Marketing Industry Mentoring Board

Hoker is responsible for managing a diverse spectrum of clients including global corporations, industry associations and non-profit organizations. Her areas of expertise focus on internal/external communications, crisis management, corporate brand and reputation, member satisfaction and loyalty, message testing, and advertising effectiveness and tracking. With over 12 years of market research experience, Jennifer has conducted a plethora of research projects consisting of strategic qualitative and quantitative methodologies at the global, national and local community level for client such as GE, ExxonMobil, Shell, ConocoPhillips , Omidyar Network and Samsung. 
  
From 2003 to 2010 Jennifer was a Research Director at Harris Interactive. During her time at Harris, she was involved in many communication initiatives for clients such as: The American Meat Institute, IEEE, MilkPEP, The Nature Conservancy and NCAA Football. Her main focus was leading the research program for the American Petroleum Institute (API) which included research designed to inform campaign strategy, to evaluate communication materials alignment with campaign goals, assess individual issues of interest and to track campaign effectiveness. 

Jennifer attended Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA where she graduated Suma Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing Management in 2002. In her third year she began simultaneously pursuing her Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a Major in Marketing and Psychology. Through this program she learned advanced analytical techniques such as regression and factor analysis, and gained valuable experience in survey design and administration skills. She graduated in July 2003 with honors distinction.

Angela began her market research career over 25 years ago working part time for a full service company doing telephone interviews and analyzing data. She quickly realized her passion for exploring people’s thoughts and feelings and was fascinated with the impact it had on the decisions that company’s make.

From there, she went on to manage the field operations of Metro Research. When the opportunity arose for Angela to acquire Metro Research, she accepted the challenge of fulfilling her dream of business ownership. Angela quickly took Metro Research to the next level expanding its main office in Fairfax, VA and redesigning its second office in Alexandria, resulting in doubling its sales volume in the first year of her ownership. In January of 2012, Shugoll Research acquired Metro Research and asked Angela to join the Shugoll senior leadership team.

Now Angela joins the Jackson Adept team as President, responsible for creating efficiencies, systems, establishing and maintain corporate culture, client development and retention and overseeing Operations. Angela has long been an industry leader in the market research profession. She has been involved with the MRA for the past 15 years as past president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter, and she served on the Board of Directors at the National level in many different capacities. She helped develop the industry’s Recruiting and Qualitative Research handbook, a leading best practices guide for the profession, as well as the Contracts and Agreements guidelines for the industry. More recently, she developed the Virtual Business Guide (VBG) for the MRA’s website allowing small business owners a place to visit when they are in need of Human Resources guidance and assistance.

Outside of the office, Angela dedicates all of her time to her family and two Boxers. Her husband, Wayne, is her strongest supporter and their children, Kaitlyn (18) and Drew (14) keep her focused on what is important in life. She enjoys attending the theater and sporting events, traveling, jewelry, and hanging out with her two Boxers (Kolzig and Bailey). She is an avid supporter of her alma mater, VA Tech, and the Washington Capitals Hockey team.

Matt has 2 awesome dogs.
He has an extensive sneaker collection (mostly Air Jordan & Nike).
He also has a rockstar wife that collects sneakers too.

Now that you know the important stuff, Matt is a 3-time Emmy Award winner and currently serves as SVP & Executive Creative Director at Screenvision Media, where he helped develop and now runs their 40 Foot Solutions creative brand studio.

While still a student at Virginia Tech, Matt began his career working at the legendary George Michael Sports Machine (and is deeply saddened that the older he gets, the more he has to explain that he didn’t work for the guy who sang “Faith”). After graduating he stayed in Blacksburg as the first video producer for hokiesports.com. He then moved to Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta where he spent 11 years working across multiple networks and platforms writing, producing, and directing on-air creative, hosting shows and branded content segments, and perhaps most proudly, being a founding member of the award-winning Creative Services Sports Unit (CSSU).

Before joining Screenvision Media, Matt and his wife relocated to New York City where he initially worked for Maggievision Productions producing content for ESPN, the ESPYs, and NFL Honors, while also contributing to the 30-For-30 documentary “No Place Like Home”.

Also, did he mention he has two awesome dogs?

Berry leads a team responsible for community and event management for digital retail, retail technology, loss prevention and marketing communities. Berry also manages the year-round member experience and engagement strategy for the federation. 

Berry graduated from Virginia Tech in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing, and proceeded to earn her masters in Corporate Communications and Public Relations from Georgetown University in 2011. Her professional experiences boast a wide range of skills and accomplishments, including her previous role as the Marketing Director for Vision Chain. Vision Chain is a Washington D.C. based startup software company, where Berry took charge on all facets of the company’s marketing portfolio at the time. 

After working at Vision Chain, Berry began her career with NRF. She first served as a Director of Content and worked with the federation’s educational strategy and event coordination, then moved into a senior position managing the digital retail community of NRF (Shop.org) before taking on her current role. Through Berry’s expertise in marketing communications, the MIMB hopes to gain not only a new member, but also an additional set of ideas and experience.

Thomas is a Partner at Ernst & Young.

Christina is the President and CEO of both CastMedic Designs, which designs and manufacturers award-winning fashion accessories for medical boots and PR for Anyone®, a resource to help business owners easily and effectively gain media exposure. She is the bestselling author of PR for Anyone™ 100+ Affordable Ways to Easily Create Buzz for Your Business and was named Steve Harvey’s Top Inventor on his syndicated television program.

She is a 1989 graduate of Virginia Tech with a double major in Political Science and German.

Traigh is a partner at Clarkston Consulting. Previous employment includes: Coca-Cola and Pfizer among others. He earned his B.S.E.E. of Electrical Engineering – Communication Systems from Virginia Tech in 1991.

