Kelley Skoloda
Partner/Director, Global Brand Marketing Practice
Ketchum

Kelley Skoloda, partner/director of Ketchum's Global Brand Marketing Practice, is a recognized authority on marketing to women. She is responsible for thought-leadership, major client stewardship and Practice growth in the consumer arena. Kelley is the architect of the widely publicized Women 25to54, a communications offering that provides a better way to reach "multi-minding"SM female consumers.

In Kelley's distinguished career with the global, top-ten public relations firm, Ketchum, she has counseled dozens of companies and blue-chip brands including the American Iron and Steel Institute's Canned Food Alliance, Aetna, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, Daimler Chrysler, Kellogg's® Special K® along with other Kellogg's brands, Kimberly-Clark, Libby's and Rite Aid Corporation.

Kelley is a sought-after speaker and commentator on the subject of marketing to women and has been featured in BusinessWeek Online, BRANDWEEK magazine, CNNMoney.com, Today's Chicago Woman, The Washington Post, PRWeek magazine and others.

Kelley's blog, www.toobusytoshop.blogspot.com, helped her collect input from women across the country for her business book, Too Busy to Shop: Marketing to Multi-Minding Women, published in 2009.

Kelley earned her M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and her undergraduate degree from Seton Hill University, where she now sits on the Board of Trustees. She and her husband, David, reside in Pittsburgh with their two children, Jake and Ellie.

Marti Barletta

Marti Barletta helps organizations get smart about marketing to women.  She is the author of the groundbreaking book, Marketing to Women and co-author with Tom Peters of Trends.  Her book, PrimeTime Women: How to Win the Hearts, Minds, and Business of Boomer Big Spenders (released in January 2007), breaks the story on the extraordinary, unprecedented opportunity represented by PrimeTime Women™ (women 50-70) and details why companies that don’t get it will get left in the dust.  This is one consumer solution you could literally call “the silver bullet.” 

Marti founded her consulting think tank, The TrendSight Group (www.TrendSight.com), to help companies grow their business and pull ahead of the competition by boosting their marketing, sales, recruiting and retention effectiveness with women.  The recognized international authority on marketing to women, Marti’s dynamic style and passion for her topic make her a popular speaker at corporations and conferences. Combining gender expertise, marketing experience and a lively sense of humor, she delivers eye-opening insights and practical “how to” pointers that audiences find enlightening, entertaining and easy to apply. 

Matthew Egol is a Partner in Booz & Company’s global Consumer & Media team, based in New York. Matt has extensive experience working across media sectors such as television, online, magazines, B2B publishing, radio, and in-store media to drive strategically driven change, develop content strategies, and enhance sales and marketing effectiveness. Matt also works with leading packaged goods companies and retailers to build new capabilities related to consumer insights, shopper marketing, and digital media strategies. Matt has published extensively in publications such as Advertising Age, Strategy + Business, and CMO magazine. He recently co-authored the article “Major Media in the Shopping Aisle” on how in-store media can play a vital role in CPG manufacturers’ and retailers’ efforts to drive greater innovation in their marketing models, enabling opportunities for greater targeting, interactivity and integration with other in-store marketing programs.

Matt holds a BA in economics from Dartmouth College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. Matt also holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, where he graduated Beta Gamma Sigma and received the Abe Shuchman Memorial Award in Marketing.  

Mary Lou Quinlan is the founder/CEO of Just Ask a Woman, strategic marketing consultancy to over 90 blue chip brands since 1999. Her 30 year career spans roles as ad director for Avon, CEO of a major NY advertising agency, as well as CBS Early Show correspondent, MORE magazine columnist and keynote speaker. She’s the author of Just Ask a Woman, Cracking the Code of What Women Want and How They Buy and What She’s Not Telling You: Why Women Hide the Whole Truth and What Marketers Can Do About It.

As Practice Lead, Tim Rumpler is responsible for imc²’s ever-growing and dynamic consumer marketing practice. As an early adopter and leader in the digital revolution, he maintains a broad and deep network of marketers across the brand marketing and advertising industries. 

Working closely with imc²’s delivery teams across imc²’s client engagements, Tim strives to deliver strategic and relevant marketing recommendations to a host brands. He is satisfied with nothing less than the continual client delight! Tim utilizes his expertise in establishing integrated marketing campaigns that transcend the digital space to drive and deliver bottom-line results to brand teams.

Throughout his career at imc², Tim has established and fostered deep relationships with brand teams at Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Pizza Hut, Procter & Gamble, Kellogg’s, Sara Lee, ConAgra, MARS, GlaxSmithKline, and Dean Foods among many others.

Aliza Freud, a recognized expert on marketing and women’s insights, is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SheSpeaks, Inc. SheSpeaks is a marketing and social media platform that creates and operates consumer influencer communities for insights and brand advocacy, with more than 125,000 members across the U.S. that have an immediate reach exceeding 12 million consumers. 

Following more than a decade in corporate, global brand management, Aliza is acutely aware that in this era of increasing consumer control over media, marketers need to be smarter about winning consumers’ attention and about integrating rapidly-evolving social networking tactics into the marketing mix.  She was inspired to create SheSpeaks in 2007, based on the principle that women would thrive in a dedicated online community where they could gather, connect with others and see the power of their voices in action.  Since then, SheSpeaks has worked with leading brands, including Garnier, Heinz, Food Network, Philips, AOL and more, to launch, evaluate and generate buzz about their products and services among target audiences.

