Allison Otu is the Associate Vice President of Outreach with Educational Outreach and Student Services at Arizona State University (ASU). Otu leads ASU’s efforts to comprehensively scale and elevate Access ASU initiatives, including WeGrad and the Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program. As a member of the senior leadership team, Otu also oversees Experiences and Community Collaboration, tasked with building strategic partnerships and expanding targeted efforts.
Otu joined ASU in 2021 as the Executive Director of Brand Engagement and Communications for the Walter Cronkite School for Journalism and Mass Communication and Arizona PBS. Otu led an expanded team to elevate brand awareness and organize strategic engagement opportunities for the Cronkite School and Arizona PBS.
Otu’s tenure in higher education started in 2012 in various roles, including the University of Arizona Health Sciences Executive Director for Corporate and Community Relations. Her responsibilities included strategic planning and outreach, helping to grow UArizona partnerships with the corporate, community, civic, and health sectors across Arizona.
With more than 19 years of experience managing constituent relations, branding, executive communications and event management, Otu founded and organized signature programs, including the University of Arizona’s Connect2STEM annual event. Connect2STEM was the largest STEM outreach event in Phoenix, held at the Phoenix Bioscience Core with 41,000+ attendees over seven years. In 2021, Connect2STEM raised $56,000 in corporate sponsorships and leveraged 29.5M media impressions. Connect2STEM received top honors, winning Best in Show at the 2021 Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Impact Awards for creativity and innovation and first place at the 2022 Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Institutional Advancement Awards for Excellence.
For three years, Otu was a member of the executive leadership team at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She led the 14-person marketing & communications department responsible for shaping the overall strategic and creative direction of the College’s content development, public affairs, media production, graphic design, social media, community outreach and public affairs.
Otu is a prominent community impact leader serving as the co-chair of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council Health Innovation Committee. She is a board member for the Arizona School for the Arts, the Children’s Museum of Phoenix and Downtown Phoenix Partnership. In 2019, Otu was appointed by City of Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego to the Phoenix Women’s Commission and serves as the Chair.
Otu spent five years overseeing public relations at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.