36th year. When I first started in 1990, that was when I joined NCMPR, and I think that spring of ’91 was my first national conference, and it was in D.C. JN: In March (2026), I’ll have finished 27 years. I used to be the baby. MD: I remember when we hired you. You were such the baby. Of course, I wasn’t that much of an adult myself back then.
This is the second time you two have worked together? MD: We worked together for years at Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC). JN: For a long time. MD: We’ve presented together at a number of conferences. I remember in Chicago we did a teambuilding one. JN: Superhero program. I started in ’99 at CCBC, and you left in what year? MD: 2020. JN: So it was 20 years (before reuniting at MC).
You’ve presented on teambuilding before? MD: Oh, yeah. Jodi and I, we have a really strong rapport in working together in that capacity. JN: It’s a priority for both of us.
With the experience you have in the industry, what are some traits about your current team that really stand out? JN: I have been struck by the personal commitment to excellence that everyone has. They really individually put their best foot forward to contribute to the whole. MD: I also think this team is super committed to our students. There are several members of our team who just go above and beyond to do things beyond anything in their job description to (engage) with our students. JN: We have a lot of alums on our team, and so they would do anything for the college. MD: This team compared to anything I’ve been part of before is also multitalented. They have so many broad experiences, multicultural, which brings a whole different level of creativity to the table. JN: We should count how many languages our whole team speaks. MD: It’s a lot.
How do you build the level of camaraderie required to win a team award? MD: It’s little things day by day. Before Jodi came, we did get together for a full-day retreat and worked collaboratively on our own mantra (and) how can we do little things for one another to show appreciation, which turned into our cards we have that people write a nice note when somebody on the team does something they want to share appreciation for. I don’t think it’s something that can be forced or happen too quickly. JN: Our jobs (along with the marcom leaders’ on our team) are to make it easier for our employees to do their jobs. I don’t think they ever had that before. They have fewer struggles, which enables them to be better at their jobs. I think that is really appreciated.
You mentioned your impressive nomination form, and I want to underline that point. It details so many successes, and there’s one I want to hone in on: minimizing burnout. MD: That is a challenge. Trying to have as much communication as we’re working on all this together, so that everyone’s as in-the-loop as they can be with what’s happening and why. Keeping that level of positivity and a sense of humor, because sometimes just admitting “Yeah, this is really tough right now” (is important). JN: I definitely think shared goals is a key. I will say—I’ve only been at two other places, but Montgomery College, from the top down, cares about employees. (We) have a wellness director. She does stretching in the middle of the day for you to get up out of your chair and to stretch and to breathe and to step away from your desk. MD: And our team literally will do this. At 3 o’clock, you’ll see the whole group of them out there jumping in and doing their stretches. JN: The college will pay for you to take care of yourself. (You can use wellness funds, for example,) to have a gym membership. MD: Or a Peloton subscription. JN: Their commitment to their employees’ wellbeing is phenomenal. MD: I think (goal-setting) is also important from a bigger picture perspective. The leadership at the college really has great confidence in our department and really supports it. They have high expectations and high trust in the work we do. There’s a lot of gratitude shared for the work that this team produces. JN: That doesn’t happen everywhere, where they rely on your expertise. There’s no stepping in and saying, “Oh, should this ad be tweaked?” or “I don’t like that word.” They let us do our job.
The Montgomery College marcom team is Mary DeLuca, associate senior vice president for marketing and communications; Jodi Neal, executive director for brand & creative; Marcus Rosano, media relations and public relations director; Emily Schmidt, marketing director; Heather Milke, editorial and publications director; graphic designers Krista Hanson, Clint Wu and Donna D’Ascenzo; Melissa Pace, video & multimedia director; producers Francine Wyron and Scott Youngblood; videographers Shelly Gross, Girma Hagos, Daniel Szwerc, Dan Rankin, Peter Pereyra, Carolina Galeano, Danielle Stescki, and John Watson; broadcast engineers Ildar Nigmatzyanov and Neil Lee; Carsen Bryant, photographer; Diane Bosser, senior editor/writer; John Lauer, print production coordinator; Betty Francis, project traffic manager; Vanessa Zambrano, media relations & Spanish language media coordinator; Brian O’Neal, marketing assistant director; Staffan Sandberg, digital media manager; Andre Anderson, social media engagement manager; Stephanie Krasnoff, marketing and social media specialist; Sean Enright, strategic website manager; Lisa Usher, web content developer & multimedia designer; and Brady Patton, communications coordinator.