PMA Welcomes New Staff In 2016 To Best Serve Members’, Industry’s Needs
Newark, Del. – Individuals representing various areas of expertise joined Produce Marketing Association (PMA) in 2016, and staff promotions within the association reflect PMA’s internal commitment to growing talent and working most efficiently and effectively on behalf of members’ needs and interests.
“When I decided to join PMA three years ago, one of the many things that attracted me to the association was its culture that balances caring, empathy, and service with performance. It’s one thing to see an organization’s core values on a piece of paper; it’s another to see and experience it daily in the staff's enthusiasm," said PMA President Cathy Burns. "What drives me is watching people grow and accomplish things they don't believe are possible. I am very excited and humbled to lead a talented team that strives each day to connect members across the fresh produce and floral industries and deliver year-round, personalized value. I can't wait to see what the future holds.”
PMA 2016 Promotions:
Dennis Danovich joined PMA in 2015. As PMA’s data analyst manager, he is responsible for providing feedback and guidance to the association on the success of its value offerings, business plans and strategies. This is done by mining and analyzing the organization’s customer data, financial metrics, value usage metrics, member research and relevant industry data. Prior to PMA, he worked at JPMorgan Chase as a senior process engineer and Barclaycard US as a business support and reengineering analyst.
Alina Henry joined PMA’s marketing team in 2013. As PMA’s senior marketing strategy manager, she is responsible for the development of integrated marketing plans around PMA events and PMA membership initiatives. Prior to PMA, she served as a marketing manager for CVS Caremark and a business analyst for Pepper & Rogers Group.
Criztal Hernandez joined PMA’s marketing team in 2013 after graduating from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Agribusiness Marketing & Management and a Minor in Spanish and Economics. As PMA’s marketing strategy manger she is accountable for developing integrated marketing campaign plans, associated strategic positioning and messaging that support PMA and Center for Growing Talent by PMA (CGTbyPMA).
George Szczepanski joined PMA’s business development team in 2010. As PMA’s director of business development, he is responsible for achieving PMA sponsorship and advertising goals and leading the business development team. Prior to joining PMA, he sold fresh imported fruits for Jac. Vandenberg, Inc.
Tracy Wise joined PMA’s marketing team in 2012. As PMA’s vice president of marketing, she is responsible for leading the marketing department in planning and integrating communications across PMA and CGTbyPMA platforms. Prior to PMA, she served in several leadership roles in brand and product marketing, including leading strategic direction as a brand director for AstraZeneca.
PMA 2016 New Hires:
Perry Bacon joined PMA as an education manager where he is responsible for the strategic development and implementation of PMA education and the development of curriculum for PMA and CGTbyPMA programs. Before PMA, he worked for non-profit organizations and corporations where he was responsible for inception and ongoing training, as well as volunteer and educator training.
Jasen Bange serves as PMA’s business development specialist where he supports PMA’s U.S. and global business development efforts with an emphasis on the fulfillment of sponsorship and advertising sales. Prior to PMA, he worked at Sallie Mae as a collections specialist.
Kim Coker joined PMA as the business development manager for the Eastern U.S. and Canada where she works closely with PMA members and produce commodity boards, commissions, associations, retailers and producers. She comes to PMA from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Marketing where she served Florida’s agricultural community for 16 years.
Michelle Hill works directly with PMA’s executive officers, and closely with PMA’s Board of Directors and its officers, as PMA’s assistant to the executive office. Prior to PMA, she served as an executive assistant to the vice president of the office of the customer advocate at Sallie Mae.
Bill Hyman comes to PMA after working 16 years at the International Literacy Association as the purchasing, facilities and contracts manager. As PMA’s facilities services manager he oversees the preventive maintenance of facility equipment and is responsible for the safety and security of staff, PMA event shipments and other operational logistics.
Colleen McDonnell works closely with the director of trade shows and other PMA teams to determine appropriate exhibit spaces for sale and fulfillment as the exposition & sponsorship sales manager. Prior to PMA, she worked four years as an olde world cheese department manager at Wegmans Food Markets where she worked for six years total.
Josh Moorhead serves as PMA’s graphic designer supporting all facets of creative work for PMA and CGTbyPMA. Before PMA, he served as a freelance art director for Sterilox. He has previously worked as an interactive designer in an agency capacity creating display media concepts for some of the world’s top brands including Volkswagen, Disney and Tyson Foods.
Lauren M. Scott joined PMA as its chief marketing officer. She is responsible for global strategic leadership to increase consumer demand for fresh produce and floral products through association and industry marketing initiatives. She has 20 years’ experience in consumer goods marketing, innovation, and brand management and has worked as a marketing executive in beverage companies, including Diageo and PepsiCo.
Newark, Del. –Center for Growing Talent by PMA (CGTbyPMA) announces key staff positions that help the center carry out its mission to attract, develop and retain talent for the global produce and floral industry.
“The Board of Directors of the Center for Growing Talent by PMA approved an “invest to grow” strategy and, with it, a budget to support this growth. To build and staff an organization designed to deliver on this growth strategy, we are excited to bring on these new team members. They will work to accomplish the big plans for helping the global produce and floral industries attract, develop and retain the talent they need to grow their businesses,” said Margi Prueitt, CGTbyPMA executive director and Produce Marketing Association (PMA) senior vice president.
CGTbyPMA 2016 Promotions:
Alicia Calhoun has been with CGTbyPMA for nine years. As vice president-talent portfolio, she is responsible for the strategic direction of all talent programs focusing on program management, external relationships and knowledge management. Prior to this position, she held the role of PMA’s director of industry technology and standards for 16 years.
Megan Nash has been with CGTbyPMA for three years. As program director, she concentrates on the execution and expansion of current CGTbyPMA programs, ensuring they address the industry’s talent needs. Megan began her career in produce in 2008, spending five years as a sales and customer service representative with Country Fresh Mushroom Co., Inc.
CGTbyPMA 2016 New Hires:
Lois Giovacchini serves as CGTbyPMA’s major gifts manager. She is responsible for advancing a portfolio of corporate and individual donors and prospects in support of the educational arm of PMA. Prior to joining CGTbyPMA, she served as director of development for the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) where she was responsible for raising more than $4 million annually.
Quincy Inman joined CGTbyPMA as the contributor relations coordinator where he is responsible for creating, developing and executing a contributor relations program aimed to inform and acknowledge CGTbyPMA donors. Prior to CGTbyPMA, he worked for the National United Cerebral Palsy as a senior director of special events where he assisted with the development and expansion of new events, fundraising campaigns and special projects.
About the Center for Growing Talent by PMA
Center for Growing Talent by PMA (CGTbyPMA) is a charitable organization created by the produce and floral industry to grow the people across our industry. We help attract, develop and retain the talent needed to feed our industry's growth, including educational programming and networking events. We offer a variety of industry-specific solutions across the career continuum, for university students, young professionals and women, emerging leaders, mid-level individuals and senior executives. Created in 2005, CGTbyPMA evolved from the PMA Foundation for Industry Talent to our new name and logo in 2016 to better describe what we do for the industry. For more information, visit GrowingTalentbyPMA.org.
About Produce Marketing Association (PMA)
Produce Marketing Association is the leading trade association representing companies from every segment of the global produce and floral supply chain. PMA helps members grow by providing connections that expand business opportunities and increase sales and consumption. For more information, visit pma.com.
Source: Produce Marketing Association (PMA)
