"It is with confidence that [I] recommend Jim Warren and College Connections, Inc."
Team
Jim Warren
CEO & Founder
Jim Warren graduated magna cum laude from Duke University in 1979, with distinction in Economics. In 1982, Jim received a juris doctor degree with honors from the National Law Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. During law school, he was selected the student director of the Community Legal Clinics and received first place for individual oral argument in the upper-class moot court competition.
Jim began his legal career in 1982 as an associate in the seven-office, 200 attorney international firm of Pettit & Martin (now DLA Piper), where he practiced in the area of government contract counseling and litigation. After just six years as an associate, he was elected to a full equity partnership. In 1992, Jim decided to leave the full time practice of law to start College Connections, Inc. (CCI).
Since 1983, Jim has been actively involved in higher education activities. His two-year term as president of the Duke Club of Washington in 1985 earned him one of the most prestigious awards for service to the university. In 1987, he began serving on Duke's national alumni board (the Duke Alumni Association or DAA), became a member of the DAA's Board of Directors, and served as chairman of the Club's Committee as well as the Travel and Continuing Education Committee. He also served as a member of the DAA's Executive Committee and then on its Long-Range Planning Team. Jim was the 1994-1995 President of the Duke Alumni Association and a member of the Duke University Board of Trustees from 1995 to 1996. Jim has also served a three-year term on the Board of Visitors for the Duke School of Divinity.
Jim has facilitated fund-raising activities that have raised millions of dollars, including the creation of scholarship endowments and a regional campaign that raised $15.3 million, exceeding goal by 437%. He has spoken at a number of Leadership Conferences for Duke, Clemson and the Catholic University of America.
For a 12-month period beginning in 2005, Jim served as the Interim Director of Alumni at Bucknell University. After completing a successful comprehensive program and staffing audit of the alumni office for Bucknell’s President, Jim was asked by the President to fill the Interim position while the university conducted a search for a permanent Director. At Bucknell, Jim was responsible for all aspects of the alumni office, including hiring and staff management, Reunions, Family Weekend, Alumni Board, Parents Board, student engagement programs, affinity programs, volunteer activities, Homecoming, awards, Presidential briefings, young alumni programming, clubs, and strategic planning.
For 13 months beginning in 2010, Jim served as the Interim Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Temple University and Executive Director of Temple’s 270,000 member alumni association. Among other accomplishments, Jim effectively united 15 school and college alumni associations in a historic and record breaking Alumni Weekend.
For 12 months in 2013, Jim served as the Interim Assistant Vice President for Regional Programs at Duke University, where he was responsible for all of Duke’s alumni engagement programs and activities worldwide.
Jim is active in his church, including a six-year term on Session. In 1989, he co-founded Duke's award winning adopt-a-school program in downtown D.C. that is still serving inner city children and their families today. Jim and his wife have three grown daughters.
Laura Warren
Chief Financial Officer
Laura Warren is a co-founder of College Connections, Inc. She graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her MBA from George Washington University. With over 35 years of experience, Laura is responsible for financial stewardship of CCI including bookkeeping, business filings, taxes and payroll. Laura enjoys spending time with her family and has been known to lend her special talents in floral arranging when client needs require.
Rachael Wiker
Assistant Director
Rachael Wiker has worked at College Connections, Inc. in an intermittent role since 2006 and joined the staff permanently in 2017. As an Assistant Director, she works to identify, cultivate and recruit alumni volunteers. Rachael also manages, plans and executes alumni network programming, events and publicity.
A graduate of Clemson University, Rachael earned her B.A. degree in Spanish and International Trade in 2000. Rachael is active locally with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and leads a team that raises more than $20,000 annually for the Foundation. In her spare time, she loves traveling and spending time at the beach with her husband and four children.
Liz Jackson
Assistant Director
Liz Jackson joined College Connections, Inc. in 2008 as the Assistant Director of Special Events and Communication. In this role, she was responsible for a variety of alumni engagement opportunities for major universities’ alumni chapters including large-scale galas and private events at some of Washington, DC’s most famous landmarks. Liz worked closely with clients to design events and activities that would offer unique opportunities for personal connection, foster peer-to-peer engagement, and encourage a lasting relationship to their alma mater. By listening to her clients’ goals and objectives, Liz was also able to create striking print, electronic and social media publicity to communicate the vision for each occasion.
In 2017, Liz turned her focus to creating and curating social media objectives for clients in order to meet the changing needs of how consumers relate to media and social networks. She enjoys the challenge of thinking outside the box to create and distribute valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience.
Liz earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Clemson University in 2006. She met her husband, Steven, at Clemson, and both are lifelong, loyal Tigers! Liz and Steven are the proud parents of three daughters.