Aaron is the Principal at Modea, a Digital Advertising Agency located in Blacksburg, VA.

Kennedy brings brings deep experience in technology sales, marketing, and government affairs, along with expertise in K12 and Higher Education and education policy to the Board. 

Since 2002, Scott has held roles across Microsoft’s Global Sales & Marketing Organization, leading to his current leadership position. Now responsible for the business development, sales and go to market strategy for Microsoft in the small to mid-size education space across the western United States, Scott leads a sales team focused on enabling client success and digital transformation through industry leading Cloud technologies. Outside of work, Scott embodies the defining spirit of Virginia Tech, Ut Prosim, supporting the Lincoln Park Community Shelter, the Wounded Warrior Project, and the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii. 

As a student at Virginia Tech, Scott gained experience working with the Virginia Tech CAVE at Virtual Prototyping & Simulation Technologies in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. This experience, combined with his Bachelor of Science in Management Science and Information Technology, and concentration in Computer-Based Decision Support Systems, has taken him down a successful career path spanning Fortune 500 companies and start-ups. These experiences are sure to add depth and diversity to the MIMB community, as well as to Pamplin’s supporting community as a whole.

Kihlström is Founder and CEO at Carousel30, an award-winning strategic digital agency which has worked with top brands over the last 13 years, including AARP, Ben & Jerrys, Geico, MTV, Starbucks, The Nature Conservancy, Toyota and United Nations. His experience also spans to the higher education space, including work with Howard University, Purdue University, The Washington Center for Academic Internships, Lead2Feed, and several others. 

Kihlström has held an active relationship Virginia Tech since 2010, specifically within the College of Business. His efforts include guest lecturing, external event sponsorship and hosting an internship at Carousel30. He previously held a role as President of the Board of Directors of the American Advertising Federation’s Washington DC Chapter, and served on the Board of Trustees of the Trust for the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the National Board of Directors of the American Advertising Federation (AAF). 

Between speaking opportunities at industry events around the world - including Internet Week New York, Internet Summit, Social Media Week and Digital Summit DC, among others - and regular editorial contributions to industry publications such as iMedia Connection, Social Media Today and Capitol Communicator, Kihlström has a broad range of experiences to share. His mentorship is sure to provide unique insight to students based on past, current, and future trends in advertising and agency life.

Allison is the Director of Talent Management at Ferguson Enterprises. Current areas of responsibility as the Director of Talent Management: Recruiting (University/College Recruiting and Experienced Placement,) Temporary/Contingent Staffing, Career Development, Leadership Development, Succession Planning, Relocation, Diversity & Inclusion. She started working at Ferguson two weeks after graduating from Virginia Tech.

Julie Talbot is the Marketing Director at Mars Symbioscience, the global health and life sciences segment of Mars, Incorporated. Mars Symbioscience is committed to developing and commercializing products which are supported by evidence-based claims that positively impact the health and well-being of people, pets, and planet. The Symbioscience segment acts as an incubator for future business ideas. At Mars Symbioscience, Talbot oversees marketing, customer service, and graphic design. The segment is currently focused on developing cocoa flavanol products that deliver meaningful health benefits to consumers worldwide.

Before joining Mars Symbioscience in 2013, Talbot spent six years at Burts Bees, the leading Earth Friendly, Natural Personal Care Company, where she oversaw all of Burts Bees natural personal care categories at one point, including men’s, outdoor, hair, body wash, and body lotion. Most recently, she was the Global Marketing Manager for the lip and gift categories, responsible for global product development, category strategy, launch and marketing activation, including for the #1 lip balm in the world.

Prior to Burts Bees, Talbot worked in marketing at Godiva Chocolatier in NYC where she was responsible for leading development, implementation, and launch of Godivas seasonal collections. This included developing fiscal year marketing plans with seasonal strategy and recommendations for promotions, events, in-store merchandising, and sampling, to grow the business.

Talbot is a graduate of Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business with a Marketing Management degree. She received her M.B.A. with a Marketing concentration from Rutgers University.

Williams received a dual degree in Management and Marketing, as well as a degree in Psychology, and  a minor in Leadership, participated in research within the College of Business and served as a Resident Advisor. Since graduation, he has seen an array of experiences beginning with an internship that led to linear, yet dynamic career.

Williams now holds a position as a Brand Manager for Altria Group, but he began working for the Altria Family eight years ago as an intern with Philip Morris USA. Since his initial internship, he has moved through a variety of Brand Management and Sales positions within Altria’s various operating companies.

Since working for Altria, Williams has completed his Masters of Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in Marketing, Strategy and Entrepreneurship. With many more years of success ahead, Williams is sure to offer insight and positive collaboration as a member of the MIMB.

James Wu is a brand and business strategist who helps leaders and their organizations establish a vision for who they are, why they exist, and what makes them unique so that they can take smart risks, evolve, and grow.

As an independent consultant, he has worked with Sesame Street, Oscar Health, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, WITNESS, and PolicyLink. Previously, James was a Senior Strategist at SYPartners where he worked with senior leaders at Coach, IBM, and USA TODAY on a variety of transformation and innovation initiatives.

Prior to SYPartners, James was the Global Head of Branding and Creative Direction at Acumen—a non-profit whose mission is to change the way the world tackles poverty. While at Acumen, James led the global rebranding of Acumen, which has received praise from Richard Branson, Seth Godin, Creative Review, and Design Week.

James has also worked in the development office of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), and served as the Director of Business Development for Modea—a digital advertising agency based in Blacksburg. His work has been the recipient of numerous regional Addy Awards, Awwwards’ “Site of the Day,” and Computer Associates Brand Impact Awards.

In addition to the Pamplin Marketing Advisory Board, James serves on the Alumni Advisory Board for the Virginia Tech University Honors Program where he has taught an Honors Colloquium on branding.