Alison Matthiessen has been named director of communications for the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.

In her new position, Matthiessen will lead a comprehensive communications program for the school, overseeing development and distribution of content to internal and external audiences, including support of advancement activities and the recruitment and retention of students and faculty. She will coordinate efforts at the school through collaboration with its two key partners, Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic.

Most recently, Matthiessen — who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication at Virginia Tech — was communications coordinator for the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost at Virginia Tech. In that role, she supported four vice provost areas, including enrollment and degree management, faculty affairs, resource management and institutional effectiveness, and undergraduate academic affairs.

Prior to her role in the provost office, Matthiessen was marketing communications specialist for the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, where she now returns. During her tenure there, she supported the school’s inaugural communications efforts as the school opened, welcoming its first two classes of students.

Matthiessen began her career in journalism as a local television news producer for the NBC and Fox affiliates in Roanoke, Virginia. She received the industry’s highest honor, a Peabody Award, as a contributing producer with WSLS-10.

Written by Mark Owczarski