Prior to founding SheSpeaks, Aliza was an executive at American Express Company’s Global Advertising and Brand Management group, leading worldwide brand enhancement initiatives and dedicated programs.  In her 10 years at American Express, Aliza led product management, new product development and co-brand partnership initiatives.  She has earned multiple patents for new financial and membership card services including the first for smart/dual card technology.

Amanda Stevens

Amanda Stevens is the CEO of Splash Consulting Group, a specialist communications consultancy she established thirteen years ago. Splash now has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland and an impressive client list of some of Australia’s leading brands such as Lend Lease, Priceline, Best and Less, Celebrity Slim, Allergan, and Proctor and Gamble.

Amanda is the author of two books, SheMarketing and SheSelling, and is widely recognized as Australia’s leading authority on marketing to women. Amanda has spoken at over 200 conferences internationally and is voted the best speaker of the conference over 80% of the time.

In 2000, Amanda was named Young Business Woman of the Year by Sydney Business Review and in December 2002 won the Young Australian of the Year Award for Career Achievement in New South Wales. In 2003, she was awarded the prestigious centenary medal by the Governor General for business innovation, and in 2008 was selected as part of the exclusive Australian speaker lineup for Donald Trump’s tour of Australia.

As The Crusader, Jeff Weiss motivates and inspires others to rally around a vision or belief. With over 20 years of marketing experience on both the client and agency sides of the business, Jeff has a solid understanding of what it takes to be successful in marketing to women. His stints at Pepsi, Gillette, Dannon and Sprint Canada helped to hone his marketing and business skills, while working on accounts including Kraft, Whirlpool and the Dairy Farmers of Canada ensures that the agency develops and executes brand-building programs that resonate with women. 

As The Pragmatist, Deborah Adams delivers the goods with inspired yet practical problem solving. Close to 20 years of experience at Harbinger creating strategy, providing counsel and developing brand-building programs specifically for female-centric products has provided her with a rich understanding of how to effectively infiltrate the ever-changing female culture. Working for clients such as Kraft, Braun and Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty has inspired her to develop programs that not only resonate with women today but leverage the power of creating female brand ambassadors for tomorrow.

With equal enthusiasm for design and strategy, Renita Van Dusen is determined to help clients realize marketing to women is more than a mere niche. As the founder and CEO of Affina, she’s passionate about building brands and helping clients communicate in a visual language that speaks to women – and evokes an emotional response.

A nationally award-winning designer with more than 15 years of experience, Renita has a special interest in empowering women entrepreneurs. Her varied experience includes Marshall Field’s, Mall of America, Wells Fargo, 3M, Imation, New Moon Girl Media, and Royal Caribbean, and she has been featured in the Entrepreneur section of The St. Paul Pioneer Press and in Minnesota Business Magazine.

Renita earned a BFA in graphic design from Iowa State University’s College of Design. She currently lives in Minneapolis, where she balances the roles of business owner, wife, new mom, and active community volunteer – a perspective she embraces to convey the incredible richness and diversity of today’s women to clients.

Jennifer Cawley brings expertise in strategic planning; brand development, cause branding, marketing and program development; national and local media relations; program execution; brand and product launches; research; celebrity spokespeople procurement and management; event planning; and providing in-depth industry and competitive analysis.  She specializes in targeting women and moms.

Jennifer helped develop the Barkley Cause Practice Team and her key areas of expertise include extensive cause marketing experience that ranges from development to implementation, as well as in-depth knowledge of consumer-based public relations with special emphasis with the fashion industry and fashion media. Her experience includes: developing and managing national campaigns, providing media training, securing national television, radio, newspaper, magazine and on-line coverage and appearances, and coordinating events nationally and locally. She is also experienced in writing and coordinating media guides for various audiences. 

Jennifer has managed teams that have received national recognition including the PRSA Silver Anvil Award of Excellence, PRWeek Cause Marketing Awards, The Holmes Report Sabre Awards and the Cause Marketing Forum Halo Awards.

Tracy Chapman

Tracy Chapman knows how to get women to open up. Part explorer, part strategist and part mentor, her abilities to uncover women’s motivations and apply that to business solutions has made her a national expert and sought after consultant on marketing with women. She is Director of Brand Insights at Just Ask a Woman and co-author of the agency’s new book, What She’s Not Telling You: Why Women Hide the Whole Truth and What Marketers Can Do About It.

For almost 15 years, Tracy has been a pioneer of innovative techniques for mining consumer insights and has helped clients such as Kellogg’s, IKEA, Pfizer and Ethicon, discover the Whole Truths that lead to marketing wins. She has appeared on The Today Show and Businessweek and regularly contributes to her company’s blogs.

Janet Ryan is responsible for building the Shutterfly Sponsorship Program, an initiative that enhances the customer experience by combining value-added content and special offers from Shutterfly partners with existing website experiences.

Janet brings more than 20 years experience in media, marketing, sales and general management in online, print and television media businesses. Prior to joining Shutterfly, Janet ran an industry-leading media consultancy, focused on making online media properties more customer-centric and profitable by integrating digital and traditional media businesses. Her clients included MSN, Alta Vista, and CNET, as well as hundreds of special interest dotcoms and print publishers.

