Sonja Martin Poole

Sonja Martin Poole is a pre-eminent thinker, influencing key decision-makers in transformative marketing strategy and public policy. As Professor of Marketing at USF, Professor Poole, pays particular attention in her research, teaching and public commentary to the ways in which marketing transforms individuals, institutions, systems, and societies, and impacts consumer well-being. Her latest research focuses on the role of race in the marketplace and has appeared in a range of academic journals such as the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Marketing Management, and Social Marketing Quarterly, among others.

Drawing from her expertise in behavioral economics, Professor Poole helps her students explore innovative ways to excite, educate and engage primary audiences and customers, giving students an informed head start as prosocial, consumer-centric marketing professionals. Among the undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in her teaching portfolio are Multicultural Marketing; Marketing for Social Good; Marketing Principles; Ethics, Public Policy & Marketing Intelligence; and Race in the Marketplace.

Professor Poole is a New Orleans native and maintains an active consulting practice in Oakland, California.

• Economics and marketing of education
• Prosocial behavior and consumer well-being
• Race in the marketplace

• Post-doc, Business, Marketing Emphasis, Tulane University, Freeman School of Business, New Orleans
• PhD, Education Policy, Organization, Measurement and Evaluation, University of California at Berkeley
• MA, Economics, California State University, East Bay, College of Business and Economics
• MA, Education, University of California at Berkeley
• BA, Economics, University of California at Berkeley

• American Marketing Association, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Thomas C. Kinnear Best Paper Award, 2023

• University of San Francisco Award for Collaborative Leadership and Commitment to Shared Governance, 2022

• Dean's Circle Teaching Fellow Award, USF School of Management, 2010

• Tulane University Postdoctoral Fellowship in Business, 2008 - 2009

• National Science Foundation, Howard University Evaluation Institute Fellow, 2004 - 2005

• National Science Foundation, WMU Institute on Evaluation Fellow, 1999 - 2000

• Grier, S. & Poole, S.M. (2020) Will Social Marketing Fight for Black Lives? An open letter to the field. Social Marketing Quarterly.

• Poole, S.M., Grier, S., et. al. (2020) Operationalizing Critical Race Theory in the Marketplace. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.

• Poole, S.M., Maier, T. (2020) Game Based Learning in Wine Education. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education

• Grier, S., Poole, S.M., et al. (2020) Reproducing Inequality: The Role of Race in the Business School Faculty Search. Journal of Marketing Management.

• Garret-Walker, J., Poole, S.M., et al. (2018) Racial color-blindness and privilege awareness in relation to interest in social justice among college students. Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity.

• Poole, S.M. (2017) Developing relationships with school customers: the role of market orientation. International Journal of Education Management.

• Poole, S.M. & Campos, N.M., (2017) Marketing knowledge transfer to primary nonprofit education organizations. International Journal of Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Marketing.

• Poole, S.M., Levin, M., Elam, K. (2017) Getting out of the rankings game. A better way to evaluate higher education institutions for best-fit. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education.

• Kemp, E. & Poole, S.M. (2017) What’s Love Got to Do with It? Investigating Consumer Commitment in Health Care. Health Marketing Quarterly.

• Poole, S.M. & Walker, J.J., (2016) Are future business professionals ready for multicultural marketing? An empirical investigation. Journal of Cultural Marketing Strategy.

• Serviere-Munoz, L., Miller, R. & Poole, S.M. (2016) Who are you going after? A practical typology to generate engagement in professional student organizations. Marketing Education Review.

• Kemp, E.A. & Poole, S.M. (2016) Arts Audiences: Establishing a Gateway to Audience Development and Engagement. Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society.

• Serviere-Munoz, L., Miller, R. & Poole, S.M. (2016) Professional student organizations and experiential learning activities. What drives student intentions to participate? Journal of Education for Business.

• Poole, S.M., Kemp, E., Patterson, L. & Williams, K. (2014) Get your head in the game: Using gamification in business education to connect with Generation Y. Journal of Excellence in Business Education.

• Bock, D., Poole, S.M. & Joseph, M. (2014) Does branding impact student recruitment: A critical evaluation. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education.

• Poole, S.M. (2011) The Relationship between External Accountability and Internal Accountability: A Cross-state Analysis of Charter and Traditional Public Schools. Journal of School Choice.