Eric Schmidt - President

Eric Schmidt is the President of Winfield & Associates Marketing & Advertising, a full service advertising agency located in Raleigh. The agency works with retail, direct response and business to business clients. Prior to starting the agency Eric worked in sales for NBC and R.H. Donnelly Corporation.

Originally from Buffalo, Eric graduated from Skidmore College with a BA in Political Science. A resident of Cary, he is active in the Cary Rotary Club, Raleigh Downtown Lions Club, Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce, and Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

Mark Doggett - President Elect

Mark Doggett is a sales manager with Ascom Wireless Solutions, an international wireless communciations company that specializes in Voice Over Wireless Fidelity (VoWiFi) and Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) that improve a company's profitability, by increasing efficiency and reducing response time. Prior to Ascom, Mark was the Director of Marketing for SPESA, The Sewn Products Equipment and Suppliers of the Americas, where he promoted the interests and images of suppliers to the sewn products industry. He also worked as a marketing strategy and implementation consultant for The Doggett Company, after holding positions in sales, finance, and marketing management with Xerox, Computer Associates, MCI, Ericsson, and Nortel Networks.

Mark graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Honors Business Program at the University of North Carolina, with a degree in Marketing, and earned his MBA at the Kenan-Flagler Business School. Mark lives in Raleigh with his wife, Kathryn and three young daughters.

Melissa McCaslin - Immediate Past President

Melissa McCaslin has over 15 years experience in strategic marketing and communications for various industries including Helathcare, Life Sciences, Consumer/Retail, Non-profit and Government. Before entering the world of freelance consulting, Melissa served as Director of Marketing for Clarkston Consulting, where she built the company's first integrated marketing program. Prior to joining Clarkston, Melissa was with another top IT consultancy, BearingPoint (formerly KPMG Consulting), for over 8 years where she served in various roles on both the consulting and marketing sides of the business. Melissa has also managed marketing and sales programs for other organizations including the National Retail Federation in Washington, DC, and Gifts In Kind America and Nordstrom.

Melissa returned to the Tar Heel state in 2003 to be closer to family-- and to Carolina basketball! She has served in various board positions for both the Metro DC and Triangle Chapters of AMA and also volunteers on the board of Trustees for the Eastern NC Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She holds a BA in English and Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Al Cadwell - Treasurer

Al is an accountant with Stancil & Company, a Triangle-based CPA firm. Stancil helps clients in the areas of auditing, taxation, financial reporting and business consulting. Al serves clients primarily with the auditing and taxation groups and on special projects. Prior to Stancil, he worked with H & R Block as a tax consultant following a career change after 15 years in sales with companies such as Cisco Systems and Norwest Financial. Al also served as a naval officer for six years in U.S. Navy. Al is a graduate of the University of Florida with a dual major BA in Finance and Management and he holds an MBA from San Francisco State University. He has been active with his local church as a Deacon and ministry leader

Shelley Blose - VP of Membership

Shelley Blose has more than 10 years of experience in marketing and sales in the high-tech industry. She relocated to the Triangle area a year ago from New Jersey. She is a Regional Manager with FM:Systems, a software developer in facilities management solutions. Previously, Shelley was based in Clearwater, Florida where she held various channel, program marketing and sales management positions.

Shelley is born and bred an Ohio State Buckeye and spent her childhood in the Midwest. She moved to sunny Florida and graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Marketing and holds an MBA from the University of South Florida. She held various positions for the NJ Chapter of the AMA and volunteered at DARCC, a domestic abuse and rape crisis center in New Jersey and has volunteered for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in the different areas she has lived.

Shelley lives in Wake Forest with her husband and their 2 cats.

Linda Lindgren - VP Programming

Linda Lindgren has over 12 years of traditional marketing experience in B to B, Consumer, and Start-up Business Development. She launched two start-up businesses that required creation and development of strategic marketing communication campaigns. Her corporate background involves working as a manager with AT&T in commercial markets implementing Win-Back and CRM marketing plans. Her expertise includes: Integrated Marketing, Advertising E Marketing, Sales and Marketing Collateral, Sales Support and Training, Promotional Programs, and Trade Show Management combined with a talent for identifying market opportunities and partnerships.

Ms Lindgren received her bachelor’s degree in Education and Organizational Training followed by master’s coursework at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She recently completed a Masters of Science in Organizational Communication at North Carolina State University. Lindgren presently serves on the Triangle AMA Programming Committee, and contributes as an active steering committee member on North Carolina’s Business and Technology Development Program designed to attract start-up Biotechnology Business to North Carolina.

She lives in Cary, North Carolina with her husband Carl and their daughter, Christianna

Neil Lancia - VP Web Services

As Senior Web Strategist for Preation, Neil Lancia uses his unique perspective to develop creative online marketing strategies for clients. An expert at evaluating and developing successful campaigns across a wide variety of media forms, he has also worked as a marketing consultant for the Herald-Sun Newspaper in Durham, NC. Lancia graduated from Boston University’s prestigious College of Communication in 2000. Neil Lancia has served on the Executive Board of Directors for the Chapel Hill Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and is committed to the growth of the Triangle through responsible corporate citizenship and public service.

Betsy Gartner Graham - Director at Large

Betsy has built her career generating sales leads, visibility, and buzz for global software, services, and dot-com companies. She is currently K-12 IT Market Manager at SchoolDude.com, a leading provider of SaaS IT and facilities management solutions for schools.

