Biography:
Rachel Ready, MHRM, Lecturer and former adjunct faculty member in the Advertising and Public Relations Department at Columbia College Chicago, combines her knowledge of media and advertising with the goal of producing relevant connections for the students.
In college, the allure of advertising was apparent to Rachel as she worked a part-time administrative job at Leo Burnett Chicago. There she would interact with other passionate employees and learn the basics of the business. She graduated from Columbia with a B.A. in Marketing Communication and was hired at Starcom Media Services, a division of Leo Burnett USA. She began her career in the media buying group, specifically working with network television and cable representatives. Various clients included McDonald’s, Dominican Republic Tourism Board, Allstate, Allegra, and Keebler.
Rachel’s success in media led her to an opportunity to join Creative Recruitment Services at LB Chicago. Here she assisted with interviewing potential job candidates and critiquing their portfolios. Quickly she learned the highly competitive nature of the industry. After a stint in the Creative Recruitment Services, she returned to her original focus, media planning and buying. She worked in the buying investment group evaluating different media and their cost effectiveness. Involvement in the annual broadcasting “upfronts” helped to sharpen her negotiating skills.
Rachel transferred her knowledge and experience in media to Columbia College Chicago when she was hired in 2000 to the adjunct faculty in the Marketing Communication Department. During this time she also acted as a marketing consultant to Maxim Mortgage Corporation, based in Westmont, IL. In 2002 Rachel received her Master of Human Resource Management Degree from Keller Graduate School of Business. Earning a master’s degree was a pivotal step in her professional development. In 2013 Rachel was hired as a Lecturer in the Marketing Communication Department.
Currently Rachel enjoys teaching Introduction to Advertising, Introduction to Media, and Advertising Workshop to a diverse and creative student body. In the past, she has taught PR Presentation Skills at Columbia. She has worked with Introduction to Media instructors to advance the course and create a template for the Strategic Media Plan Award. The student’s appreciation for her creative execution of course goals is reflected in consistently high course evaluation remarks. Her career outside of being a Lecturer at Columbia College was consulting for a local dot-com start-up that is specific to the professional sports industry (FantasyPlayerProtect.com).
Overall, she continues to meet the challenges of teaching in an ever changing industry dealing with an on-demand society and advertising clutter. She enjoys leading energetic conversations with students who are interested in the many facets of the marketing world.
Time at home is spent with her husband, Michael, and their four daughters. She has served as a leader for Girl Scouts USA, volunteered on the steering committee for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Palos Park, IL and did some free-lance writing for the Blue Island, IL Forum Newspaper. Free time is given to poetry and reading.
RACHEL READY 