Prior to consulting, Janet was vice president of sales at BigBook.com, the first online yellow page business (now part of Verizon). Janet also spent over a decade at Ziff Davis, where she held roles ranging from founding Executive Director of ZD TV, Publisher of MacUser Magazine, Associate Publisher of PC Computing Magazine and Advertising Director of PC Magazine.

As CEO & CVO, Jonni Hegenderfer stays up nights envisioning new paths for effective client communications – paths that have led to the agency’s LIF™style PR and Social LIF™ strategies. By day, she counsels clients on brand-building initiatives, issues management challenges and break-through strategic executions.

Active in the business and PR community, Jonni has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Girl Scouts, the Chicago International Film Festival, the Assistance League of Chicagoland West, the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the Maywood Fine Arts Association. A long-standing entry in numerous editions of  “Who’s Who,” she has been recognized as an Influential Woman in Business by the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Women in Business.

Bridget Brennan

Bridget Brennan is a pioneer in developing business strategies that appeal to women, the world's most powerful consumers. She is the CEO of business strategy firm Female Factor, and author of the acclaimed book Why She Buys: The New Strategy for Reaching the World's Most Powerful Consumers (Crown Business, July 2009). Her book was called “essential reading” by The Wall Street Journal and “required reading for anyone burdened with a Y chromosome” by Fortune Small Business. It was named a "Top 10 Marketing Book of 2009" by MediaTrust. A recipient of numerous industry awards, Bridget was named U.S. Public Relations Agency Practitioner of the Year by PR NEWS for her work in applying gender psychology to communications.

Bridget has served as an instructor at Northwestern University's Graduate Program in Marketing Communications in the Medill School, and has guest lectured at the Kellogg School of Management, the top-ranked business school in the U.S., and at industry conferences worldwide. She is a member of the Forbes Executive Women's Advisory Board.

She developed her expertise as an agency executive, creating programs for major clients such as Whirlpool Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Pizza Hut, Colgate-Palmolive, United Airlines and AT&T, among others. Previous to founding Female Factor, Bridget ran the consumer marketing practice of Edelman’s Zeno Group, and founded that agency’s Speaking Female division. Bridget is a founder of the Marketing to Moms Coalition, a member of the Network of Executive Women and the National Speakers Association. A graduate of Texas A&M University, she is based in Chicago.

As a Client Partner at imc², Kristi Maynor works with imc2's women-focused consumer goods clients as the senior account leader and business strategist. She partners closely with them to drive business results through innovative digital programs. Kristi has worked with clients such as Procter & Gamble on top-tier beauty brands, including Secret, Olay, and Max Factor. She currently leads our business team for Diet Coke as well.

Kristi thoroughly enjoys developing digital platforms built on a well defined brand purpose and embraces the ever-changing social space as a compelling way to engage brands and people.

Prior to imc2, she developed strategic marketing experience and technology solution development at multi-billion dollar companies such as Mary Kay and JCPenney. Kristi was most recently responsible for the U.S. interactive presence at Mary Kay where she collaborated with creative and brand marketing to develop and execute strategies for overcoming online shopping barriers, launching large-scale product and brand promotions, and improving the customer relationship.

Kristi holds an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin and a BS in Information Systems and Mathematics minor from Northwestern State University.

Michele DeKinder-Smith is a seasoned researcher having specialized in marketing, consumer and business research for over 20 years. She has interviewed thousands of business owners and is an entrepreneur herself, who’s taken her business over the million-dollar mark! She understands the needs of large corporations, government agencies and the female entrepreneur. Through her research, publications, consulting and training Michele helps each of these audiences achieve their goals.

Garry is the Director of Marketing Research for Midas International in Itasca, IL, the world's largest provider of automotive services. He began his career about 15 years ago in the financial services industry where he provided expertise in database marketing and model building for such companies as USAA in San Antonio, Texas, and Allstate Insurance in Chicago. Prior to his current position at Midas International, he was a Senior Research Analyst at Harris Bank in Chicago where he oversaw the development and implementation of a variety of customer focused initiatives ranging from segmentation algorithms to profitability models to customer retention programs. At Midas, Garry’s responsibilities include advertising development and strategy, brand health measurement and customer satisfaction. He received his undergraduate degree in marketing from the University of Missouri-Columbia and later his master's degree in marketing research from DePaul University. Garry is married with 2 children and in his very infrequent free time enjoys playing the piano and composing his own music.

Miriam Muléy maintains a vibrant entrepreneurial business as marketing consultant, diversity expert, and business writer/speaker.  She is CEO  of The 85% Niche, a strategic marketing consultancy firm dedicated to helping companies increase market share among women and women of color—a group that controls 85% or more of all purchase decisions.  Miriam’s goal is to dispel the perception that women are a niche, monolithic audience.  Her recently published book, The 85% Niche:  The Power of Women of All Colors—Latina, Black, and Asian provides a monumental body of work on the power of women. 

Miriam, Puerto Rican by ancestry, holds a M.B.A. in Marketing from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in Psychology from Marymount Manhattan College. She has 25 years of executive marketing and sales experience in Fortune 100 companies, such as General Motors Corporation where she was responsible for the Women’s market, Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, GLBT and Youth markets; she was a General Manager at Avon Products, Inc. and EVP of Marketing for Carson, a division of L’Oreál.   

Heidi Dangelmaier is a trailblazing inventor of mass-market products/brands/technology that answer, “What does she want that no one is making?” Her inventions are proven and patented and span industries as diverse as digital gaming, fashion and beverages to tampons.

