Meet the Staff

As executive director of Student Affairs Marketing and Communications (SAMC), Jen oversees communications strategy and marketing for the Division of Student Affairs and its nearly 30 departments. Her responsibilities include translating university- and systemwide policy priorities into communications and brand strategy, taking a leading role in crisis communications and collaborating with departments within the division to ensure they are maximizing reach with their audience and effectively communicating their services and story.

Prior to her 2019 start at UC Davis, Jen spent 15 successful years at the senior management level directing branding, marketing, sales and admissions efforts in corporate, non-profit and educational environments. A creative yet analytical strategic leader, she has a unique combination of big picture vision and tactical execution skills and the proven ability to develop programs from scratch and lead complex turnarounds. A consensus builder, she is adept at rallying teams and facilitating change.

Away from work, Jen enjoys her daily adventures with her husband and very active twin daughters. 

As associate director of web and analytics for SAMC, Justin is responsible for developing divisional websites. Creating accessible, usable and easy-to-navigate websites is Justin's top priority and guiding principle. As a one-time undergraduate student at UC Davis, Justin understands the challenges students face in finding current and relevant information and is focused on making websites for the Division of Student Affairs easy for students to navigate.

Justin was born and raised in the Central Valley and is a first-generation college graduate. He attended UC Davis in the early 90s and went on to get his MBA from CSU Sacramento. Justin is a lifelong UC Davis employee and got his start working at the Memorial Union Games Area as a customer service rep during his sophomore year. He spent a very short time working at E-Trade only to discover that he really needed to get back to UC Davis.

In his free time, Justin is raising three children with his wife, playing golf or playing video games online.

Andrew is an award-winning marketing and communications professional with a penchant for storytelling across multiple channels and platforms. Currently serving as associate marketing and communications director for SAMC, he co-led the launch of UC Davis’ first Sexual Violence Education and Awareness campaign and the UC Davis NOW mobile app.

Andrew has worked in journalism, marketing, public relations and communications. He has written more than 600 articles, produced 23 nationally-syndicated radio documentaries and has written advertising copy for international companies, including Chiquita and Ocean Spray. He has a B.A. in Communications from Flagler College and certificates in Journalism and Management from Georgetown University and the University of California, Davis.

Jenn Vaughn worked for boutique design agencies, tech startups and Fortune 500 companies before pursuing her dream job in higher education. As SAMC's creative director, she leads brand strategy across all divisional departments, channels and segments. A first-generation college student, Jenn earned a B.A. in Public Communication from American University.

For over 20 years, Jenn has art-directed award-winning marketing campaigns across print, digital and social, as well as led rebranding and design efforts for large-scale, corporate identity systems. With over 100 logos to her credit, her work also includes designing the logo, identity system and branding standards for Howard University and Washington and Lee University, designing the UI/UX for a cloud storage app for Western Digital and redesigning the website for Ronald McDonald House of San Francisco.

After living 10 years in Washington, D.C., Jenn is delighted to be back in her native Northern California. Away from work, Jenn enjoys propagating succulents, refashioning sewing projects and exploring hiking trails and good eats with her husband and son.

Troy achieved his B.A. in Communications from UC Davis in 2020. Initially, he was pursuing journalism but redirected his career path toward video production due to his love for film. Currently, he is the videographer and photographer for SAMC, capturing student life and showcasing the diverse programs UC Davis offers.

His broad background spanning in, academia, college athletics and public relations has honed his skills in videography and photography. From editing advertisements to capturing heartfelt images, Troy’s love for cinema drives his desire to expand his craft. 

In his free time, he immerses himself in language learning, leisurely walks, and listening to music. He enjoys learning about art history for inspiration and takes photos on his walks. For him, photography is an outlet to tell a story through a photo in a fleeting moment. His favorite quote is by Charles Bukowski: “An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.”

Justin is part of the SAMC web team. Having earned his degree in design from UC Davis, he uses design thinking along with systems thinking to ensure Student Affairs departments are mindful of the user’s overall in-person and web-based experience, as well as coming up with ways to align web content strategy in a sustainable, manageable way.

In his work across Student Affairs, Justin has developed an interest in the many ways that departments are interconnected and looks for opportunities to highlight these synergies. With the shift to a centralized campus web content management system, he has identified many similarities and been able to leverage his knowledge of site features and technology across the division.

As the social media coordinator for SAMC, Ashley manages our social media platforms and collaborates on all aspects of content creation. When it comes to strategy and capturing media, Ashley prioritizes authentic storytelling and looks for ways that SAMC’s resources can bring our UC Davis student community closer together.

She graduated from UC Davis in summer of 2021 where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Cinema & Digital Media, as well as a minor in English and a minor in Global Studies with an emphasis in “Asian Culture Portrayed Through Artistic Mediums.” Following graduation, she worked with UC Davis Athletics as a Digital Media Fellow for two years.

In her free time, she enjoys thrifting, conversations with friends, swimming and trying new matcha drinks. She will also get involved in small crew roles for film productions and indulge in various creative outlets like photography or videography.