Christine C.

They are often committee decisions built one semester at a time across faculty, tenured and adjunct alike, so a health score can point to where to look but cannot say what a department chair is actually worried about.

• Automation, usage alerts, and AI-drafted emails are described as genuinely useful tools, and the objection is not to using them but to trusting them as a substitute for relationships.
• The rule Christine Cody states is "Automate the noticing.
• Never the knowing," and the post ends by asking readers where they draw that line on their own teams.

A customer success team watches an account’s health score stay perfectly green: usage is up, logins are steady, tickets are closed.

• The account still churns because its champion left at the end of the term and the incoming instructor arrived with a favorite vendor from a previous school.
• The dashboard never surfaced the change.

A separate post from the Cengage Engagement Summit shows the same approach to newer tools: Christine Cody writes that the team is leaning into AI and data to work smarter and be proactive rather than reactive, while staying alongside customer partners after a course launches.

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The team anticipates what’s coming for instructors and students rather than reacting after the fact.

• Their argument is that the relationship itself is the product, and that in-person contact builds something video calls don’t.
• When describing recognition as a Goal Achiever in their first year at Cengage, they credit the faculty who trusted them, teammates who problem-solved alongside them, and a supportive manager.

At the Cengage Engagement Summit, Christine Cody highlights the value of hearing how someone in a different territory is solving the same problem—and discovering that a colleague previously known only through Slack messages is actually hilarious. The takeaway: leave with more energy than you arrived with.

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They work in edtech engagement and retention every day and believe in that work, but make a sharper claim: no platform feature outperforms a nutritious meal. The post uses federal data, rather than advocacy estimates, to show how material needs shape whether students can persist.

More than 1 in 5 undergraduates experience food insecurity—about 22.6%, or roughly 3.9 million students—more than double the rate for US households overall.

• The rate is 34.6% for Black undergraduates.
• Christine Cody connects the issue to joining the board of Farmer Foodshare, a Triangle-based food hub connecting North Carolina farmers with institutions that need what they grow.
• They ask campuses to share their pantry, meal-swipe, or basic needs office models so other schools can copy them.

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Campus looks asleep in July, but staff are already assembling the August experience through course shells, access lists, platform training, and system migrations. After ten years of watching this season, they call it the best-kept secret in higher education and spotlight the people doing that invisible labor, not the software they use.

A course shell built on a Friday afternoon, bookstore staff chasing down day-one access lists, an adjunct learning a new platform six weeks before she teaches, and IT migrating a learning management system nobody will notice unless it breaks. By the time move-in photos fill feeds in August, hundreds of invisible hours have already gone into the term.

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That instinct surfaces in a warning about dashboards, an argument about hunger and retention, a defense of summer staff work, and appreciation for colleagues.

• Christine Cody puts the position plainly in a self-introduction: “I'm Christine, here for the humans in higher ed edtech.”
• That line is the throughline the other posts illustrate.

Across the posts, Christine Cody names faculty who trusted a customer success manager, an adjunct learning a platform, students who can’t focus on Thursday’s exam while wondering about Wednesday’s dinner, teammates in other territories solving the same problem, and job seekers looking for their next role.

Read original · Original 2 · Original 3 · Original 4

Both posts disclose that they aren’t the recruiter or hiring manager, making their role clear: a network amplifier, not an authority over hiring. One post also notes a specific subject-matter interest, hoping the opportunity reaches someone at the intersection of education, edtech, and beauty and wellness.

One post shares a Cengage Sales Enablement Manager role for School/K-12, U.S.

• Remote, asking for 5+ years in sales enablement, training, or operations and experience with formal methodologies such as Challenger, MEDDICC, or SPIN.
• The other shares a Senior Manager of Curriculum and Instruction role at Cengage (Milady), leading content managers, learning designers, and editors.
• It asks for 7+ years in curriculum design or instructional leadership, plus LMS and content management experience.
• Both point readers to the job description in the comments.

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Newcomers can use it to understand the implementation calendar and the people who make courses launch.

The post describes a campus in July: quiet from the outside, busy underneath.

