Once a student at Sonoma State University himself, earning a Bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a concentration in marketing, as well as a jazz studies minor in 2011, Andy Shepherd now works as the Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications for the Green Music Center at SSU. Shepherd has had the pleasure of promoting hundreds of shows from “classical icons”, as he described them, such as, Yo- Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman, to artists like Andy Grammer and Fitz and the Tantrums.  

Shepherd takes a lot of pride in his marketing position and said, “My position allows me the opportunity to witness the power of artistic experiences on a regular basis, and see the impact on a wide variety of audiences.” 

Prior to graduating from SSU, Shepherd worked jobs similar to his current role. While an undergraduate, he took on a marketing internship at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland. 

Working the internship in Oakland, balancing school, and social life was a challenge for Shepherd, “I did spend a lot of time balancing my education with both an unpaid internship, and a separate paid position. It was important for me to be generous with my time, while also making sure I could maintain my schedule long-term without burning out. I made my plans clear to each employer, and thankfully they were supportive of what I was trying to do. School remained my priority, with my internship and paid job fitting in around my class schedule,” said Shepherd via email. 

Upon graduation, he ended up securing a job at Yoshi’s and commuted from Rohnert Park to Oakland every day. He would pass the Green Music Center on his daily commute, and knew his dream job was to eventually work there. Shepherd was hired by SSU in 2015, and has since gotten married and started a family. Living and working in Rohnert Park with a very small commute makes everything a lot more manageable for Shepherd. 

When speaking about job opportunities, Shepherd highly recommends those who are interested in marketing and set production to look into jobs or internships through the Green Music Center, “The Green Music Center provides some truly unique employment and internship opportunities for students in many facets of the performing arts industry including front of house, marketing, development, box office, administration, and production. These opportunities are a great way to get students hands-on experience, while providing staff with much needed support in their respective areas of expertise.” 

Even after years of working at the GMC, Shepherd is still experiencing new events that stand out as highlights in his SSU career, “I also have to say that I was at an incredible performance the other night from the Ukrainian folk group DakhaBrakha. They set a high bar for the rest of our season with an energetic brand of Ukrainian folk music that brought the audience to their feet. It was a moving night of cultural and artistic connection that I won’t soon forget,” said Shepherd via email.