Suzan
Brinker, PhD
Founder & CEO, Viv Higher Education
Suzan Brinker is the Co-founder and CEO of Viv Higher Education, a strategy and enrollment firm serving mission-driven colleges and universities across the country. Before launching Viv, she led in-house marketing teams at Penn State and Northeastern University and served as Chief Marketing Officer at Assumption University. Her experience is rooted in higher education marketing, enrollment strategy, and brand positioning, shaped in part by a deep appreciation for the Catholic intellectual tradition formed during her studies at St. Norbert College and Marquette University.
Kate
Jackson-Meyer, PhD
Senior
Consultant
Kate Jackson-Meyer is a Catholic theologian and Research Associate at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University. She has a keen interest in helping Catholic institutions strengthen their market position while remaining rooted in their core values in a rapidly changing world. Her research focuses on flourishing communities, forgiveness, moral decision-making, and public theology. She holds a PhD in Theological Ethics from Boston College, a Master of Arts in Religion (Ethics) from Yale Divinity School, and a BA in Biology and Religion from the University of Southern California.
Eric
Menna
Co-Founder of
Loper
Eric is the co-founder of Loper, a gamified college readiness platform for Gen Alpha and Gen Z. After spending the first years of his career at Bain & Company, Eric started Loper with his college classmate after seeing the issues students had in college readiness during virtual instruction in COVID while working with a charter district in Missouri. Today, Eric leads all of Loper's partnership efforts with colleges, universities, and alternative pathways throughout the country that leverage Loper to build mission-aligned classes. He has spoken at conferences around the country such as NACCAP, NACAC, and more on the benefits of gamification and interactive engagement for college-bound students.
Allison Turcio, EdD
Senior
Consultant
Allison Turcio, is Dean of Enrollment and Marketing at Siena College, a marketing professor, consultant, host of The Application Podcast, and publisher of the Higher Education Marketer's Digest. Allison frequently presents at industry conferences and serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing. She has led her team to win several accolades, including AMA's 2023 Emerging Marketer in Higher Education Award. Allison has been selected for Albany Business Review’s 40 Under 40 and Siena’s Excellence in Administration award. She holds a doctorate degree in higher education leadership from Northeastern University, a master’s in communications and a bachelor’s in English.
Dave
Brinker
Business
Intelligence Manager
Dave Brinker is a social scientist with expertise in data analysis, strategic planning, and evaluation. Passionate about turning research into actionable insights, he supports Viv’s operational and analytical frameworks. For the Catholic Identity and Enrollment study, Dave led the data modeling and analysis, ensuring the findings provided clear, evidence-based guidance for institutions working to align mission, messaging, and enrollment outcomes. He brings a systems-level perspective to every project, connecting qualitative insights with quantitative rigor. Dave’s thoughtful approach helps translate complex data into strategies that advance institutional goals and mission clarity.
Loper
Student
Engagement
Loper and Viv partnered to explore how Catholic identity shapes student interest and engagement across Catholic colleges and universities. By combining Loper’s gamified readiness platform with Viv’s mission-driven enrollment strategy, the collaboration uncovers new insights into the connection between faith-based identity and student decision-making—offering a fresh perspective in the upcoming 2025 Catholic Identity and Enrollment Report.