• A course shell is built on a Friday afternoon; a bookstore chases day-one access lists; an adjunct learns a new platform six weeks before teaching; and IT migrates a learning management system nobody notices unless it breaks.
• Christine Cody writes that “the Fall semester is made in the summer” and that the work is invisible by move-in.

For brands planning a campaign

For a higher education technology company, build customer success outreach around summer build windows, recognize non-faculty staff during onboarding, and engage campuses before the fall launch.

The post argues that basic needs are part of student success.

• It cites federal data showing that 22.6% of undergraduates experience food insecurity, about 3.9 million students, and that the figure is 34.6% for Black undergraduates.
• It adds, “no platform feature outperforms a nutritious meal.”
• Christine Cody writes that they joined the board of Farmer Foodshare, a Triangle-based food hub, and asks campuses to share pantry, meal-swipe, or basic needs models.

For brands planning a campaign

For a customer success playbook, connect retention messaging to basic needs resources without implying that a platform alone can solve persistence. The post offers a statistic and partnership example to anchor the content.

The post tells a churn story: an account or opportunity churned despite a perfectly green health score because the champion left when the term ended and a new instructor arrived with a favorite vendor from a previous school.

• Christine Cody says automation is useful, but higher education renewals often involve committee decisions built semester by semester across faculty, tenured and adjunct.
• The dashboard shows where to look; it doesn’t reveal what the chemistry chair is worried about.
• The rule: “Automate the noticing.
• Never the knowing.”

For brands planning a campaign

For a customer success playbook, pair usage alerts with champion-change detection, academic committee mapping, and renewal conversations that address faculty concerns. Use the line to frame a human-in-the-loop account strategy.

The post says getting the whole Customer Success organization in one room does what video calls cannot: colleagues hear how someone in another territory is solving the same problem, discover that a teammate they’ve only chatted with is funny, and leave with more energy.

• Christine Cody was recognized as a Goal Achiever in their first year with Cengage and credits faculty, teammates, and a manager.
• Under the theme “Customer Success is Mission Critical,” the post compares customer success to Mission Control: the job doesn’t stop once a course launches, and the team is leaning into AI and data to be proactive rather than reactive.

For brands planning a campaign

For employer-brand or customer success campaigns, use mission-critical framing and back-to-school timing while distinguishing personal recognition from company-wide results. The AI and data point offers a message angle, not proof of a product.

The post shares a Cengage opening for a Sales Enablement Manager, School/K-12, U.S.

• Remote.
• The role asks for 5+ years in sales enablement, training, or operations and experience with Challenger, MEDDICC, or SPIN.
• Christine Cody says they aren’t the recruiter or hiring manager and asks readers to pay it forward by liking and resharing.
• The job description link is in the comments.

For brands planning a campaign

For talent or community campaigns, a role-share post can reach education technology job seekers. Disclose clearly if the creator isn’t the recruiter, and account for the link in comments as part of the call to action.

The post shares a Cengage (Milady) opening for Sr Manager of Curriculum and Instruction.

• The role leads Content Managers, Learning Designers, and Content Editors.
• It asks for 7+ years in curriculum design, instructional leadership, or content development, especially in education technology, adult education, or beauty and wellness, plus LMS and content management system experience.
• Christine Cody says they aren’t the recruiter or hiring manager and asks the network to like, comment, and reshare.
• The job link is in the comments.

For brands planning a campaign

For education technology talent or curriculum product campaigns, this post connects higher education customer success with beauty and wellness education audiences. Use it to reach curriculum leaders, but don’t present Christine Cody as the hiring contact.

The missing signal was a champion's departure and a new instructor's preference for another vendor.

• Christine calls higher education renewal a committee decision built across faculty, not churn math, and argues that automation can help notice signals but cannot replace knowing what a department chair or instructor is worried about.
• A separate post from the Cengage Engagement Summit reinforces the theme: the customer success team stays involved after launch, using AI and data to be proactive rather than reactive.

First-person account followed by a short rule for practice.

For brands planning a campaign

For a higher education technology company focused on customer success and retention, Christine is a strong fit for content about the limits of health scores, the role of faculty relationships in renewals, and how to use automation without losing human judgment. A campaign could center on the line 'automate the noticing, never the knowing' and build practical material around committee-based renewals, champion transitions, and post-launch engagement.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

They work in edtech engagement and retention every day, but argue that no platform feature outperforms a nutritious meal. Christine also names their board service with Farmer Foodshare, a North Carolina food hub, and asks campuses to share pantry, meal-swipe, and basic-needs models.

