University of Houston-Victoria

Paula Cobler is the interim director of marketing & communications for the University of Houston-Victoria. She oversees and coordinates UHV’s overall image, which includes advertising, promotions and public relations. She also provides leadership to an eight-member marketing team. In her interim role, she continues to serve as UHV’s communications manager by supervising all press releases and marketing copy; creating presentations; and assisting the media and faculty, staff and students to increase communication about UHV. Paula has a bachelor’s degree in technical journalism from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo. During the 2005-2006 school year, she took classes at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., as a Nieman affiliate. She was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor in Colorado and Texas for nine years before becoming president and general manager of The Mirror, the student newspaper at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo. Prior to moving to Victoria in 2007, she was an adjunct journalism professor at UNC and CSU. Paula and her husband, Chris, have two children, Nicole and Paul.

Melody Vecera is the creative services manager in the Marketing Department. Her duties include coordinating and designing marketing pieces that effectively promote the university and its departments. Melody earned her bachelor’s degree from UHV in applied arts and sciences with a concentration in communications. She also studied visual communication design at Austin Community College. Prior to joining UHV’s Marketing Department, Melody worked as a graphic artist for Graphix Unlimited and a production manager for the Victoria Business Magazine. She and her husband, John, reside in Victoria County, and have two children.

Cari Laza is a graphic designer in the Marketing Department. Her duties include designing promotional materials, logos and other creative elements. Cari has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in communication design from Texas State University in San Marcos. She has worked at UHV since 2010 and designs promotional materials, logos and other creative elements. In addition, Laza does freelance print, logo and Web design for local customers. She is a Victoria native and former Austin resident.

Amberley Gutierrez is a graphic designer in the Marketing Department. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in communication design from Texas State University in San Marcos where she won awards for her student work. Her previous employment has included work as a designer for Aloe Software Group, where she created websites and logos, along with greeting cards, advertisements and promotional material for the company. She also was a graphic artist and promotions assistant for the Victoria Television Group, where she created on-air and website graphics, advertisements and commercials for the station. She also designs websites for a start-up company based in Austin.

Ken Esten Cooke is the communications specialist in the Marketing Department. His duties include writing press releases and marketing copy, photography, gathering information for presentations, and assisting the media and faculty, staff and students in efforts to increase communication about UHV. Ken Esten has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Concordia University in Austin and also studied journalism at the University of Texas-El Paso. He is currently pursuing a master’s in publishing at UHV. He worked as a reporter, general manager and publisher of The Rockdale Reporter for 15 years. He also has served as president of the Rockdale Chamber of Commerce and the South Texas Press Association, and was chairman of the Rockdale Development Board. Ken Esten and wife Christine Granados, a UHV English instructor, have two sons, Esten and Will.

Harry Bashaw is an Internet technician in the Marketing Department. He transforms marketing materials into Web pages, e-mail newsletters and other electronic media. He also researches and develops IT solutions. He earned a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in computer science and communication from UHV, as well as a bachelor’s degree in computer science. Before coming to UHV, he earned a bachelor’s in biology at Texas State, worked as interpretive specialist at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area and as a landscape manager for the City of Killeen, where he led outreach programs with youth and the Killeen Chapter of Keep Texas Beautiful. Making a career change to escape the Texas heat, he started at UHV in 2001 in the Letting Education Achieve Dreams Program, where he advanced from ambassador to student ambassador coordinator/Web developer. He then worked as a recruitment coordinator at the UHV School of Arts & Sciences. While working on his graduate degree, he moved to Web services to expand his IT experience.

Della Rampley is the administrative secretary in the Marketing Department. She handles the day-to-day administrative tasks that keep the office running, answers phones and emails, assists in marketing and research projects, and supports Paula Cobler and other members of the marketing team in their assigned duties. Della has worked for UHV for over four years and has lived and worked in the Victoria area for more than 20 years.

Danielle Meador is a student worker in the Marketing Department. She maintains press clippings about UHV, assists in research, aids in the planning of market strategies, sends and receives deliveries, and assists with surveys and research. She has an associate’s degree in health administration from the University of Phoenix and is pursuing her Bachelor of Business Administration at UHV. She has one son, Aiden.