JR Tarabocchia

JR Tarabocchia is the Assistant Vice President for Institutional Marketing at Willamette University, where he leads the university’s strategy to attract and enroll new students across its colleges and schools. He works closely with a talented team of marketers, writers, designers, developers, and admissions pros who together help manage the full enrollment marketing ecosystem, from email campaigns, online advertising, social media, the university website, SEO and GEO, direct mail, print and digital creative, photography, video, and more. Together, they are building a more data-informed, student-centered marketing operation, with particular focus on marketing attribution, A/B testing, and student focus groups to understand what really resonates with prospective students and their families.

In his role, JR oversees the planning and execution of integrated campaigns that connect brand storytelling with measurable enrollment results. His team partners daily with colleagues in admissions, communications, Willamette’s web team, and academic programs to launch new initiatives, refine messaging, and make sure that every touchpoint, from a paid search ad to a viewbook to a campus landing page, feels distinctly "Willamette" and resonates with the intended audience.

Before his current position, JR served as Assistant Dean of Recruitment and Student Activities at Willamette’s School of Law, where he led admissions efforts that helped increase enrollment by 50% over four years. Prior to joining Willamette, he spent nearly a decade at Portland State University in a variety of student-facing and enrollment roles. There, he organized commencement ceremonies, led student ambassadors, established a welcome center, wrote a student employment handbook, recruited undergraduate students, worked in the Dean of Students office, secured corporate sponsorships, and co-founded a community chorus.

Outside of work, you can find JR kayaking on the Tualatin River, rowing on his Concept2 Erg, volunteering as the "Cookie Dad" with his daughter's Girl Scout Troup, cooking (and eating), and playing the piano and accordion (though not at the same time). Most of all, he loves spending time with his family.