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President
Suzanne Fanning
Suzanne was an early believer in the power of WOM. By connecting with and empowering consumers (even before all the cool kids were talking about WOM) she was able to unleash the power of worldwide brand evangelism to drive unprecedented results for several global companies. The short list of all the excellent things that WOM helped her do included quadrupling website traffic, tripling POP and online sales, increasing blogosphere chatter by 600%, and significantly increasing net favorability--all within a one-year period. At that point she realized that consumers could market products and brands far better than the most savvy marketers. Her ultimate hobby became finding new ways to help companies embrace the love of their fans, "likes," ambassadors, evangelists (or whatever you want to call them). She even found ways to involve fans in new product development, customer service, ads, and in-store events.
Fast Company, Ad Age, Forbes, and PR Week have all featured the award-winning programs she helped develop. You may have also read about them in marketing books like How Smart Companies Get People Talking, Brains on Fire, the Secrets of Social Media Marketing , Killing Giants, and Groundswell. She has joined the WOMMA team because she is a believer in the incredible power of the brand/consumer connection. The vehicles of communication are changing, but one thing remains the same--if you love your fans, they'll love you back. If you want to know more, just call her…she'd love to connect with you.
Contact:
Suzanne@WOMMA.org
@SuzanneWOMMA |
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Chief Operating Officer
Kristen L. Smith, CAE
Her whole life, Kristen has been the beneficiary of word of mouth. Just about every job she's had came about from someone saying something about Kristen to someone else. So, it was only natural that she was lucky enough to become the executive director of the official trade organization for the word of mouth industry. Kristen comes to WOMMA with 18 years of Association experience. It is my personal goal to make the WOMMA member experience remarkable.
Speaking of word of mouth, Kristen would like to put in a plug for her alma mater (and that of her husband) – Purdue University, where she's a proud member of the John Purdue Alumni Club. Kristen resides in Northwest IN with her family which includes three children.
Contact:
Kristen@WOMMA.org
@KristenWOMMA |
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Senior Director of Strategic Development
Kristin Horstman, CMP
Kristin or K2 as she’s commonly referred to around WOMMA headquarters oversees all the educational programming, events, and strategic partnerships for the organization. Kristin has over 15+ years of management experience working in corporate and non-profit organizations. As part of the senior management team at one of the largest Association Management firms, she oversaw the strategic development, financial management and execution of over 350 meetings, tradeshows, and conferences worldwide.
Kristin achieved her B.S. degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management from Iowa State University in 1995 and obtained her professional certification as a Certified Meeting Professional in 2003 from the Convention Industry Council. When she's not at work you'll find her running, biking, playing volleyball along Chicago's lakefront or updating her blog.
Contact:
KHorstman@womma.org
@Face2FaceMeet
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Director of Marketing and Social Media
Todd Schorle
Todd comes to WOMMA with a successful track record of experience for a diverse lineup of organizations. Todd’s background combines expertise in public relations, marketing, issue advocacy, non-profits and campaign-style initiatives.
Todd spent a number of years in Washington, DC as a public relations specialist for two of the most influential groups in our nation’s capital. Todd handled all relations with the media and executed all internal and external communications programs for the organizations. Most recently he served as senior consultant for a strategic communications firm specializing in online content campaigns.
He is a graduate of DePaul University and holds a BA in Communications. When he is not at work you might find him masquerading as a tennis professional and during his real spare time he likes to fly fish, cook, and spend time with his family. He and his wife Bronwen, reside in Chicago with their daughter.
Contact:
Todd@WOMMA.org
@tschorle
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Marketing and Social Media Coordinator
Jill Lowthian
In addition to a mild social media addiction, Jill brings to WOMMA a background in news writing, editing and public relations. After gigs as a reporter, copy editor and a series of great internships, Jill found WOMMA through a word of mouth recommendation. As the Marcom and Membership Coordinator, Jill coordinates WOMMA’s marketing efforts and assists with member development and retention.
