2007 Committee Chairs

Also see 2007 Officers

Michelle Yates	Nez Savala	Val Joyner	Denise Bentele	Kelly Doria

Michelle Yates, APR (Accreditation) – Michelle serves as marketing services manager at The Lawrence Group, one of the largest and fastest growing architectural, interior design and town planning firms in St. Louis. She has 13 years of marketing and communications experience with professional service firms. Michelle earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She received her certificate of accreditation in public relations in October of 2005. Michelle is also a member of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and a member and current secretary of the Society for Marketing Professionals (SMPS). She is a founding board member of The Children’s Museum. 314-231-5700.

Nez Savala (Community Outreach) – Nez Savala began her service with PRSA as a member of the programming committee in January 2006. This year, she’s serving as chair of the community outreach committee. Nez moved to St. Louis from Kansas City in August 2005 to work for the City of Ferguson as the community relations coordinator and is responsible for the public relations and communications needs of the city. She now works for Hazelwood School District as a communications specialist and is responsible for assisting schools with their communications and public relations needs. While in Kansas City, she worked as an admissions representative for a community college. Savala has a bachelor’s degree in humanities from Kansas State University and a master of journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Val Joyner (Diversity) – Val has approximately five years of experience in public relations. As the public relations and media coordinator for Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region (PPSLR), she handles all media relations and advertising. Prior to PPSLR, Val worked for TSG Solutions as a PR consultant for the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board, while concurrently interning with the New Orleans Voodoo Arena Football Team. An active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., National Association of Black Journalist (NABJ) and the Urban League Young Professionals (ULYP), Val received her bachelor’s degree from Xavier University of Louisiana in 2003. She is completing her master’s degree in communication at the University of Missouri, St. Louis (UMSL).

Denise Bentele, APR (Ethics) – Denise has been an active member of the PRSA chapter since 2000, having served in a variety of roles, including president and has served as a national conference delegate. Denise is president and CEO of Common Ground Public Relations, Inc., the firm she founded in 2003. She has extensive experience in crisis communications and issues management, and has earned a PRSA Silver Anvil for crisis communications. She is a graduate of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia. 636-530-1235.

Kelly Doria (Job Bank) – Kelly is the manager of corporate public relations at Scottrade, one of the largest online brokerage firms in the country. Kelly manages Scottrade’s public relations strategy, crisis management and media training. She is also a licensed stockbroker carrying the Series 7 and 24 broker licenses. Prior to joining Scottrade in 2002, Kelly was a reporter at the Springfield News-Leader in Springfield, Mo. A St. Louis native, she was named a 2005 Leader in the Workplace by the YWCA of Metropolitan St. Louis. Kelly has a B.S. in mass media and journalism from Missouri State University.

Jeanne Howard	Maria Bingaman	Christine Winter	Brenda Kimberlin

Jeanne Howard (Job Bank) – Jeanne is director of regional marketing for Commerce Bank. In this position, she manages a team providing local and regional marketing programs and public relations for the corporation. Jeanne also manages Web Marketing for the corporation at commercebank.com. Prior to this position, Jeanne was a consultant on Internet Banking services, the group vice president of Internet Banking Services at Wachovia Corporation in North Carolina, and manager of Online and Telephone Banking services at Boatmen’s Bancshares in St. Louis. Before her career in the banking industry, Jeanne managed Marketing Research for Sunmark (division of Nestle), a candy and snack food manufacturer, and managed Consumer Research for Schnuck Markets, Inc. She is a graduate of Washington University with a master's in business administration (MBA). Jeanne joined PRSA in early 2003. 314-746-3672.

Maria Bingaman (Meetings & Arrangements) – Maria is the communications coordinator for The Lawrence Group, an architectural and interior design firm located in downtown St. Louis. She is responsible for a multitude of activities including managing the advertising efforts of the firm, coordinating corporate sponsorships and managing communications for the company’s upscale furniture store, Niche. Her diverse background includes working with May Merchandising Company (now Federated Department Stores) as a direct mail copywriter; SteadyRain, Inc., an Internet strategy and web design firm, as the marketing assistant; and California Pizza Kitchen as a certified service trainer for the St. Louis region. Maria is active with several communications organizations in St. Louis and graduated with honors from Webster University with a bachelor's of arts degree in public relations. She served as the PRSA Chapter treasurer in 2006.

Christine Winter (Meetings & Arrangements) – Christine is the communications director for the Northern Area of the American Cancer Society, High Plains Division. In this position, she provides leadership, vision, and strategic direction for the High Plains Division Communications program through public relations, media relations, and campaign management activities. She works in collaboration with the local communications directors in a three-state area to support community-based communications activities. Prior to joining the American Cancer Society in June 2000, Christine was director of special events for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She is a graduate of Missouri State University (AKA Southwest Missouri State University) and joined PRSA in 2001.

