Welcome to our New Director of Marketing!

Dear GISC Families,

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dirk Vogel as the new Director of Marketing and Communications. Dirk will officially begin this new assignment on May 28, taking over for Katharina Pohl, who after eight years of dedicated service in several administrative roles will depart GISC to relocate to South Korea.

Dirk has almost 20 years experience as a marketing professional with particular strengths in copywriting and editing, project and event management, social media, graphic design, and data-driven marketing. He has led efforts in writing and marketing for clients such as Monster Energy, Bosch, Microsoft, and Garmin. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in American Studies, Media Studies, and Psychology from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz.

Dirk, a native of Germany, not only impressed with his knowledge of and experience in marketing and communications, but he also impressed with his abilities and desires to be a consummate team player, passionately advocating for the advancement of the German International School Chicago. Speaking of passion, Dirk is an avid skateboarding aficionado, having co-authored a comprehensive history of skateboarding entitled Skateboarding Is Not A Fashion Vol. 1. Dirk is the father of two children who attended GISC in the past and now reside and attend school in the suburbs.

While we are thrilled to have Dirk onboard, it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Katharina, who began at GISC in 2016, and single-handedly built a robust marketing program and managed the school’s marketing, admissions, communications, development, and event planning efforts at different stages during her tenure. She is the architect of so many initiatives that endure, including the articulation of our core values of “Bilingual Advantage, International Education, Global Opportunity, and School Community.”

Katharina’s passion for GISC knows no boundaries – easily recognizable in the many late hours she has perfected so many communications and marketing collateral in addition to thoughtful and effective planning of campaigns and school events.

Please find in this communication a letter of intro by Dirk, and a farewell note from Katharina. In that spirit, I will say “Welcome Aboard” to Dirk and “Viel Glück und Erfolg” to Katharina in her future endeavors and adventures.

All the best,

Ben