Norwalk Community College offers Virtual Assistant Summer Course

CT Virtual Assistance (www.ctvirtualassistance.com), the Norwalk-based marketing and public relations firm, announced today that CEO, Michelle Anastasio-Festi will teach the course, Become A Virtual Assistant (A Global Career Path), at Norwalk Community College (www.norwalk.edu/) this summer. The class is part of the college’s Continuing Education Business series, commences June 2, and meets on consecutive Thursdays from 7:00 - 9:30 pm for 9 weeks. The cost is $349.00 and registration is open at http://norwalk.edu/dept/extstudies/pdf/Summer%202016.pdf ).

Anastasio-Festi’s marketing background is diverse, and she brings her broad expertise to the Virtual Assistant course. Her career began at the advertising agency, Poser Publicity, in New York, where she was both a Media Specialist and Account Executive with clients including Estée Lauder and Visa. Anastasio-Festi continued this path at Media Space Solutions in Norwalk as Senior Media Planner, where she tapped both her creative and analytical sides. A solid marketing and advertising pro, Anastasio-Festi also worked in a consulting capacity for the NYC and Connecticut firms, Team GAT (German American Technologies) and G.E. Pharma, where she drew on her event planning, new business development, trade show marketing, and budget management skill sets. But what struck a chord most with Anastasio-Festi, was a newer realm of online marketing to include social media promotion, online media and public relations implementation, and targeted media research. Shortly thereafter, she launched her own firm, CT Virtual Assistance in December of 2011, to pursue this newly popular niche and offer these integral services to authors, speakers and public figures.

Nearly five years strong, CT Virtual Assistance is undergoing a rebranding initiative to reflect its expanded array of services. The company will continue to provide custom, virtual support encompassing marketing, public relations, research, and project management, but soon will be comprised of two divisions -- wwwYourProjectGenie.com (website section coming soon) and www.YourResearchGenie.com. The project segment of the business will span marketing, operations, administration, social media set up, and booking virtual tours/speaking engagements, while the research end, will concentrate on just that -- outsourced, focused media and customer development research, that can be both costly and time consuming when done in-house. The firm’s client base will remain authors, public speakers, business coaches and startup firms. 

Anastasio-Festi’s wide-ranging expertise and position as a local leader in the Virtual Assistance industry makes her the ideal candidate to teach the topical course at Norwalk Community College. The 9-week session will cover an array of material to include: the varied responsibilities of a Virtual Assistant (VA), setting up a VA business, obtaining the necessary skills to become a VA, and promoting a VA business both on and offline. Students will come away with a toolkit of information and resources regarding a career in this growing global industry.

For more information or to register, visit www.norwalk.edu or call the Registrar’s office at (203) 857-7035. Norwalk Community College is the southwestern Fairfield County leader and partner in the academic, economic and cultural lives of our communities, providing comprehensive, accessible, innovative and affordable learning opportunities to diverse populations.

Michelle Anastasio-Festi can be contacted via her website, www.ctvirtualassistance.com.