Chapter Leadership
IABC/St. Louis relies completely on its membership to run the chapter. Meet the board of directors for 2006-2007. Better yet, get to know them.
About
IABC/St. Louis Chapter Leadership
For the 2006-2007 term, IABC-St. Louis is governed by a leadership team of five senior communicators: Mike Plotnick, Past President; Dora Smith, Past President; Les Landes, Board Director; Bethanie Rivolta, Board Director; and Cathy Smith, Board Director. These five members work in advisory roles alongside a team IABC Vice Presidents and committee chairs.
President
Jennifer Pruett, Solae
Jennifer Pruett is the internal communications manager for Solae, the
world’s leading soy ingredient company. Jennifer began her involvement
with IABC/St. Louis as a student member and has since served as a member
of the Bronze Quill Awards committee, Bronze Quill Awards Chair, Vice
President of Marketing and Treasurer Elect. Prior to joining Solae,
Jennifer gained experienced in marketing and communications at the Girl
Scout Council of Greater St. Louis and Bond Wolfe Architects Inc. She
earned a bachelor’s degree in communication science from Truman
State University and lives in south St. Louis with her husband Bobby.
President-Elect
Natasha Webster, Solae
Natasha Webster leads global communications for Solae, the world's leading
soy ingredient company. She joined IABC as a student member in 1999
and has served on the board since 2004. She has several years of experience
in strategic communications and public affairs from her work as director
of communications for a public school district, psychological operations
sergeant in the Army Reserves and a public information intern with the
World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Natasha is currently
working on her master’s degree in communications management at
Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Treasurer
Aimee Muldrow,
Fleishman Hillard
Aimee Muldrow is a managing supervisor in Fleishman-Hillard’s
internal communications practice with experience in developing and managing
merger/integration communications, HR and benefits communication, crisis
communication, executive communication, internal branding campaigns,
and general internal communications management. Aimee has provided internal
communications support for several areas within Abbott Laboratories,
including Abbott Vascular, Pharmaceutical Products Group, and Abbott’s
HR function. She has also supported Novartis and AT&T. Aimee serves
as treasurer-elect for IABC/St. Louis. She was a founding member of
the diversity committee of the St. Louis chapter of the Public Relations
Society of America (PRSA). Aimee holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in English
composition and biology from Truman State University in Kirksville,
Mo.
Treasurer
- Elect
Sandi Clement, Lutheran
Hour Ministries
Sandi Clement is the manager of media distribution for United States
Ministries, a division of Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM). She is responsible
for the overall marketing and distribution of all media programs, definition
of target audience, gathering research data, and the creation of long-term
marketing plans. In addition, she is the executive producer of a new
radio talk show, “Life … Revised” which began airing
February 11, 2007. She also writes radio PSAs to be used during LHM’s
radio programming and is responsible for securing national sponsors
for “Life … Revised.” Sandi recently served on the
Bronze Quill Awards committee and lives in South St. Louis near “The
Hill.”
Secretary
Rich Jennings
Rich Jennings is currently with FOCUS St. Louis doing volunteer work
on several initiatives including their prestigious “What’s
Right With the Region” awards presentations and its panel studying
disaster preparedness in the St. Louis region. Prior to joining FOCUS,
Rich was a long-time employee of the May Department Stores where he
wore many hats during his career. Beginning as a writer of Standard
Systems and Procedures, he became associated with the IT department
drafting training manuals and technical documentation. This work morphed
into a series of roles in help desk and IT customer support. A graduate
of Lindenwood University with a master’s degree in communication,
Rich has been a member of IABC since 2005 and has held a seat on the
Board of Directors since July, 2006. Rich and his wife Pam live in St.
Ann.
VP
of Marketing
Dierdra Yates,
Common Ground Public Relations
Dierdra Yates is a Senior Account Executive at Common Ground Public
Relations, where she plans and executes public relations strategies
for her clients. She has a background in journalism and public relations
with experience ranging from writing, to event planning and promotion,
to media relations and grass roots marketing. Dierdra earned a bachelor’s
degree in journalism with an emphasis in magazine writing from the University
of Missouri’s School of Journalism and has obtained her master’s
degree in public relations from Webster University. Dierdra joined IABC
as a student member in 2004 and returns to the board member for a third
consecutive year. She is an alumnus of the 2005 Coro Women in Leadership
program and volunteers for several local organizations and foundations.
