Terry Carella

Senior Director of Communications

[email protected]
517-371-5140 ext. 2916

A.A. Lansing Community College
B.A. Michigan State University
M.A. Michigan State University

"In my role as Senior Director of Communications, I have showcased the great accomplishments of our Cooley faculty, students, and alumni and the impact they have made for the greater good. I’m passionate about bringing this message to the world."

As the Director of Communications at Cooley Law School since 1998, and recently promoted to Senior Director of Communications in 2022, I am responsible for the overall strategic marketing and communications planning and implementation for our campuses in Michigan and Florida. I oversee our marketing, including branding, website, digital marketing, social media, market research, lead generation, and marketing recruitment efforts. I work closely with our public relations and marketing partners. 

As a lifelong resident of the Greater Lansing area, I have been very involved in the community. For 12 years, I was a Board member for Lansing Downtown, Inc. including 3 years as President. For 9 years I was a Board member for the Greater Lansing Arts Council.  I was the founder and director of the Cooley 5K Race for Education (2001-2014). And, I supervised the Stages of the Law, a collaboration between local theater companies and WMU-Cooley Law School to produce law-related theatrical productions.
 
I am excited about the ever-evolving digital market and continuously take classes and certificate courses to ensure we stay on the leading edge. In 2016, I was responsible for the website upgrade, making it fully responsive and integrated with our Hubspot Business Software, as well as collaborating on our 2021 website refresh. 

Before coming to Cooley Law School, I worked at CASE Credit Union (1995-1998) in strategic marketing and management for the institution. I also was promoted to Program Manager for the educational partnership program with the Lansing area schools, receiving national recognition for creating the award-winning “The Savings Game” as a learning tool for students in a classroom setting. Before that, I worked at Aviso, Inc. (1986-1995), at the time the largest advertising agency in Lansing, Michigan. I started at the agency as a Production Coordinator and was promoted to Production Manager, Traffic Manager, and Account Executive positions. I was responsible for scheduling all work and served as a liaison between account, creative, and support staff, including an account executive for several clients.

I received my Master’s in Advertising from Michigan State University in 2001, with an emphasis on marketing, research, and public relations while working full time as a single mother, attending classes year-round. I earned my Bachelor’s in Advertising from Michigan State University, with an emphasis on marketing, advertising, research, and writing, after earning an Associate’s in Fine Arts from Lansing Community College, all while working full time and taking classes year-round.

I have been the recipient of numerous national and regional marketing and public relations awards, including Telly Awards (video and television), Addy awards (marketing and advertising), and service awards. I am an avid life-long runner, with 10 consecutive Boston Marathons (2006-2015) and 25 total marathons under my belt. I am a passionate world traveler, sports fan, and art and music enthusiast.