Heidi’s vision kick-started while pursuing a PhD, in Princeton’s computer and robotic engineering department. She watched chips being created to make video games she would never play. Inspired by her own vision of fun, she led Sega’s first initiative to create video games for females.

Heidi took female inventions online in 1995 pioneering social media tools for CBS, Metlife, Z100, AOL, Samsung, AT&T, Coca Cola, American Express and TiVo.

By 2005, Heidi realized the economic opportunities of female-driven innovation remained untapped in every industry. So she designed an invention methodology called GIRLAPPROVED.

Susan currently spearheads the creative efforts at the vox collective shaping a department that brings innovative thinking and new ideas to an ever-changing media landscape. She also oversees the development and execution of the vox’s creative initiatives, developing powerful campaigns and branding strategies in English and Spanish for clients seeking to win the hearts and minds of a diverse audience living in the US.

Under her leadership, the vox has developed successful integrated multicultural campaigns for clients such as Verizon Wireless, Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Martell, Chivas, Hennessy, MTV, Coca-Cola, UNICEF, and The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Her vision guided the brand development for the Daisy Fuentes® line of clothes currently found in Kohl’s department stores. She is currently developing the launch of a socially conscious collegiate-ware brand for Barnes and Noble.

Susan has also played a key role in supporting and developing creative campaigns that bring attention to causes and issues and affect social change. In 2004, she partnered up with Rosario Dawson to develop the brand and the campaign Voto Latino®, a non-profit initiative motivating Latino youth to register to vote. The project registered 90,000 young Latinos to vote through an aggressive TV, guerilla and viral campaign. She also partnered with Wyclef Jean to develop Yele Haiti, a brand supported by a foundation that empowed Haitians to take ownership and pride in their country. Her team is also responsible for memorable campaigns for multiple Arts festivals, including Celebrate mexicoNOW & the New York International Latino Film Festival. She has worked with many celebrities including John Leguizamo, Cameron Diaz, Santana, Mariah Carey & Donald Trump to name a few.

A passionate speaker and writer, Susan has been quoted in numerous periodicals national and international including Crains, Vanidades, NEO, Hispanic Business, El Universal, Marketing y Medios, AM NY etc. She has also spoken in conferences around the country about the role of culture in creating relevant campaigns. She has also served as a judge for multiple awards including the Addys.

Beatriz Aguirre-Gutai brings her motto to life, as she facilitates in transforming the lives of Hispanics everywhere. Originally from Mexico City, she immigrated to the United States, with her parents and her siblings, in search of the American Dream.  Beatriz holds a Bachelor´s Degree in Business Management from Redlands University.

With over 20 years of experience in Hispanic sales and marketing, she founded Hispanic Market Strategy Group, whose mission is to work as a trusted extension to companies who are at various stages of development and are interested in harnessing the power of the U.S. Hispanic market.  HMSG works closely with clients to define business development strategies and create fully integrated concrete plans in sales, marketing, training and communications, to support business objectives.  “Our cornerstone is our experience and knowledge of the U.S. Hispanic Market,” says Beatriz.

Since 2004, Beatriz has been a senior company officer, member of the management board and Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Strategic Panning and Business Development for JAFRA Worldwide Holdings Lux Sarl. She partnered with senior management to define integrated worldwide company strategic direction and served as interim President of European operations, consisting of five countries. She restructured the organization by consolidating Germany, Austria and the Netherlands´ operations and commercial functions into one business model, eliminating loses in Austria and Netherlands and reduced expenses in Germany.

After returning to the USA, Beatriz restructured and led a multi-national marketing team. She directed the development of JAFRA’s new worldwide Brand and directed the redesign of the entire product line, consisting of over 1200 SKU´s.

From September 1999, she served as General Manager and President of the Hispanic Division of United States Operations of JAFRA Worldwide Holdings Lux Sarl. She transformed an under performing operation into a customer focused, motivated, high-performance organization and moved from the third performing business to the second fastest growing business in the portfolio. Beatriz developed and implemented business strategies with a clear vision, key business objectives and a strong tactical plan.   Previously, she served as Vice President of Sales for the Hispanic Division and in various sales and management positions.

Beatriz is a well-rounded professional with expertise within Hispanic markets and direct selling and strong experience in the areas of sales leadership, training and communications, marketing, product and business development, and strategic planning.  An accomplished motivational speaker, she has been a keynote speaker at major conferences in the United States, Europe and Latin America.

Marilyn is Principal Owner of Ethnic Marketing Solutions, a Hartford, CT-based consulting agency offering strategic marketing communications, branding, training, community outreach and event marketing services. Her twenty-five years of sales and marketing experience in the corporate arena includes management positions with the airline, pharmaceutical, financial and health insurance industries. She is on the national public speaker circuit as a motivational and subject matter expert on topics such as; targeting multicultural markets, reaching the Latino market, diversity, leadership, personal branding and community outreach and is known for her charismatic, candid and relaxed communication style.

Marilyn currently sits on the executive board of directors for the Connecticut Health Foundation, board member on the World Affairs Council of Connecticut, advisory council for the Urban League of Greater Hartford, Chair of Communications for the CT Multicultural Health Partnership and advisory member of United Way of Central and Northeastern CT. Marketing committee. She is a member of a number of affinity groups and is active on several committees across the state.

