Carrie Cotton
Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist, University Advancement
Start Date: February 28, 2022
Carrie Cotton grew up with her nose in a book. “The only times I got in trouble were for sitting in my closet past my bedtime with a flashlight, reading. Even my mom couldn’t get too mad at me for that,” she laughs. Writing also came naturally to her, so it’s not surprising that Carrie has Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees of Art in English Literature … from here at Stony Brook.
Even more than reading (which is still an out-of-office passion and one she’s inspiring in her two-year-old son), Carrie has always had a strong desire to help others.
“It might sound corny but my overriding goal – a value my mom instilled in me – is to try to make the world a better place; to leave it better than I found it,” she says. And she’s found the opportunity to do that here at Stony Brook.
Carrie says, “I’m blown away by all Advancement does to support the goals of our University by building relationships with the surrounding community. I feel fortunate to help build the pipeline of strong professionals who do that critical work.”
Carrie’s also thrilled to work here at Stony Brook:
“I always wanted to return to academia after I graduated, and I particularly wanted to come back ‘home’ to Stony Brook,” she says. “It’s the place where everything happened for me and I became the person I am. It’s the place that first awoke in me the values I hold dear now, such as social mobility and equal access to education. I don’t think it’s fair, for example, for anyone to be limited in their life trajectory based on where they grew up.”
Carrie sees her mission at SBU as three-fold: 1) proactively recruit top talent to fill strategic needs and “make things happen”; 2) provide existing managers with the tools to make their most informed hiring decisions; and 3) help new recruits in Advancement reach their full potential through internal development programs.
“Recruiting provides a ‘ripple effect’ in an organization and society in general, and that’s one of the things I really love.” Carrie’s path back to Stony Brook – and her work building a recruiting model here – includes recruiting for the Teach for America (TFA) program, which places teachers in underserved areas to expand educational opportunities for low-income students across the country. (A few of her placements were even Stony Brook alumni). Prior to that she taught special ed for kindergartners at a TFA charter school in Brooklyn. And right before coming back to SBU, she built the recruiting model, helped develop core values and served as HR partner for senior leaders at a nonprofit, then startup organization called Education for Excellence.
In all of these venues, and all along her student and career path, Carrie feels the most important question she’s always asked is, “How can I help?”