Blazing Trails for Higher Ed and Healthcare – Leading Marketing
and Communications for UT San Antonio and UT Health
By Rudy Arispe | Photography by David Teran
Growing up on a Kentucky farm, Heather Adkins fondly recalls crisp early mornings feeding livestock with her grandparents or heading to the barn before sunrise to strip tobacco, work essential to sustaining the family’s farm in small and rural Georgetown. Sometimes that devotion meant bottle-feeding a newborn lamb in the kitchen to keep it warm through the cold nights.
Both sets of my grandparents farmed and worked tirelessly to provide,” Adkins said. “Because of their love, encouragement, and never-ending support, particularly that of my grandmothers, I became the first in my immediate family to graduate from college. On a farm, there are no days off. The animals and the work don’t wait. People’s livelihoods depend on you showing up. When you say you’ll do something, you do it. What a blessing to have had that as an example in my life, demonstrated day after day.”
Today, the Kentucky farm girl turned business executive carries that same work ethic, integrity, and purpose into her role as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for The University of Texas at San Antonio and UT Health San Antonio, whose merger was formalized in September.
Adkins will juggle double duty to oversee marketing, internal and external communications, public relations, media relations, web and brand management for both institutions in addition to overseeing some 120 employees. No doubt it’s a daunting task set before her, but one she embraces with deep experience, energy and determination.
“What lies ahead is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said. “Together, we will build on the strength of our healthcare environment, our commitment to higher education, and our meaningful research to lift UT San Antonio, now the third-largest research university in Texas, to even greater heights. Over the next decade, we are on a path toward national preeminence, becoming a truly distinctive institution that serves our community in ways like never before. It is a vision inspired by UT San Antonio leadership that calls all of us to help shape what comes next for our beloved San Antonio. It’s a big undertaking, but the belief in our potential makes up for all the complexities.”
In 2015, while working in Cincinnati as a health system executive and principal of a consulting firm serving healthcare nonprofits, Adkins received an unexpected call from then UT Health San Antonio President William Henrich, M.D. He invited her to come to San Antonio to help build and elevate the UT Health San Antonio brand as part of a plan to transform the institution into a more visible and distinguished health science center deeply connected to its community.
“Anyone who ever met Dr. Henrich knew how truly compelling he was,” Adkins said. “When he called, you couldn’t say anything but yes because you knew you were being invited into something meaningful. When I arrived, there was no formal marketing, communications, or media division. I was fortunate to work with people who believed in the power of storytelling and what it could do to help shape an institution’s future. That trust and vision allowed us to build something extraordinary and something that still reflects the people, passion, and promise of UT Health San Antonio. Today, as one UT San Antonio, that same energizing spirit has ignited across our institutions, fueling the momentum to deepen our impact across healthcare and higher ed.”
Among her many accomplishments, Adkins established a comprehensive brand and marketing infrastructure for the $1.5 billion UT Health San Antonio enterprise, creating a unified brand identity, new logo, and inaugural brand campaign that helped drive double-digit growth in patient volumes for six consecutive fiscal years.
“We did more than build a brand,” she said. “We took a complex environment and gave it clarity and meaning, connecting mission with purpose in ways people could believe in. We’re now building on that experience to shape a new narrative for our newly merged university, one that unites learning, discovery, and care under a shared vision. Our shared goal – as this is a ‘we’ thing – is to create a brand and a culture that inspires pride, attracts talent, and reflects a community that anyone would want to be part of and serve. No, not anyone. Everyone.”
Adkins insists she could not have achieved all that she has without the dedication and support of her colleagues. “I work alongside people who have devoted their careers to this mission,” she said. “They are so good at what they do – informed, curious, problem solvers and generous in spirit. If I can take even a fraction of that and inspire my team to do the same, then I have served my role well.”
“Her presence has a way of energizing others, and her judgment is always sharp and thoughtful,” Matos said. “She leads by example, working tirelessly, thinking strategically and keeping our institution’s mission at the heart of every decision. Heather brings intelligence and wit to everything she does, making her not only an exceptional leader, but also someone people can relate to and are proud to work alongside.”
Lety Laurel Matos, UT Health San Antonio Senior Director of Communications, works closely with Adkins and said she has found Adkins to be a dynamic and passionate leader whose insight and drive inspire everyone around her.
Likewise, Monica Taylor, UT Health San Antonio Senior Director, Public and Media Relations, has seen firsthand Adkins’ outstanding vision, strong leadership, and remarkable innovation come to life. A recent example is the transformational work she did with the merger of UTSA and UT Health San Antonio to become UT San Antonio. “She is a brilliant leader who holds herself accountable to the same high standards she asks of the team,” Taylor said. “She rolls up her sleeves and works tirelessly to make the magic happen behind the scenes so the brilliance shines through for the community to see and experience.”
Now that she’s been settled in San Antonio, Adkins believes a kindred spirit exists between Texas and Kentucky. Perhaps it’s the warmth and friendliness of the people of San Antonio, she said, who welcomed her with open arms when she and her daughter arrived 10 years ago. Now she’s happy to call Texas home, and UT San Antonio is fortunate to have Adkins at its side, as she continues to carry out the mission and vision that is envisioned to serve San Antonio and South Texas.