Jess Walton is Director of the Memorex line of consumer electronics and accessories at Imation Corp., focused on building a portfolio of consumer electronics for mom and her family. In her role she leads global brand strategy, drives insights-driven product development and directs all brand marketing efforts for the global Memorex consumer retail business.

Jess is passionate about finding ways to help mom and her family interact in meaningful ways with electronics and is forging new ground revitalizing the legendary Memorex brand. She brings more than fifteen years experience working with agencies, corporations and major retailers creating marketing strategies that use consumer insights to shape product development, communications, and sales strategy.

As Senior Director, Public Relations and Social Media for ConAgra Foods, Stephanie Moritz is responsible for leading public relations, social media, word-of-mouth, influencer outreach and PR measurement for ConAgra’s Consumer Foods brands and strategic platforms.

Stephanie is a passionate advocate for WOM and social media within ConAgra Foods and has helped to shape ConAgra’s enterprise-wide social media strategy as well as how ConAgra's iconic brands better connect with influencers, consumers and customers. Examples include leveraging earned new media and word-of-mouth for iconic brands such as Healthy Choice, Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn, and Hebrew National.

Prior to joining ConAgra Foods, Stephanie was the Director, Public Relations for The Hershey Company in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where she was the corporate spokesperson and led corporate media relations, product publicity and issues management for the corporation and brands such as Hershey, Reese’s, York, and Ice Breaker’s.

Prior to joining The Hershey Company, she held communication positions with Jim Beam Brands Co., Porter Novelli Convergence Group, the Illinois House of Representatives and Walt Disney Attractions, Inc.   

Leslie Dance joined Kodak in 2008 as Director and Vice President of Brand Marketing and Communications.  In this role, she is focused on building Kodak’s global brand awareness as well as directing marketing communications efforts for Kodak’s range of consumer and commercial businesses.  She coordinates the efforts of an internal team, as well as a global network of agencies that support Kodak’s initiatives.

Leslie’s experience in marketing and communications spans a range of industries – from theater to luxury resorts, to fashion to technology. 

As SVP and ten-year agency veteran, Laura Dihel oversees new business development for JSH&A as well as strategic public relations programming for a number of high-profile clients including The Hershey Company, Beam Global Spirits & Wine and redbox.  Reese’s® Elvis®“Live Like The King” promotion launch, Hershey’s York® Tour de Pink cause-related marketing program, the launch of Cacao Reserve by Hershey’s® and McDonald’s Summer of Fun media bureau are among the award-winning programs Laura has supported. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Laura earned a Bachelor of Science degree in advertising. Married to her high school sweetheart, Laura resides in Bartlett, Ill., where she spends weekends playing at the park, catching up on Dr. Seuss and building block towers with her daughter and son.

Kitty Kolding is the CEO of House Party, Inc., a leading consumer activation and experiential marketing company that engages thousands of qualified consumer advocates to host in-home parties featuring a brand or product, and to spread the word further via a customized online community. Since taking the reins in 2007, Kitty has led House Party to profitability and dramatic growth, tripling the firm’s revenue for the past three consecutive years. Under her leadership, House Party has broadened its word-of-mouth products and services, expanded from the U.S. into 11 other countries, and penetrated several major industries, all while increasing its repeat-business rate among clients – blue chips such as Kraft Foods, Disney, Ford, Microsoft, and P&G – to over 60%.

Kitty has been quoted across major media outlets, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fox News, Fast Company, Variety, Advertising Age, Adweek, Brandweek and Event Marketer Magazine.  She has been a featured speaker at leading industry conferences, such as the WOMMA Summit, Digital Hollywood, and the American Marketing Association events.

Prior to joining House Party, Kitty was founder and CEO of S3, an outsourced services firm specializing in strategic sales and partnerships. Prior to that she held a series of senior executive positions at Jupiter Research (NASDAQ: JUPM, fka JMXI, fka JPTR), helping grow revenues to over $100 million. Her roles included SVP, Global Sales & Client Service; SVP, International Business Development; and VP, Global Strategic Accounts. Her clients at Jupiter were Fortune 500 companies from every major industry in 13 countries.

Prior to joining Jupiter, Kitty served as VP, Business Development at GetSmart, an online financial products comparison-shopping service that was later purchased by Providian. Before that she founded Land Sales Resource (LSR), a commercial real estate research firm, supplying proprietary data and research to commercial real estate lenders, brokers, appraisers and corporate executives.

Edward W. Bullock is the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for L’Oreal USA, reporting to the President and CEO.  He is also a member of L’Oréal USA’s Executive Committee.  In his position, Edward leads the company’s diversity initiatives.

L’Oréal USA has expanded its diversity efforts under the leadership of Edward.  He is responsible for reviewing Human Resources representation, Supplier Diversity, Multicultural Advertising, Philanthropy and all Diversity and Inclusion training programs.  His team compiles a State of Diversity Report analyzing results in five areas and provides recommendations for improvement.  Edward has made major contributions over his 20 years with L'Oréal. The company has won several awards including the Diversity Best Practice Global Award, and The World Diversity Leadership Council’s Corporate Diversity Innovation Award.  The Diversity in Advertising Leadership Award, The President’s Award from the Urban League Guild of Trenton, New Jersey.