Federal data, personal commitment, and a call for campus examples.

For brands planning a campaign

A campaign about student success, retention, or equity can draw on Christine's ability to connect product metrics to basic-needs access.

• The practical angle is a campus-resource story, not a product feature story.
• Brands should brief around food access, basic-needs offices, and how retention work changes when material needs are part of the picture.

Examples: Source 1

After ten years of watching the season, they call this the best-kept secret in higher education and close by saying they are 'here for the humans in higher ed edtech.'

Seasonal observation with specific campus roles and tasks.

For brands planning a campaign

For back-to-school, faculty support, or academic operations campaigns, Christine can speak to the people behind course delivery.

• A brand can build seasonal content around the academic calendar, staff appreciation, adjunct onboarding, and the operational work students never see.
• The angle is practical and human rather than product-led.

Examples: Source 1

They were recognized as a Goal Achiever in their first year at Cengage and credit faculty, teammates, and a supportive manager. Christine repeats the summit theme, 'Customer Success is Mission Critical,' and compares the work to mission control: staying with customers after launch, anticipating what comes next, and using AI and data to work smarter.

Event recap with personal recognition and a team-level takeaway.

For brands planning a campaign

This gives a brand a concrete entry point for customer-success enablement, internal communications, or employer-brand content.

• Christine can speak to team culture, recognition, peer learning, and the post-launch work that keeps customers successful.
• A campaign could feature a field note or interview on what changes when a customer success team meets in person and how that translates into proactive account work.

Examples: Source 1

The posts list experience thresholds and skills such as Challenger, MEDDICC, or SPIN for sales enablement, and LMS or content-management experience for curriculum leadership.

• Christine says they are not the recruiter for either role and, for the curriculum role, not the hiring manager.
• They ask readers to like, comment, or reshare to help job seekers.

Practical job summary with requirements and a clear disclaimer.

Christine says they are not the recruiter for the shared roles or the hiring manager for the curriculum role.

For brands planning a campaign

For employer-brand, talent-community, or education-workforce campaigns, Christine can reach job seekers and practitioners with role-specific detail.

• They use their network to circulate edtech roles and explain what the work requires, but do not make hiring decisions.
• Ask them to share roles and insights, not to represent the hiring team.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

Christine describes the role as combining learning science, digital innovation, and leadership to create better learning experiences for the next generation of beauty and wellness professionals.

• The post names curriculum, standards, processes, digital learning experiences, LMS, and content management as relevant areas.
• Christine says they especially hope the opportunity finds someone at the intersection of education, edtech, and beauty/wellness.

Hiring post that identifies a subject-matter intersection.

For brands planning a campaign

For a beauty, wellness, or workforce-learning technology brand, Christine shows interest in the intersection of education, edtech, and beauty/wellness.

• A campaign could engage them on curriculum design, digital learning for adult learners, or the credentials and standards that shape beauty and wellness education.
• Ask for examples of completed work before positioning them as a project practitioner; the source here is a hiring post.

Examples: Source 1

They introduce themselves in one post as 'here for the humans in higher ed edtech.'

For brands planning a campaign

A brand can use this throughline to brief Christine on content about human-centered customer success, student support, or the education workforce. Avoid tool-only messaging; show how a product or program affects instructors, students, and staff.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3 · Source 4

They describe being honored as a Goal Achiever in their first year with the company, attending the all-hands Cengage Engagement Summit for the Customer Success organization, and working with faculty, teammates, and a manager there. In separate posts, they share two open Cengage roles—a senior manager of curriculum and instruction for Cengage's Milady beauty and wellness education business, and a sales enablement manager for school/K-12—detailing the roles and requirements while noting they are not the recruiter or hiring manager.

Original disclosure

I am not the recruiter or hiring manager for this role; I am sharing the opportunity.

View example

They link the board role to their student-success work, citing federal data that more than one in five undergraduates experience food insecurity, and ask readers to share campus pantry, meal-swipe bank, and basic needs programs so other schools can copy them.

