A Q&A with Dr. Reena Lichtenfeld
Dr. Lichtenfeld brings more than 25 years of experience in higher education leadership, enrollment strategy, admissions operations, and marketing across private, public, online, and for-profit institutions. Her career reflects a deep commitment to access, innovation, and student-centered outcomes, with expertise spanning undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, online, adult, and transfer populations.
What sparked your interest in applying for the position at Bay Path?
When the search firm first reached out, I wasn't actively looking, but the moment I read the position profile, something clicked. Everything I encountered resonated deeply with my personal philosophy and mission: student-centeredness, forward-thinking leadership, the legacy of women's education, a culture of inclusion, and a commitment to preparing leaders for a rapidly changing world. I was genuinely excited.
Then I came for the interviews. I met the people, observed how students and faculty and staff interact, and felt the culture firsthand. I knew: if I was offered this role, I would take it. This is where I am meant to be, a place where I can bring my years of experience to bear on real challenges and headwinds, while also continuing to grow and learn. I want to make an impact, and Bay Path is doing something unique, albeit complex, in shaping the narrative for the future of higher education. I want to be part of that. I am energized by President Doran's leadership and the incredible team she has built around her. It's truly an honor.
What trends in higher education enrollment marketing are you watching most closely?
There's so much to watch right now, it's one of the most dynamic moments I've seen in my career.
The demographic cliff is top of mind for all of us. EAB's fall 2025 report, College Search Trends Across Space and Time, painted an even more sobering picture for institutions in the Northeast than previous WICHE projections, nearly 30,000 fewer high school graduates than initially anticipated. The cliff is steeper than we thought, and for small private institutions like ours, the stakes are real. Between 2018 and 2023, enrollment at small privates in the Northeast declined an average of 7%. That said, there's a bright spot: among the students who are graduating, a higher percentage are applying to college. Application growth in the Northeast was up 4.8% year over year in the most recent data available. So while the pool is shrinking, more students in that pool are raising their hands and that matters.
The second trend I'm watching closely is the public's scrutiny of the value of higher education. The ROI conversation is everywhere, and it's legitimate. But the challenge is that so much of what higher education delivers; critical thinking, civil discourse, the soft skills developed through immersive campus experiences, is incredibly hard to distill into a sound bite in a doom-scroll era. Balancing that narrative around value, outcomes, and purpose is one of the great marketing challenges of our time.
And then there's the current climate around DEI, international student sentiment, and inclusive language. It's a tenuous moment. For Bay Path, our anchor is our mission: education that empowers learners to become leaders in their careers and communities. That commitment to embracing differences - in culture, opinion, background, and experience - is something we can stand behind with clarity and confidence.
Enrollment marketing is constantly changing. How do you balance a data-driven strategy with storytelling and brand voice?
Data tells us where to look. Stories tell us why it matters.
The heart of our brand voice lives in the stories of our students, alumni, faculty, and the employers who hire them. Every person touched by the Bay Path experience carries a unique story about how it shaped their life, in their community, their career, and the world around them. Those stories are the narrative. They're what move people.
There's a meaningful difference between saying "Bay Path is a great place to live and learn" and hearing a nursing graduate describe holding a patient's hand through pain, confidently, compassionately, because of what she learned here. Or an education alumna standing in front of a classroom of children who look to her for encouragement and inspiration, knowing she was prepared for exactly that moment. That's the tapestry of the Bay Path experience playing out in real life. Data guides our strategy; storytelling brings it to life.
How do you think the growing presence of AI will impact enrollment marketing?
The sky is the limit and I mean that genuinely, not as a platitude.
That said, AI is only as powerful as the intentionality behind its implementation. It has to be thoughtfully integrated into our people, systems, and processes, or the pitfalls can outweigh the promise. What excites me most is the potential to amplify our stories and engage with prospective students and their families in new, more personalized ways. AI also helps us extend our reach beyond traditional staffing hours, supporting inbound inquiries on evenings and weekends when we don't have someone available. And we're really just getting started. I'm eager to see how creative Bay Path gets as we lean into both augmented and artificial intelligence.
How would you describe your leadership style?
Compassionate, people-first, curious, and strategically aligned. I lead with what I call the 4 C's: Communication, Collaboration, Coordination, and Culture. The way I see it, if you get those four things right, almost everything else follows. I want the people I work with to feel seen, supported, and clear on where we're headed, and then I want us to go there together.
How do you maintain your work/life balance? How do you relax?
Balance matters deeply to me, both for myself and for the people I support. I try to stay active in as many ways as I can, pickleball, skiing, paddleboarding, and more recently, running. I say "recently" because I want to be transparent: I am decidedly recreational on all fronts. I don't even have a DUPR score (IYKYK).
On the quieter side, I'm an NYT Wordle and Connections devotee, a committed Scrabble player, and a lover of live performance: Broadway, the symphony, local theater, live music, trivia nights. And I've recently started writing fiction myself, with a little help from AI.
What book, podcast, or experience has recently influenced your thinking?
Two books have really stayed with me: Your Second Life Begins When You Realize You Only Have One by Raphaëlle Giordano, and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Both, in very different ways, are about women stepping fully into their own power and purpose, which felt very timely for where I am in my own life.
On the podcast front, I'm a wide-ranging listener. For levity and great conversation: Good Hang with Amy Poehler, Smartless with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, and Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. For something that actually makes me think and feel: We Can Do Hard Things with Abby Wambach and Glennon Doyle. That one has genuinely influenced how I show up professionally and personally.
Bay Path’s motto is Carpe Diem—Seize the Day. How does this translate into your professional and personal life?
Life is short. We have a finite amount of time to make a difference, and I think we owe it to ourselves and to others to use that time with intention. Following in the footsteps of President Doran, I like the pairing of Carpe Diem with Carpe Futurum - seize the future. Because seizing the day isn't just about the present moment; it's about making choices now that are building something worth having later.
I've completely reinvented both my professional and personal life over the past year. I left a comfortable, familiar life in Nashville and a role I loved, because I believe in continuously improving and challenging ourselves. That spirit Carpe Diem, Carpe Futurum isn't a motto for me. It's a mentality that comes from the soul. And I embrace it every single day.