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Top Women in Business Honor Awarded to Jennifer Riekert, M.B.A., Vice President of Communications and Strategic Initiatives at New York Medical College

Jennifer Riekert, M.B.A., has been named as one of Westchester's top female leaders by 914 Inc. magazine.

Date: November 09, 2018
Jennifer Riekert, M.B.A., second from right, named as one of Westchester\'s top female leaders by 914 Inc. magazine.
Jennifer Riekert, M.B.A., second from right, named as one of Westchester's top female leaders by 914 Inc. magazine.
Media Contact:

Julio A. Rodriguez-Rentas, M.A.
New York Medical College
(914) 594-4536
public_relations@nymc.edu

Valhalla, NY, November 9, 2018 – Jennifer Riekert, M.B.A., vice president of communications and strategic initiatives at New York Medical College (NYMC), has been named as one of Westchester's top female leaders by 914 Inc. magazine. In the realm of higher education, in which senior leadership is still closely tied to age and tenure, Ms. Riekert earned a seat at the table among the College’s senior leaders before the age of 40. As NYMC’s first female vice president of strategic initiatives, Ms. Riekert’s key accomplishments include spearheading the College’s first cohesive brand identity, auditing and re-creating NYMC’s entire portfolio of marketing materials, transforming the college’s web presence and launching New York State’s first new dental school in 50 years.

Hired in 2014 to become NYMC’s director of communications, Ms. Riekert was promoted to vice president within a year after successfully creating and launching a cohesive re-branding campaign. She spearheaded the College’s first strategic messaging initiative audited and revised the entire portfolio of marketing materials at NYMC. In this process, Ms. Riekert also transformed the Colleges’ internal communication’s strategy, including transforming NYMC’s monthly printed newsletter into a weekly digital e-newsletter, and initiated quarterly alumni e-newsletters.

Next, Ms. Riekert set her sights on the College’s website, completely rebranding, restructuring, rewriting and rebuilding the school’s site into a content management system—increasing web traffic by 72 percent within the first year. Under her leadership, NYMC’s social media strategy was also completely reimagined and engagement has risen dramatically. By managing these initiatives in-house, Ms. Riekert saved the organization in excess of $600,000.

Among her most notable accomplishments, Ms. Riekert developed the marketing plan for the Hudson Valley’s only biotechnology incubator located on a health sciences college campus, BioInc@NYMC, creating its brand and comprehensive messaging strategy. Soon after, she helped launch the Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College, the first new dental school to open in New York State in 50 years.

This June, four years after first taking on NYMC’s marketing and communications efforts, Ms. Riekert was named NYMC’s first vice president of strategic initiatives. Now at the top of her field, Ms. Riekert—whose accomplishments come after taking a five-year sabbatical to raise her children—is often called upon to guest lecture; passionate about her role as mentor to the next generation of women business leaders, she shares her experience with balancing family and work, saying:

“When my youngest son was born, I decided to step away from a full time career, which I loved, to do consulting part time. This allowed me to work my schedule around my children’s needs. Then, when my youngest son was going into kindergarten, I chose to join New York Medical College because I knew I could make a positive impact. It was daunting to step back into my career at that level, but I share this story because I think it’s important for women to know that it’s ok to make a change. Doing so does not have to mean you are permanently walking away from your career aspirations. You can change paths and come back stronger.”

New York Medical College

Founded in 1860, New York Medical College is one of the oldest and largest health sciences colleges in the country with nearly 1,700 students and 330 residents and clinical fellows, more than 2,750 faculty members and 23,200 living alumni. NYMC joined the Touro College and University System in 2011 and is located in Westchester County, New York. NYMC offers degrees from the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences, the School of Health Sciences and Practice, a school of dental medicine and a school of nursing. NYMC provides a wide variety of clinical training opportunities for students, residents and practitioners. For more information, visit www.nymc.edu.  

 

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