International Women’s Day Spotlight: Cyrielle Bazin on Strategic Leadership, External Relations, and Being a Woman in Education

Interview with Cyrielle Bazin, Senior Director of External Relations at Seoul Foreign School

For our International Women’s Day spotlight series, we are highlighting women in education whose leadership is helping shape stronger, more connected school communities.

Cyrielle Bazin, Senior Director of External Relations at Seoul Foreign School, has spent more than 15 years working across development, alumni relations, admissions, marketing, and communications. Her perspective is clear: these functions are not separate pieces, but part of one connected system that shapes the full school experience.

In this Q&A, Cyrielle reflects on leadership, gender, strategy, and why external relations deserves a far more intentional place at the leadership table.

Your career has spanned development, alumni relations, admissions, marketing, and communications. How has your understanding of external relations evolved over time?

“My career in international schools started in Development and Alumni Relations, then MarCom and Admissions, up until now where I oversee all aspects in my current role as Senior Director of External Relations. It’s been like a puzzle that came together to reveal the full picture.

Every time I dug into one function, I started understanding how it all fits together. Now, over 15 years later, it’s clear to me that none of these pieces can work without the other. Not to their full potential anyway.”

When you first entered school communications, how was the role perceived–and how have you seen that change?

“When I started, and to some extent it still is the case in some institutions, school communications was seen as a support department. In my first school, I was classified as ‘support staff’–the ‘make it pretty department.’

In many places, comms is still perceived as an in-house design agency. But I have seen a real shift in mindset. More leadership teams are beginning to understand that communications is a strategic function of a strong school. It’s the glue that holds everything together.”

Was there a moment in your career that changed how you viewed this work?

“One of the most significant moments was when I was appointed Head of Admissions and Marketing at the International School of Riga. I was originally brought in as Head of Marketing and Advancement, but Latvia is an incredibly competitive market for such a small country, and we needed to grow enrollment. So Marketing and Admissions were merged.

That was eye-opening. Silos can only get you so far. You only reveal the full picture when you put all the pieces together.”

Why do you think schools are now beginning to position external relations more strategically?

“I think it’s a combination of factors. New international schools are opening all the time, particularly in the for-profit sector, and the market has become far more competitive. Schools need clearer ways to articulate what makes them distinct.

At the same time, leadership teams and Boards are slowly realizing that social proof and advocacy are some of the most powerful drivers of enrollment, but they cannot be left to chance. That’s where External Relations comes in.

And in today’s connected world, prospective families are savvy. They are not fooled by polished taglines alone. They do their research. Communications becomes the lifeline that helps craft messaging that is both authentic and compelling.”

What does strong external relations leadership contribute beyond marketing?

“External Relations is so much more than marketing and pretty pictures. My role is to help ensure that the student and family journey is coherent, impactful, and connected to the long-term legacy of the school.

I’m not only thinking about today or tomorrow. I’m thinking about 10, 20, even 50 years from now. SFS is 114 years old and is still considered one of the best schools in Asia. That doesn’t happen by chance. It happens because generations of leaders made sure the school could continue to thrive. I’m very conscious of that, and I never take today’s success for granted.”

What is lost when this function is not positioned strategically?

“It misses the 360-degree view that this role allows.

I always say I’m the luckiest person at the school. I get to meet two-year-olds and their families on their very first day of school, tears and all. I also get to meet alumni who graduated in the 1960s and still think of SFS as the place that shaped who they became. I meet PA moms who spend hours on campus organizing staff appreciation lunches, sorting Lost & Found, or decorating for Christmas. I meet ambassadors, business partners, and local organization leaders.

All of them tell part of our story, and it’s my role to internalize that and translate it into a cohesive, authentic experience for students and families. It’s incredibly fulfilling–and very tiring.”

How do storytelling, alignment, and community engagement influence long-term sustainability?

“A happy and engaged community is a community that gives back–in time, in talent, and in treasure.

At SFS, and I suspect in most international schools, 75% of our families indicate referral as how they heard about the school. You don’t refer something you’re unhappy with.

That’s where alignment comes in. If you don’t deliver on the promises of your marketing, it will only take you so far before people see the gap. Your reputation is everything. Once you lose the trust of your community, it’s almost impossible to get it back.”

Have you experienced gender bias in leadership spaces, and how has that shaped your approach?

“Of course.

At the start of my career, I applied for a Marketing Manager position at a very well-known school, and I was one of two finalists-me and a man. It was just after my wedding, which I didn’t think twice about mentioning at the time. I didn’t get the job. The final panel was entirely male, and in the rejection email, they openly suggested I might be at a point in my personal life where I wouldn’t be able to focus 100% on the job.

I kept that email.

A few years later, I interviewed for Shanghai American School six days post-partum, which I chose not to disclose. It was an all-female team. Not only did they pick up that I was a new mother, I got the job–and on my first day, they had transformed an unappealing nursing room into a cosy space for me to use every few hours.

As a leader now, I’m deeply conscious of bias of any kind–gender or otherwise.”

Communications and admissions are often female-led functions, but senior leadership spaces are not always equally represented. What needs to shift?

“Let’s be honest. While things are better than they were even 10 years ago, international school leadership is still predominantly male. That’s not unique to our sector, but in an industry where teaching–especially in the early years–tends to be more female, it’s difficult to ignore that the higher you go, the fewer women you see.

As female leaders, I don’t think we do anything differently. It’s the patriarchy that is slowly catching up to the fact that female leaders are just as strategic as male leaders–just with more empathy.”

What advice would you give to women aspiring to lead in strategic communications or external relations?

“Don’t feel like you need to act differently because you’re a woman. You have so much to offer, just as you are.

Work hard, lead with empathy, and be as ‘sensitive’ and ‘emotional’ as you need to be. In our industry, we educate children. What could be more powerful than the endless amount of love women have to give?”

This year’s theme is “Give to Gain.” What does that mean to you in leadership?

“In my role as a leader, I try to give to my team as much as I can. I’m incredibly lucky to lead an all-female team–11 of us. They are women, mothers, wives, warriors, and incredible professionals. I’m so proud of them.

I’m a huge believer in professional growth, so I try to encourage initiative and create space for learning beyond the day-to-day role. I also spend a lot of time with parents and keep an open-door policy. And whenever I can, I volunteer to advise student groups or contribute as a guest speaker.

I get so much out of my job. It’s important to me to give back.”

How do you see the external relations function continuing to evolve over the next five to ten years?

“We are in the middle of a second wave of rethinking the external relations function.

The first wave was understanding its strategic value beyond the support role it once was. The second wave–which I believe we are living through now–is the shift from siloed departments to an integrated advancement system.

I’m a huge advocate for integrated advancement and external relations. When you connect the different functions that shape the student experience–admissions, marketing and communications, community relations, development, and alumni engagement–you finally have the full picture. And with that, you can make more strategic decisions that benefit not only the institution, but all of its constituents.”

If you could challenge Heads of School and Boards with one mindset shift, what would it be?

“I have to give credit to my Head of School and Board because I’ve always felt incredibly supported, and that’s important to acknowledge because it’s not always the case.

But I would challenge school leaders and Boards to invest in their External Relations teams. When times are hard, it’s often one of the first places budgets and positions are cut.

One person cannot be a writer, photographer, social media manager, digital campaign manager, and campaign lead all at once. One person cannot storyboard, shoot, and edit a video in a week. And we certainly cannot do it with no budget.

You get what you give. Invest in your communications team, and you will see long-term results.”