Walton College Names Toms Director of Marketing and Communications

The Sam M. Walton College of Business has named Jerra Nalley Toms the director of marketing and communications effective Sept. 23. Toms will create the college’s strategic marketing plans and oversee its implementation to promote Walton College. 

“I am thrilled to join the Walton College team to showcase our phenomenal faculty, staff, students and alumni,” Toms said. “I look forward to highlighting their stories and continuing to evolve the Walton College brand in the digital space.”

Previously, as the founder of Blue Iris Consulting, Toms developed strategic marketing strategies for her clients using digital media, social media, relationship building, public relations and more. Similarly, as the founder and director of the Leisurlist media platform for Runway Group, Toms developed its brand, oversaw operations, raised venture funds and launched the Leisurlist site to promote entertainment, hospitality and recreation in Northwest Arkansas.

Prior to Leisurlist, Toms worked in corporate environments as a senior project manager in recruitment marketing for Walmart in Bentonville and a senior account manager for Collective Bias (now Inmar Intelligence), a shopper marketing agency in Rogers.

“After launching two digital marketing initiatives and working in the recruitment and shopper marketing world for large corporations, Jerra is the perfect choice to help promote Walton College,” said Matt Waller, dean of the Walton College. “Her insight and experience in digital marketing and communications will be a huge contribution to our team.”

Toms serves on the boards for the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Eureka Springs, the Walton College Dean’s Roundtable of Entrepreneurs and Market-Makers and the Dean’s Alumni Advisory Council. 

She holds an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at the U of A. Toms received her bachelor’s degree from Walton College, where she majored in marketing management and pursued a double minor in economics and Spanish. Originally from Benton, she now calls Northwest Arkansas home.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas’ flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.