Jill received her Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois in 2009. When she’s not working or baking cookies, Jill enjoys traveling out west to her hometown of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Contact:
Jill@WOMMA.org
@WOMMA
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Social Media Coordinator & Blog Editor
Pat McCarthy
Pat found WOMMA in the best way possible, through word of mouth (thanks to his friend, a former WOMMA employee, who recommended him after netting herself a job in sunny LA). Previously he labored a paralegal, salesman, and a canoe guide. He can tell many tales of traversing the lakes of northern Minnesota, but for now he’ll stick to editing the WOMMA Word.
He was born and raised in Evanston, IL. In 2006 he received a Political Science degree from Iowa State University. In his free time, he likes to write, play volleyball and travel to far flung places. He has Eurailed through Europe and explored Istanbul summer 2009.
Contact:
Pat@WOMMA.org
@WOMMA
Blog: WOMMA.org/word
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Director of Member Relations
Tarah Remington Brown
Tarah brings to WOMMA an undying devotion to member services and education, along with almost 10 years of association experience. Prior to WOMMA, Tarah worked for the American Academy of Family Physicians, and was responsible for the membership recruitment and retention of 22,000 medical students as well as affinity program development. She also was the membership manager for the American Optometric Association where she was responsible for the Paraoptometric Section of membership for the organization. She developed educational programs, worked with an elected Council and several volunteer committees, increased membership benefits and services, and created sponsorship opportunities for the Section and the organization.
Tarah grew up in a small town outside of Kansas City, MO and is the youngest of three children. If she wasn't working at WOMMA, her dream job would be singing on Broadway. For now, she'll just stick to karaoke.
Contact:
Tarah@WOMMA.org
@WOMMATarah |
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Meeting & Event Coordinator
Megan Laatsch
Megan found WOMMA through a word of mouth contact at Kendall College. She studied marketing, public relations, and English at Illinois State University, before transferring to Kendall College to pursue a degree in events and meetings management.
She joined the WOMMA team upon graduation in December 2010. This followed a nine month internship with WOMMA. She has had experience with Laureate Education International, where she planned an educational conference on next and best practices in architecture. She has also had experience in helping to organize several WOMMA events.
Megan is from a western Chicago suburb where she was a dedicated competitive swimmer and was active in the ISBA Mock Trials (we won). In her free time she enjoys reading, baking, and hanging out with the kids at the SOS Children’s Village.
Contact:
Megan@WOMMA.org
@MeganWOMMA
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Membership Coordinator
Adriana Legreid
Like some of her colleagues, Adriana found WOMMA through word of mouth networking. Adriana graduated with a degree in Hospitality and Event and Meeting Management from Kendall College. She brings to WOMMA a background in customer service, sales and event planning through different jobs in the hospitality industry. As the Membership Coordinator, Adriana’s primary goal is to support WOMMA membership growth efforts and assist all current and potential members as well as play a key role with our volunteers.
She was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, and although she misses the good weather, she has made Chicago her new home. Adriana is married to a huge sports fan and you can often find her catching a game during her free time. She also enjoys reading, cooking and traveling.
Contact:
Adriana@WOMMA.org
@adrianawomma
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Before you leave, make sure you see these.
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This 25-page eBook examines the valuable word of mouth marketing trends presented through case studies and Keynotes at WOMMA Summit 2011.
Download eBook
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Best Practicebook: WOs GuideM in the Customer Contact Center
Read the Guidebook
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Webinar Library
Download podcasts, presentation decks, and watch SlideShares of WOMMA Webinars and Brand Council Webinars.
Visit the Library
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WOM 101
Learn the art and science of creating effective marketing programs that get customers talking.
Download PDF
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Ethics Toolkit
The WOMMA Ethics Toolkit defines best practices, baseline rules, and asks 20 questions to help you ethically comply.
Download PDF
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Learn from the brands and agencies that successfully developed and measured WOMM campaigns. Stand on the shoulders of these giants, use their lessons learned, and grow your WOMM knowledge.
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Building A Loyal Community for the Travel Channel
more..
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ABC Studios Advisory Panel: It’s Emmy Time!
more..
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