Coleen Haines — a self-professed Raiders’ super fan and enthusiastic connoisseur of live music — has worked in public service most of her life. It's a profession she may have been destined for thanks to her parents.
"I always joke with people that my parents forced me into being a communicator and extrovert by spelling and pronouncing my name non-traditionally," she says. "So it’s their fault that I’m a born talker. If you’re trying to find me by email, it’s one 'L,' not two, and pronounced like 'coal.'”
With a knack for storytelling, she started her career as a photojournalist for TV news before making the transition into public relations and marketing, most recently as the public information officer for the city of Kingman, Arizona.
Now, as director of marketing and communications for the Division of Student Affairs, she can continue to tell people's stories while developing the strategy and implementing a comprehensive communication and marketing program for the division.
What is your role at UNLV?
I collaborate with division leadership, development staff, center directors, and multiple university-level partners to develop processes and strategies that will advance relationships between Student Affairs, our partners, and the worldwide community we serve. I’m here to help guide the Student Affairs marketing and communication efforts, and develop and manage the creation of internal and external communications materials for the division, its signature programs, and departments, staff, and students.
You have a lot of career experience in communications and media relations — what do you enjoy most about working in this field?
My favorite aspects of working in this field are talking to people, learning about people, and telling their story — making them feel heard. I also enjoy helping people understand issues that may impact them or who they care about, especially if it’s a complicated topic. I enjoy making information easily accessible to people.
I started out as a photojournalist in TV news, and made the switch to public relations and marketing a few years after. I felt I had seen and done enough in such a short news career that most don’t get to see or experience in a lifetime in that business. I’ve kept friends and mentors from my days in television, and have shifted my role wherever I’ve landed professionally. I enjoy the growth that comes with this position and always learning, because I feel a calling for my profession.
What brought you to UNLV?
I wanted to get back to a setting where I could help be an advocate for my profession in an education setting, and Student Affairs is a perfect fit. It’s a passion of mine to educate and help people, as I’ve been in public service for most of my career. I also missed being around other communicators to share goals and learn from.
I am also a huge Raiders fan, so have been wanting to be in the Vegas area ever since the Raiders made the move a few years ago. I needed to make sure the move would be for a good fit, and I’m glad this position became available for me.
What’s something you’ve learned from working in this field that you wish you’d known when you first started?
There are lots of tough parts about this field, and one is developing a thick skin real quick, and doing your best not to take things personally. Oftentimes, professional communicators are the face that has to discuss and explain unfortunate situations to people, and so you have to learn to sometimes be the proverbial punching bag. It’s a tough part of the job. I learned that very early on working in TV, and it doesn’t go away in the world of public relations and marketing.
I think another difficult aspect is sometimes others guessing that the job is “easy.” If I had a dollar for every time someone made a comment regarding “playing on social media,” I would own an awesome house in Vegas — with a pool.
This career can take you to a lot of different places and give you a lot of different experiences — none of which I’ve found particularly easy, but all very rewarding.
Do you have a favorite TV series you’ve been following lately, or favorite movie?
I am currently watching Perry Mason and Ted Lasso. I finished The Last of Us, which was so amazing; I think you just can’t go wrong with HBO shows. I also like The Boys, Euphoria, and Somebody Somewhere, so I am waiting for those new seasons to drop soon. In the past, I was pretty hooked on Breaking Bad, Dark, and other foreign series on Netflix. Their programming and foreign programming is also really well done.
I really like horror movies. The Marvel movies are awesome. I will watch almost anything. When I was a kid, we’d rent a VCR and movies to watch on winter weekends sometimes, when we weren’t camping and fishing in the summer, so I’ve seen a ton of movies.
What are some of the professional goals you’ve set for yourself in your first few months of being in this role?
I’ve started meeting with all the unit directors and division leadership to see how I can best assist them. I want to build relationships with people in Student Affairs and other communicators across campus and those affiliated with us, so that I can get a real feel for the environment and culture at UNLV.
I want to reactivate and really start pushing our social media presence and find stories to tell about the great work Student Affairs does every day. I’m looking at past files and initiatives to see what we can use moving forward to have a marketing plan that is effective, understandable, and also falls inline with the branding UNLV has worked so hard to keep consistent across its channels.
If you could have a chat over coffee with anyone in the world right now, who would that be and why?
I have to mention, I am not a coffee drinker, and I’m pretty particular about my tea. That being said…my mom. I haven’t seen her in a couple years, so it would be nice to chat; nothing beats a hug from mom!
I look up to my mom a lot because she’s always been there for me no matter what I call her with. After my dad died suddenly when I was 17, she has remained the toughest woman and best mom I know despite all her challenges — my brother, sister, and I are truly lucky.
It looks like you do a lot of volunteer work — what are some causes that you like to support?
In the past I’ve been very involved with animal shelters and dog rescue work, as well as volunteer work with education groups and food pantries. I once was told that if you’re not able to help those less fortunate monetarily, then you can find ways to donate your time or skills. I’ve been lucky enough to be affiliated with great organizations and people throughout the years who I’ve learned from and have still been able to lean on for advice and help.
What’s something that others would be surprised to learn about you?
I am a HUGE live music fan. I’ve seen roughly a hundred concerts, with most of them being at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado (my first favorite venue to see a show.) I’ve seen everyone from Beastie Boys (my all-time favorite band, having seen them five times), to Dolly Parton, to Snoop, to the Shins, to Elton John (also five times) to Tame Impala, and lots more.
I’ve also been lucky enough to have traveled to different countries to see things I saw in movies as a kid, but thought I’d never have a chance to see in real life. Most recently I was able to see part of the Middle East and Africa. I saw Petra, the Dead Sea, and the Pyramids in Cairo, among some other notable places, too. It’s so awe-inspiring to see and learn about the past, the present, and to experience other cultures in person. People also find it surprising that I usually take these trips solo, and then join a small tour group. It’s a great challenge to navigate foreign countries and public transit on your own, which is great for building relationships and communication skills — the born “talker.”