VP
of Professional Development
Rhonda Sciarra,
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Rhonda Sciarra is a senior writer in the employee communications department
at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Her background includes working as a reporter
for the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago, as well as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
and the Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale, Ill. Rhonda received her
bachelor's degree in journalism from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
Before Enterprise, Rhonda managed the student newspaper at Webster University,
where she completed a master's degree in media communications and taught
undergraduate communications classes. Rhonda became an IABC member in
2005, and served on the 2005 Bronze Quill Awards Committee. She is active
in Metropolis St. Louis and is a coach with The Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society's Team in Training program.
Professional
Development Chair
Annie Hafner, Rosati-Kain
High School
Annie Hafner started her career in public relations and marketing as
an event planner while pursuing a degree in public relations at Webster
University. She took her communications skills with her to internships
at Y98 FM, the City of St. Peters, Mo., and Standing Partnership. Along
the way, Annie has gained experience in employee communications, business
and feature writing, as well as PR campaigns. She is currently the director
of recruitment for Rosati-Kain High School, an all-female college preparatory
school in the St. Louis Archdiocese, where she handles strategic planning,
marketing, public relations and special events. This is her second year
serving on the Board of Directors for IABC/St. Louis.
VP
of Member Communications
Janet Vigen, Girl Scout
Council of Greater St. Louis
Janet Vigen is marketing and communications manager for the Girl Scout
Council of Greater St. Louis, where her responsibilities include external
and internal communications, media relations, publications, event planning
and Web site management. Her previous professional experience includes
managing corporate communications and marketing efforts for the May
Department Stores Company and Federated Department Stores. Janet earned
a Bachelor of Arts with honors in communication (journalism and writing)
from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. She is a Master of Liberal
Arts degree candidate at Washington University in St. Louis. Janet also
serves on the board of the Community Service Public Relations Council
(CSPRC). She is a national officer for Zeta Tau Alpha and a volunteer
for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, KDHX 88.1 FM and Cinema St. Louis.
She resides in University City.
Member
Communications Chair
Greg
Aranda, Graybar Electric
Greg Aranda is a communications specialist for Graybar Electric where
he writes, edits, designs and illustrates for its quarterly magazine
and bi-monthly newsletter. In his current position he also maintains
and supports the company intranet, and assists with change management
and communication projects. Greg graduated with a bachelor's degree
in Public Relations from Missouri State University in 2006.
Webmaster
Sarah Hedrick, Network
Solutions
Sarah Hedrick is a Premium Web Designer for Network Solutions,
a company that offers e-commerce sites, domains, do it for me sites
and much more. She also is the owner of a small graphic design business,
Studio Moxy. Sarah holds the position of Perception Chair for the non-profit
organization Metropolis St. Louis. Metropolis is an organization that
is committed to bringing young people back to the city of St. Louis.
This is her first year serving as Webmaster for IABC St. Louis.
Director
Les Landes, Landes
& Associates
Les Landes is president of Landes & Associates, a consulting firm
that provides services in the areas of planning, marketing and public
relations, organizational communications, performance improvement systems,
executive coaching, and meeting facilitation. The firm serves clients
in various industries, as well as government and non-profit organizations.
Landes has served in several leadership positions in the communications
profession, including 1984 President of the Association for Multi-Image
International (St. Louis Chapter); 1986 President of the Corporate Volunteer
Council (St. Louis Chapter); 1995 President of the Public Relations
Society of America (St. Louis Chapter); 2006 Board Director for the
International Association of Business Communicators. He is also a long-standing
member of the Professional Advisory Board for the University of Iowa
School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Director
Bethanie Rivolta,
Armstrong Teasdale, LLP
Director
Dora Smith, Siemens
UGS PLM Software
Dora Smith is director of public relations for UGS PLM Software, a division
of Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D) and a leading global provider
of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services. In her
current role, she manages media outreach and technical product releases.
Dora has spent her career in the engineering and manufacturing industry
with roles in management, sales, finance, marketing and communications.
She began her involvement with IABC as a student member and has served
on the board in various leadership positions. She has received Bronze
Quill awards for writing and magazine production. Dora has a bachelor’s
of journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master’s
of business administration from Washington University.