Over the years, Edward has worked in employee relations, labor relations, career development, recruitment, and college and community relations while supporting the Corporate Manufacturing, Research & Development, and Finance Divisions of L'Oréal USA.  Before joining L’Oréal, he was Manager of Selection for a major Johnson & Johnson division and before that he worked in higher education for 10 years and was the Director of Career Planning and Placement at the College of New Jersey.  He began his career at Norfolk State University in Virginia, working as the Federal work- study coordinator in the Financial Aid office.

Edward is a frequent presenter on such topics as “Diversity and Inclusion”, “Preparing for the World of Work.” “The Resume, the Interview, and You,” and “Real Life in Corporate America”. 

Edward holds an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Humane Letters from Norfolk State University, a Masters of Education degree from the College of New Jersey and he received his Bachelors degree from Norfolk State University.  He was also the 2007 Commencement speaker for Norfolk State University.

Nadine O. Vogel is Founder and President of Springboard Consulting LLC. Springboard works with national and global firms on how to appropriately support employees who either have a disability or who have a child or other dependent with special needs through diversity, work life and human resource initiatives. Springboard also enables these firms to successfully market their products and services to this community, now the largest minority market in the world! Springboard also produces the Disability Matters Awards Banquet and Conference which honors those firms that are making great strides in the areas of marketing, work-life and diversity as it pertains to the special needs population.

Prior to founding Springboard, Nadine held a variety of senior level positions in both Corporate America and the non-profit sectors.

Nadine is the author of DIVE IN, Springboard into the Profitability, Productivity and Potential of the Special Needs Workforce, a must-read business book. She has also authored numerous articles and is a powerful motivational and inspirational speaker. Recognized for her civic and professional activities, Nadine has received many awards and accolades including:

NJ BIZ Magazine’s 2008 Best 50 Women in Business Award, The Count Me In, 2008 Make Mine a Million $ Business Program Award, The 2007 Howard L. Green Humanitarian Award from the NJ Broadcasters Association, The College of Charleston's 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award, The Voices Award 2003 -individuals who have made a difference in the community, The Golden Gate University's 2002 Alumni Community Service Award, The Fast Company Magazine's 2002 debut list of "Fast 50" innovators -- individuals whose achievements helped change their companies or society, The Working Mother Magazine's Mothers We Love Top 25 List in 2000 and the magazine's 2000 Mothering That Works Award and numerous elections to a variety of editions to Who’s Who.

Nadine has been featured on NBC News, CNNfn, Lifetime Live on the Lifetime Channel, Good Day NY and Oxygen Television's Pure Oxygen program. She is the founder and past president of the board of SNAP, Special Needs Advocate for Parents, a member of the NJN TV Corporate Advisory Committee, a member of the Expert Advisory Committee of United Cerebral Palsy and on the editorial advisory board for WorkLife Matters Magazine. She is a member of the College of Charleston Foundation Board and a member of the College of Charleston Department of Communications Professional Advisory Council.

Alba Contreras Rodriguez has accumulated extensive global operating and management executive experience across different industries in the areas of business, manufacturing, management consulting, information technology, and e-commerce. She’s been recognized as a strategic visionary with a clear sense of purpose and urgency, skilled at establishing operational excellence within culturally diverse environments, translating conceptual models into specific growth strategies. She’s been an entrepreneur and serves as a mentor and coach as well as on the Boards of non-profit organizations.

Alba has occupied very important positions at three of the most worldwide known companies such as Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, and KPMG Peat Marwick which has provided opportunities to work in many different countries around the world. Her experience at Ford started in Venezuela in 1994 and then transferred to the U.S to integrate lean manufacturing initiatives implemented across all Ford & Visteon plants worldwide (vehicle operations, powertrain, and components).

Her current responsibility is Business Manager for Manufacturing assembly plants for car, sport utility, and cross-over vehicles in the United States and Canada. Other executive responsibilities within Ford have included the program management for the successful launch of the Fusion, Milan and MKZ in Mexico; Director of Customer Service at Covisint, the venture by GM, Daimler Chrysler and Renault Nissan; Manager E-Business for Vehicle Operations in North America, etc.

She serves on the board of Madrinas, a Latina Leaders Network and on the Board of The Wellness Community, an organization that provides psychosocial support to cancer patients and their families. She also provides support as a mentor and coach.

Alba is a member of National Association of Female Executives (NAFE); National Society for Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA); Ford Hispanic Network (FHNG); Ford's Women in Manufacturing. In Mexico, she championed & created a women’s group which made her honoree of Ford’s Corporate Diversity & Work life award.  Alba received HEENAC's Engineer recognition. She has been a panelist for many events including Working Mother Media Women of Color Conference, Latina Trailblazer in Web seminars, etc.

Currently the Senior Vice President of Marketing for iVillage, Catherine leads all marketing initiatives, brand strategy, cross-channel partnerships and internal relationships across NBCU.

Catherine has extraordinary experience building brands and creating powerful marketing partnerships. At iVillage, she is focused on evolving the brand positioning as the largest content driven community for women on the Web.

Before joining iVillage, Catherine was Vice President of Integrated Marketing for MTV Networks, where she drove content initiatives that ranged from branded entertainment to short-form programming to product placement. Her work took shape through programs that come to life on all platforms – on-air, online, in store and direct to DVD – with a special emphasis on creative development around the commercial experience.  Marquis clients included Nike, PlayStation, Target, EA, Nintendo, Sprint, Pepsi and the launch initiative for Xbox 360 which won silver in the ‘06 Reggies. 

