Staff Highlight: Courtney Baines, Marketing & Communications Director
Courtney came to BRAHM in November of 2019. As marketing director, she keeps the community informed of all that BRAHM has to offer. In a matter of months, she has designed and launched a new website, helped transition the team to new organizational & communications platforms, and led the virtual engagement effort during the pandemic. BRAHM saw its program attendance increase considerably over the winter, thanks in part to Courtney’s creative yet sensible promotional efforts. As we await our re-opening, Courtney is keeping the BRAHM community abreast of all the activity taking place behind its closed doors through social media, e-news, and the new BRAHM at Home blog.
It was a dream come true for Courtney to have landed in Watauga County. “My family is Scottish and I remember coming to the Highland Games at Grandfather Mountain as a child. I fell in love with this area.” She moved here in 2007 while working towards a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development at Appalachian State. Her professional career in Boone has been multifold, education being at the center. While in graduate school, she also taught undergraduate classes in her field. Then, Courtney took an Americorps position for the local non-profit, Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture. In 2013, she returned to App State as a student, receiving her Doctorate in Educational Leadership. She then began a school garden support program, Lettuce Learn, which provided trainings for educators and direct support for school gardens across the county. She soon realized that in order to fully understand teaching and its challenges, she needed to experience it first-hand. So, she taught earth and environmental science for two years at Watauga High. “If you want to create change, you have to first get inside a process to fully comprehend it.”
After teaching at the high school, Courtney was offered the position of Executive Director at Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture. It was in this position that she was introduced to BRAHM through the 2018 exhibition The Way Watauga Works. “I was impressed with the way BRAHM showcased local artists and the local workforce, highlighting the people and talent in this wonderful community. Like many, I feel so fortunate to be able to live here and do what I love.”
Courtney’s effective marketing efforts stem from an ability to see things from different viewpoints. “An educator’s natural tendency is to think about what will reach the students. This translates to marketing as well. Thinking about what will catch a person’s eye and present a call to action.” She is also admittedly obsessed with making things beautiful and presentable. Web design has been a creative outlet for Courtney since her time with Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture. “I discovered it was a real strength and something that I enjoyed doing. Plus, I love learning new technologies, especially those that make our processes more streamlined and organized. Shannon Carol -- and her organized approach to running the Food Hub -- has been a major inspiration to me.”
Courtney takes initiative and puts her ideas into motion. When the shelter-in-place order hit, she immediately developed a plan with the staff to transition BRAHM’s programs and exhibits into a digital format. “In times of uncertainty and chaos, my tendency is to keep busy. One silver lining in all of this has been the opportunity to transition to a new website. I knew it would allow us to effectively communicate all that we want to offer.”
In her personal life Courtney enjoys gardening, reading, and teaching yoga. Her six year old son, Aiden, is also a huge highlight in her life. (You may have seen Aiden as BRAHM’s “little docent” on the BRAHM at Home blog.) The two love traveling to new places together and engaging in local life on their trips. While working at the museum, Courtney continues to run her own web design business and the science & art enrichment program, Magic Science Van.
Another benefit of working at the museum has been reconnecting with local luthier and woodworker, Chris Capazzoli. Courtney and Chris worked together in promoting his recent exhibit of hand-made instruments and are now engaged. “Another reason I am thrilled to be at BRAHM.”