View example

John Song argues for open-weight and on-device AI so schools can reproduce results and students are not blocked by country, payment method, or institutional affiliation. Christine C. makes a related human case for relationships, student basic needs, and the limits of dashboards.

John Song’s posts center on models, hosting, and startup building, while Christine C.’s focus on customer success practice and institutional relationships.

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Charlie Miller leads development of Adobe Acrobat Student Spaces and describes co-creation with student testers and feedback loops. Christine C. writes about the human side of adoption, retention, and student needs in higher education.

Charlie Miller works on product development and feature iteration, while Christine C. focuses on customer success, faculty relationships, and basic-needs access.

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Jorge Valenzuela writes about AI in schools, visible thinking, project-based learning, assessment, and trust or psychological safety in innovation culture. Christine C. writes about higher education customer success, student basic needs, and the invisible work behind a semester.

Jorge Valenzuela focuses on K-12 instructional leadership and classroom practice, while Christine C. focuses on higher education technology relationships and retention.

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A CS playbook for an AI-dependent retention product eventually has to answer procurement: where student data lives, who can switch the model off and whether this term's results will be reproducible next term.

• Song's posts make that case directly.
• They describe an AI model being switched off worldwide three days after launch by government directive, argue that hosted models quietly degrade through throttled tiers and retired versions, and treat API access gated by country, payment method or institutional affiliation as an equity problem rather than a pricing one.
• They describe Grade AI as putting AI on the school's own hardware so teaching and research hold their rhythm regardless of what the wider internet is doing that week.
• A brand selling into universities where the committee asks these questions gets a sharper trust-and-continuity frame here than from an account-management post.

Song writes about how AI is built and hosted, not account relationships.

• Christine Cody's posts say nothing about champion turnover, renewal committees, health scores or the pre-term contact window.
• Choosing Song shifts the campaign from customer success practice to product architecture and procurement trust; CS managers leave with less they can act on before the next term.
• The comparison draws on two posts, one a recap of a university founder event.
• Ask for broader examples before treating this as a consistent pattern.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

The posts describe leading development of Adobe Acrobat Student Spaces from beta launch to a reported million-plus students using it monthly, with features named after what students asked for: handwritten notes turned into searchable text, customizable cheat sheets, editable quizzes and presentations, and resume feedback.

• What makes the account useful for a campaign is the method: hundreds of beta testers, live feedback sessions and named university partnerships, with the argument that the product keeps changing because students keep shaping it.
• A brand that needs a credible first-person account of building with students, or wants to argue adoption follows feedback loops instead of launch campaigns, is better served by Miller than by an account-side narrator.

Miller's posts are product announcements and progress updates from inside one company's product line.

• They do not discuss renewal mechanics, churn signals, faculty relationships or what happens to a customer after a course goes live, so they cannot carry a playbook about keeping accounts.
• Both posts come from the same product story, limiting how far the pattern generalizes.
• The posts publish no audience or reach data; ask for distribution figures before making a selection based on reach.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

Jorge Valenzuela when the campaign's retention argument depends on faculty or school leaders changing how they teach and assess, not on how accounts are managed.

• The posts argue that instructional design matters more than tools, that AI makes visible student thinking and strong assessment structure more important rather than less, and that technology should be used only when it adds value to learning.
• One post names the specific practices that make thinking observable — justifying decisions, explaining reasoning, applying knowledge and reflecting on process — and offers a working single-point rubric as a usable resource.
• Another previews a podcast conversation about trust and psychological safety as preconditions for a healthy innovation culture.
• A company selling AI or instructional tools into schools that has to equip educators to use them responsibly gets a faculty-facing frame here that Christine Cody's posts do not.

Valenzuela's examples and audience are school- and district-facing instructional leadership, not higher ed customer success.

• Christine Cody's posts say nothing about renewals, account teams, churn or post-launch customer contact, so the campaign shifts from a CS playbook to instructional practice and AI literacy.
• The comparison draws on two posts, one a podcast preview.
• Ask for audience and reach data and commercial availability for each of the three alternatives before comparing sponsorship terms.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2