Heidi Miller, D.B.A.

My background is in marketing, with expertise in both traditional and digital marketing. My teaching style is highly experiential and focused on connecting classroom learning to real-world marketing practice. I partner with a variety of organizations, from local businesses to international companies, to give students opportunities to work on authentic marketing projects and solve real business challenges.

Especially in my advanced marketing courses, I see myself less as a traditional lecturer and more as a consultant who guides students as they apply what they have learned. I believe students learn best by doing. My goal is for students to graduate with not only a strong foundation in marketing, but also a diverse portfolio of work, meaningful industry experience, and the confidence to apply their skills in the real world.

Doctoral Dissertation: Loyalty, Awareness, and the Privacy Tradeoff: Understanding Willingness to Share Information in an E-Commerce Context

My doctoral research examined how consumer trust, brand relationships, and marketing practices influence consumers’ willingness to share personal information in an e-commerce environment. As privacy regulations and changes in digital advertising reduce companies’ access to third-party data, organizations increasingly rely on first-party data and permission-based marketing. This quantitative study explored how brand loyalty, brand awareness, incentives, transparency, and consumer demographics influence willingness to disclose personal information. Grounded in behavioral decision theory, commitment-trust theory, and social exchange theory (privacy calculus), the research provides insight into how marketers can build trust and create more effective, consumer-centered approaches to data collection and personalization.

American Marketing Association
Tri-Kappa
Digital Marketing Institute

What makes teaching at Grace College special to me is the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with students. I consider myself a connector. I love connecting students with people, employers, and opportunities that can help them grow, but I also value simply getting to know my students and investing in their lives.

I believe some of the most important work we do as professors happens outside the classroom. At Grace, I have the opportunity to combine my passion for marketing with my desire to invest in students as people. I believe in leading with both grace and truth. That means encouraging students and celebrating their successes, but it also means having difficult conversations and challenging them when that is what is best for them.

Ultimately, the relationships are what make Grace special to me. I am grateful for the opportunity to teach, mentor, challenge, and connect students as they prepare not

My family is the most important part of my life, and the greatest gift I have on this earth is being a mom. When I’m not teaching, you can usually find me playing tennis or pickleball, spending time on the water with my family, or riding my WaveRunner. Some of my favorite days are simply being outside and making memories with the people I love. I also love getting lost in a good book or movie, cooking, baking, and, more recently, baking sourdough. Sourdough has become one of my favorite hobbies, partly because I love the process and partly because I love to give it away and let other people enjoy it as much as I do.