Prior to MTV, Catherine served as the Vice President of Marketing Partnerships & Programming for Rock the Vote where she developed RTV’s media partnerships with MTV, The WB, CNN, CBS Daytime, BET, Teen People, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone and AOL.  These partnerships launched original on-air, in-print and online content programs driving awareness and voter registration.

From 2002-2004, Catherine was an Executive Director in Program Development & Ideation with Time Warner Global Marketing Solutions.  She successfully developed breakthrough ideas that attracted media investment and corporate commitment through creative programming and cross-platform initiatives.

Catherine has a divers background in multiple aspects of media. She served as a Staff Assistant in the Clinton White House which led to her position as the Technical Assistant on Rob Reiner’s film The American President.  Working with former Administration colleagues, she was a co-founder of QRS New Media, a communications consulting firm in Washington, DC, which produced the first-ever live satellite uplink from a moving train on the Clinton/Gore 21st Century Express. Just after business school, Catherine jumped into news production as a Research Production Associate for Tom Brokaw at NBC News. 

Tom Yorton has particular expertise at the intersection of marketing, communications, change management, and corporate training. His role at The Second City has been to evolve and grow the corporate division of The Second City into the largest and most diverse corporate comedy and improvisational training entity in the world, serving a broad range of Fortune 500 clients and nonprofit organizations.

Tom's background includes positions as a senior marketing executive at 3COM corporation and Sears, and as a Vice President in the advertising firms Hal Riney & Partners and Ogilvy & Mather. He has experience in numerous industries, including high tech, internet, retail, automotive, airline, fitness, restaurant, lodging, financial services and healthcare categories. Tom writes and speaks widely on his undying belief in the power of improvisation and humor to improve individual performance and to transform organizations.

Erin Tait joined OLSON in 2009 as a director and brand anthropologist in the agency’s strategy group. She oversees all strategic work for Imation, and its Memorex, TDK Life On Record and XtremeMac brands.

Erin was previously a group planning director at Fallon, where she worked on PBS, BMW, Dyson and Nikon.

Todd Hansen has more than two decades of experience in building brands and enhancing and protecting corporate reputations.  During his career, Todd has provided counsel to a number of companies, including Sara Lee, Hanesbrands, Furniture Brands, Dunkin’ Brands, PepsiCo, Gatorade, McDonald’s, SBC Communications, Office Depot and Deere & Company, among others.

Throughout his career, Todd has been a strong advocate of integrating online communications into public relations programs and has developed social media programs to build brand equity, manage issues and educate target audiences in a number of industries.

Todd specializes in ensuring that a company's public message is consistent to all involved stakeholders. His belief is that individuals in our brand-savvy community actively measure "corporate brand equity" and expect to have a consistent experience with an organization as a customer, business partner, employee or interested party and that all communications must reflect its core values and approach to market. He has designed and executed multiple campaigns that successfully approach multiple audiences in a single voice.

He has led multiple communications initiatives to bolster marketing campaigns, execute business strategies and assist with community outreach.  For example, Todd worked with McDonald’s USA when the company rejuvenated the brand through a strategic business initiative and the launch of the Dollar Menu in 2002-2003.  He helped develop and implement a comprehensive communications approach to gain support and momentum for the business strategy and the marketing program, sparking a turnaround that ultimately led to years of monthly sales increases.

A seasoned crisis communications counselor, he has developed and executed communications programs to address public safety and corporate reputation crises, including product recalls, regulatory investigations and facility disasters and has regularly integrated online and social media strategies to communicating to key constituents. 

As director, communications and corporate relations for Whirlpool Corporation, Jill Saletta leads corporate media relations and is accountable for the converging areas of corporate public relations, issues management, social responsibility communications and community relations across traditional and social media. 

Jill leads the communication strategy for the company’s work on the role that smart products will play in the adoption of a smart grid, helping generate savings for consumers while conserving natural resources.  The strategy has successfully leveraged social and traditional media to elevate the company’s thought leadership status in this arena.  She is part of a cross-functional team guiding a corporate approach to social media, including its role in marketing, issues management and service for the Whirlpool corporate brand and its leading Whirlpool, Maytag, Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air brands.

Before joining Whirlpool, she was director, communications and public relations at Kellogg Company, where she led both corporate public relations and brand specific initiatives for leading brands including Special K, Rice Krispies and Frosted Flakes.  She also has worked for Kraft Foods, Inc. and managed her own consultancy. 

As Aetna’s head of Enterprise Medical Product, Christine Riedl has responsibility for leading the company’s new product strategy and managing existing products such as Aetna HealthFund, Aetna Healthy Actions incentive programs, and AetnaOne, Aetna’s suite of integrated products. In this role, Chris also manages Aetna’s Consumer Fund Services offerings which include Health Savings Accounts, Flexible Spending Accounts and Commuter Benefit Accounts. She and her team work closely with Aetna’s field sales force to provide sales support and performance measurement with the goal of retaining existing customers and growing Aetna’s business through product innovation.

A long-time Aetna employee, Chris has held positions of increasing responsibility in product development and management. Most recently, she was a Senior Manager responsible for the strategy and product management for medical products at Aetna, including consumer-directed health plans, online consumer transparency tools and incentive program offerings. Prior to that, Chris was head of product development for Aetna’s Middle Market segment, serving as a major contributor to the strategy, development and implementation of several new products nationally for that segment of Aetna’s business.