Brenda Kimberlin (Membership) – Brenda is a part-time public relations specialist for Geile-Leon Marketing Communications in Clayton. In addition to working for Geile-Leon, she provides public relations and writing services for the Lutheran Elementary School Association, writes a monthly column for Sauce Magazine and is a regular contributor to HEC-TV's "Behind the Minds" program. Brenda spent 11 years as a television reporter in Montana, Washington and Ohio before moving to St. Louis in 1998 to work for Fox 2 (KTVI-TV) and, later, KMOV-TV (CBS-4). Brenda left television news in 2003 to become the communications coordinator for the Rockwood School District, where she wrote and edited various publications, managed media relations and produced promotional videos. 314-496-1799.

Caroline Lwali	Liese Hutchison	Carrie Trammell	Mark Weinstein

Caroline Lwali (Membership) – Caroline has been a member of PRSA since 2001. She is a student at Webster University pursuing an MBA. Prior to this she was the marketing assistant at Hautly Cheese Co. She coordinated special events, public communication materials, managed the company Web site and handled media buying for advertising. Caroline has a bachelor's degree in business administration and communication from Drury University in Springfield, Mo. 314-680-7194.

Jeff Waldman (Membership) (See 2007 Officers)

Liese Hutchison, APR (Pro-Am Day) - Liese is an associate professor of communication at Saint Louis University and teaches courses in public relations focusing on ethics, international issues, writing and integrated communication. She has a secondary appointment with the Center for International Studies and has taught at SLU's Madrid campus, at the Maastricht Center for Transatlantic Studies in the Netherlands and at Concordia International University in Tallinn, Estonia, as a Fulbright Scholar. She advises the PR Club and was the recipient of the 2002 Robert A. Johnston, S.J. Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Social Sciences. An active public relations consultant, Liese has more than 15 years of public relations experience. She received her B.A. from Southeast Missouri State University and her master's from SLU. 314-997-3345.

Carrie Trammell (Publicity) – Carrie is a group manager at Weber Shandwick's St. Louis office, supporting corporate reputation, issues management, internal communications and consumer practices. She manages and executes public relations and integrated marketing programs for Medicine Shoppe Pharmacies and MasterCard Worldwide. Carrie has specialized in developing and implementing strategic communications plans and messaging for corporate issues and employee communications. She graduated from Saint Louis University with an honors bachelor's degree in communication. A member of the St. Louis University Marketing Department Professional Development Advisory Board, Carrie joined PRSA in 2003. She worked on consumer and health care accounts at Kupper Parker Communications prior to joining Weber Shandwick in 2003. 314-552-6752.

Mark D. Weinstein (Publicity) – Mark has worked in marketing and public relations in higher education for the past 18 years. During this period, he has held communications positions at Geneva College (Beaver Falls, Penn.), Robert Morris University (Pittsburgh, Penn.), and since July 2005, at Maryville University in St. Louis. Mark earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Geneva College and a bachelor’s degree in communication from Grace College (Winona Lake, Ind.).

Jim Heine	Brian Swift	Michelle Mason	Stephanie Flynn

James Heine (Seasoned Professionals) – Jim has been a member of PRSA and IABC since 1986. He is the owner of the consulting firm Editorial Solutions, which provides writing, editing and publications-management services to a variety of corporate clients. Before establishing Editorial Solutions in 1998, Jim served for 19 years as an editor for Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis. A columnist, feature and business writer for SportsCar and Classic Motorsports magazines, and for the automotive trade newspaper Parts & People, he is also a regular contributor to Goodyear’s Eagle Performance Report and a U.S. correspondent for Great Britain’s Classic Cars magazine. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, with a B.A. in American Studies. 314-752-3867.

Brian Swift (Social) – Brian works in sales for his family's promotional products distributorship-Swift Incentives. He is involved in numerous charitable organizations and youth mentoring programs. Brian graduated from Georgetown University in 1999 with a business administration degree in finance. This is his second year on the PRSA-St. Louis chapter board. 314-383-4370.

Michelle Mason, APR (Student Activities) – A member of PRSA since 2001, Michelle has served as the liaison between SIU Carbondale students and PRSA St. Louis since the program began in 2002 and expanded her activities to include all student relations in 2005. An account manager with Millennium Communications Inc., Mason oversees media relations, public relations and marketing communications for clients in the construction, real estate, financial and non-profit industries. She also oversees Millennium's internship program. Mason joined Millennium in 2000 as a communications specialist following an internship with another St. Louis public relations firm. A St. Louis native, she was graduated summa cum laude, with honors from Baylor University with a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in public relations. Mason is a Certified Agency Account Manager (CAAM).

Stephanie Flynn (Young Professionals) – Stephanie is a director at Cushman/Amberg Communications, a communications agency headquartered in Chicago. Stephanie joined Cushman/Amberg’s St. Louis office in July of 2003. She has helped develop and facilitate communications, public relations, and marketing strategies in industries including banking, manufacturing, real estate, non profit, hospitality, and gaming. Prior to joining Cushman/Amberg, Stephanie spent a year with public relations agency Beyond Concepts, and two and a half years in the newsroom at KSDK-TV, the NBC affiliate of St. Louis. She has a BA in communications from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. A native St. Louisan, Stephanie has been a member of PRSA since 2004.