Each month, we will shine a light on our Patriot Connect Change Champions, giving you the chance to get to know the individuals who are here to support you and the George Mason community on the journey to Patriot Connect. Learn about their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and maybe even a fun fact or two.
Get to know Michelle Barr!
Name:
Michelle Barr
Role at George Mason University:
Salesforce Communications Manager
I am a Patriot Connect Change Champion for:
Enrollment Management
Q: What does being a Patriot Connect Change Champion mean to you?
A: I have been with Patriot Connect since it has been a glimmer in the eye of leadership. It is an honor, truly, to have been a part of the project for so long and to be able to participate in supporting users of this exciting new tool. I’m incredibly invested in the success of Patriot Connect.
Q: What excites you the most about Patriot Connect?
A: I’m pretty excited about Marketing Cloud, as I was orginally hired to support TargetX, especially mass email. Marketing Cloud is an incredibly powerful tool and we have only begun to scratch the surface of what it can do to provide customized and timely communication to our prospective and current student populations. I’m also looking forward to utilizing the power of Summit Events for event management. We do so many events for prospective students, so this tool will allow us to be more nuanced and provide a better event registration experience for prospective and current students.
Q: How do you see Patriot Connect helping you and your team?
A: Patriot Connect has already helped me and my team showcase our myriad of skills in learning new technologies and supporting a wide swath of our colleagues across the university. It has brought so much excitement for me and my team to be able to learn new technologies (something we all love) and grow and flex different muscles. We are particularly excited about the additional data we will be able to mine from Patriot Connect to better serve our students; we learn so much from how they interact with constituent relationship management (CRM) and CRM adjacent technologies.
Q: What is your favorite George Mason tradition?
A: I’m infamous for my obsession with Bring Your Junior Patriot to Work Day. It’s such a fun event and a great way to get my two little girls excited about being a professional in the future, about school and learning, and to enjoy the fun that comes with being on a college campus. I’m so thankful to our HR team for the work they put into that event.
Q: What is something you like to do outside of work?
A: Anyone who knows me, knows I am a horse girl; rain or shine, you will find me at the barn in my free time.
The Patriot Connect team has activated a change network of “Patriot Connect Release 2 Change Champions” to support the adoption of Patriot Connect at George Mason. Units, colleges, or schools impacted by Release 2 have a designated change champion who is here to make the transition to Patriot Connect smooth and successful. The Release 2 change network kicked off in October 2025 and will remain active throughout the implementation and launch of Patriot Connect: Recruitment and Admissions. Your first point of contact for questions should be your designated Patriot Connect Release 2 Change Champion.