Originally from Buffalo, Betsy graduated from Princeton University then spent 12 years in Boston, where she was active in the Assoc. of Women in Communications and PRSA. Betsy and her husband moved to Cary in 2002, where they now feel quite at home with all the other relocated yankees.

Betsy has been part of the Triangle AMA Board since the 2002-2003 season, previously serving as VP of Sponsorships, VP of Communications, and VP of Publications.

Karen Albritton - VP Sponsorship

Karen is President of Capstrat, a strategic communications firm providing marketing communications, public relations, public affairs and Interactive communications. In her role, Karen oversees day-to-day operations for the 90-person firm.

A 25-year agency veteran, Karen’s prior experience includes FGI and McKinney & Silver.

Karen earned her B.A. in journalism and political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is actively involved in the community, also serving on the board of directors for Sustainable North Carolina.

Anna Rzewnicki - VP Collegiate Relations

Anna Rzewnicki is director of communications for the North Carolina State University College of Management, overseeing the college’s marketing, communications and media relations activities. The College of Management offers bachelors’ and graduate degrees in accounting, business management, and economics. Its MBA program emphasizes management skills for technology-focused industries.

Prior to moving to Raleigh, Anna was director of media relations for the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, and has worked in university or non-profit communications in four states over the past 20+ years. Originally from Chicago and a graduate of Northern Illinois University’s journalism program, she began her professional career as a news editor for The West Point News, in West Point, Nebraska. She had been an active member of the National Federation of Press Women in Nebraska and Pennsylvania.

Anna enjoys encouraging students who want to pursue studies and careers in communications, and welcomes student interns. She is a member of the College News Association of the Carolinas, and is a member of a research interest group affiliated with AACSB-international, the accrediting body for schools of business. She and her husband Phil live in Raleigh, and have three grown children living in Raleigh; Columbus, Ohio; and Arlington, Va.

Jonathan James - VP Public Relations

Jonathan James is Vice President, Global Marketing & Investor Relations at Syntel, a $1.5B market cap information technology services firm with offices across the U.S. and India.  Jonathan oversees the marketing strategy, branding, marketing communications, analyst relations, and IR for this 11,000-person corporation.

Prior to joining Syntel, Jonathan managed media relations for Ameritech in Michigan.  Before Ameritech, he held management positions at Proquest, Harris Advertising, and Burson-Marsteller, where he managed national consumer marketing campaigns for Procter & Gamble brands (Mr. Clean, Crisco, and Pampers).

Jonathan earned his B.A. in communications from Michigan State University in East Lansing.  In addition to AMA, he is also a founding board member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI)-Triangle Chapter.   Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan,  Jonathan and his family now reside in Chapel Hill.

Brian Gossett - Director at Large

Brian Gossett co-founded ResponsePoint in 1992 to provide a better, more measurable model for lead generation and lead management. For the past 15 years, he has worked to provide clients with better sales lead solutions that improve visibility and contribute to continuous improvement in marketing investment performance. Brian has more than 20 years of experience in sales, data management and contact center operations management. He is past president of the Carolina Direct Marketing Association and currently serves on the board of directors for the Triangle Chapter of the American Marketing Association. Brian holds an MBA from Duke University?s Fuqua School of Business.

Charles Daniels - Director at Large

Charles Daniels, Founder & CEO of Nottingham Resource Group, Inc., has over 20 years experience working with small to Fortune 500 companies in developing business plans, sales and marketing plans for new products and vertical markets. Charles has held the position of Vice President of E-Commerce Sales for Research Triangle Commerce, Inc. and Director of Sales for Management Information Systems Group (a division of the Motor and Equipment Manufacturer’s Association). He has held several marketing and management positions with General Electric Information Services (GEIS) and played a major role in the development of IBM’s Agent Program. In addition, he is a well-known speaker on electronic commerce and internet on-line businesses at various conventions and seminars around the country. He is experienced in working with several small start-up companies moving them into profitability and taking them through the IPO process. He graduated from East Carolina University and attended MBA graduate school at the College of William and Mary. Today Charles spends his effort helping small to medium size companies develop new profit centers to complement their core business via the internet. An example is the development of www.perksandpats.com which helps companies develop” branded customer relationship marketing programs” and “marketing /employee incentive programs” to increase the bottom line.

Lewis Copulsky - Director at Large

Lewis Copulsky is the President of Lewis & Clark Research, a quantitative research firm specializing in mail and online surveys. He has been with the company since co-founding it in 1983, and enjoys the challenges that come from working with a diverse range of clients include magazine publishers, associations, and small to mid-sized businesses.

Lewis holds degrees from Bard College and Rutgers University. In addition to working as a researcher at Response Analysis in Princeton, NJ, Lewis has worked in educational software development, taught at Rutgers University, and has held sales positions with a number of organizations.

Lewis lives in Raleigh. He and his wife have two teenage sons.

Kathleen Schindler - Secretary

Kathleen is Director of Marketing at Constella Group, where over 1,500 staff working in 60 countries create and provide health intelligence to help industry and government clients identify and solve critical problems affecting human health. In addition to supporting the marcom, market research, and BD support needs of the company’s public sector staff, she has also managed several business projects including the integration of two acquired companies in 2006. Prior to joining Constella more than 11 years ago, she supported public health programs at a number of government contracting companies and non-profits in the Washington DC area. She has a BA in Psychology from Indiana University. Originally from Chicago, Kathleen later lived in the Washington DC area for more than 20 years before moving to Chapel Hill nine years ago.