Chris graduated summa cum laude from the Loyola University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. She holds a Health Insurance Associate and Managed Healthcare Professional designation and is licensed with the State of Illinois as a Life, Accident & Health Insurance Producer.

Susan Boyle Stoev is the Director of Business-to-Consumer Current Marketing at Eastman Kodak Company.  Eastman Kodak Company provides the imaging products and services which enable consumers to connect in meaningful ways through their photos.

Susan has been with Kodak in various marketing and business research roles for nearly 25 years.  Most recently she served as the Worldwide Corporate Business Research Director.  Previous positions include Worldwide Business Research Director for Digital and Applied Imaging, Worldwide Marketing Manager for Color Paper, and Director of Customer Partnerships and Logistics.  She has vast experience in the area of marketing to women and understanding how companies can provide products and services which are meaningful and beneficial to the busy lives of these chief memory keepers.

Donna Orender, President of the Women’s National Basketball Association since February 2005, oversees all WNBA business and league operations. 

Donna has led significant growth during her tenure, including three consecutive years of increased attendance beginning in 2007; signing an eight-year contract extension with Disney/ABC/ESPN that for the first time included a broadcast rights fee; enhancing marketing partnerships; coordinating a seasonlong celebration of the league’s 10-year anniversary in 2006; and leading the WNBA into new markets, including Atlanta and, most recently, Tulsa.

Prior to joining the league, she spent 17 years with the PGA TOUR, serving most recently as Senior Vice President of Strategic Development in the Office of the Commissioner. Donna was responsible for the development and management of strategic direction across all business lines, including new media, Internet, advertising, and brand management. Prior to this, she ran the tour’s worldwide television and production businesses for nine years.

Donna’s sports career began in television production at ABC Sports and later moved to SportsChannel. She also owned her own production company, Primo Donna Productions.

In college, Donna played basketball, earning Regional All-American honors.  She played three seasons in the Women’s Professional Basketball League and was named to the All-Star team.

In September 2007, Donna was named to BusinessWeek’s Power 100 Sports issue, received the 2007 WISE Woman of the Year Award, and earned the March of Dimes Sports Leadership Award in 2006.  In 2005, she was named to the Sporting News’ annual Power 100 list, as well as Fox Sports.com’s 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports list.  In March 2006, Donna became the first woman honored by the UJA-Federation of New York’s Entertainment, Media and Communications Division for her dedication to the community.  She is also a 2006 inductee into the National Jewish Sport Hall of Fame and Museum.

Donna serves on several boards, including the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, Inc. and The First Tee of Metropolitan New York.  She is also a board member of the V Foundation for Cancer Research, an organization started to honor legendary North Carolina State basketball Head Coach Jim Valvano.  She also co-chairs the board of the UJA Sports for Youth Initiative, and serves on the Executive Committee of Maccabi USA, an organization that works to strengthen pride and bonds in the American Jewish community through sports. 

Christine Cook is Senior Vice President, Digital Advertising Sales for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. In this role, she spearheads the sales effort in support of MSLO’s Internet business segment.

Christine has 15 years of experience in digital advertising sales. She joined MSLO in July 2006 from IAC Partner Marketing, where she served as Vice President, Sales, managing an 82-person team and bearing responsibility for national advertising revenue across such IAC sites as CitySearch, Evite.com, Expedia, Match.com and Ticketmaster.

Previously, Christine served as Director, Consumer Advertising at the Financial Times. Prior to that, she spent five years at The New York Times Digital in various sales executive roles, culminating in her position as Vice President, International and founder of nytimes.com’s first international sales office in London.

A graduate of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Christine lives with her husband in New York City.

Michele Polz, Senior Director, Customer Data Strategy, is responsible for leveraging data to help the company draw new insights and inform new business opportunities/partnerships and alliances.

Prior to joining Sanofi-Aventis, Michele served in multiple roles at LexisNexis, culminating as Senior Director, Client Development Marketing, where she drove a customer-centric approach to increase market share and open the door for new business opportunities and partnerships.

Michele is an active member of Creative Good Councils, where she co-leads the newly formed special interest group on healthcare and the patient experience. She is also dedicates her time to Step Up Womens’ Network non profit organization dedicated to connecting and advancing women and girls.

As Manager, Public Relations and Social Media for ConAgra Foods, Genevieve Mazzeo is responsible for the strategic development and management of public relations, social media, word-of-mouth, and influencer outreach programs on behalf of ConAgra’s Consumer Foods brands and strategic platforms.

Genevieve is a part of the team shaping ConAgra’s enterprise-wide social media strategy, and is an active participant within social media, both personally and on behalf of numerous brands.  As the face behind @Healthy Choice, she directly engages with consumers and influencers on subjects relevant to the growing community, while crafting earned media and influencer strategy.  She also oversees media relations and community development for iconic brands such as Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn, Hunt’s Tomatoes, and Lightlife. 

Prior to joining ConAgra Foods, Genevieve was the Manager of Public Relations at USRobotics in Schaumburg, IL, where she served as corporate spokesperson during the company’s sale to Platinum Equity, managed International media relations and agency teams across nine global regions, and launched the company’s Skype products in the United States.  Her background also includes support of a number of consumer products and brands, including Reebok Core Board, Blue Ice Vodka, Santa Anita Race Track, Ruby’s Diner and many more.