Executive Committee
| Position | Name |
| President | Dionne Gomez |
| President-Elect | Rebecca Shaffer |
| Past President | Connie Mayse |
| Secretary | Kris Gallagher |
| Director, Finance | Peg Wander |
Board of Directors
| Position | Candidate |
| Director, Awards | Mary Goodrich |
| Director, Chapter Marketing & Public Relations | Stacia Doss |
| Committee Member, Chapter Marketing & Public Relations | Rhonda Carlson |
| Director, Creative Services | Heather (Blondin) Natal, CMP |
| Director, Member Communications | Carolynn Muci |
| Director, Member Services | Julia Dunlop |
| Co-Director, Professional Development & Events | Kyle Kappler |
| Co-Director, Professional Development & Events | Kelly France |
| Committee Member | Arek Gazda |
| Committee Member, Professional Development & Events | Randolph Pitzer |
| Director, Sponsorships | OPEN |
| Director, Volunteers | OPEN |
Bios
President
Dionne Gomez
Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Zeno Group
dionne.gomez@zenogroup.com
Named 2017 PR News’ Rising Star 30 & Under, Dionne brings cross-cultural communication expertise and a strong understanding of change communications and employee engagement to Fortune 500 companies in the public/private sector. At Zeno Group, Dionne supports numerous clients, developing and implementing executive positioning and PR strategies. In her prior role at Gagen MacDonald, Dionne channeled her skills on M&A initiatives for two leading Fortune 500 companies and a global pharmaceutical company, landing clients and the firm numerous awards. In addition to her thought leadership, Dionne serves as a passionate advocate for the importance of mentorship. A regular guest speaker at DePaul University’s Public Relations and Advertising program – her alma mater – she has helped numerous students make valuable business connections with key industry players. Dionne earned her M.A. in Public Relations and Advertising in 2014.
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Past President
Connie J. Mayse, IMBA
Senior Manager, HR Communications & Planning
Health Claim Service Corporation (HCSC)
Connie.mayse@yahoo.com
Connie specializes in strategic internal communication planning and execution. In 20+ years of global and local experience in communications and human resources, Connie has developed her writing, editing, executive coaching, presentation, video production — and coping skills. She has served IABC at the chapter, regional and international levels since first joining in 2001. She holds a BA in communication and a master’s degree in international business administration from Baldwin Wallace University. Connie has led IABC-sponsored sessions on strategic communication planning and using the theory of Appreciative Inquiry as an employee communication tool, and she considers herself a “hobbyist pastry chef.”
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President-Elect
Rebecca Shaffer
Head of Business Development and Operations
Ragan Consulting Group
Rebecca is responsible for the daily operations of Ragan Consulting Group. She serves as a measurement consultant and often project manages client work, ensuring that projects are tracking on schedule and the client’s needs are being met.
Previously, Rebecca was a senior internal communications analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where she conducted the Bank-wide communications audit, managed special projects, Town Halls and leadership meetings, employee award programs and contributed news stories to the Bank’s intranet site.
Before joining the Fed, Rebecca spent seven years as a conference producer at Ragan Communications, creating tailored content for corporate communication professionals. In this role she worked with corporations such as Microsoft, The Walt Disney Co., The Coca-Cola Co., Mayo Clinic, Chesapeake Energy and Southwest Airlines.
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Secretary
Kris Gallagher, ABC
Associate Director, Corporate and Employer Outreach
DePaul University
Kris Gallagher, ABC, is associate director of Corporate and Employer Outreach at DePaul University, where she has worked for 23 years. Her expertise includes writing, editing, marketing communications, social media and communications strategy and she is enjoying becoming more proficient in sales research and reporting. She joined the Chicago IABC chapter in 1984 and served on the board for several years until taking a break to raise her two sons, who are now in college. A winner of five Gold Quills, Kris has served as an evaluator for local, regional and international IABC competitions. She also hosted accreditation exams in Chicago under the prior format.
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Director, Finance
Peg Wander
Communications and Diversity Strategist, University Faculty
peg_wander@yahoo.com
Peg’s 20+ years of experience cover a broad range of communications disciplines from both a tactical and strategic perspective, and in both corporate and not-for-profit settings. Her primary disciplines include employee, member, executive, multicultural and customer communication, media relations, special event planning, volunteer management, community relations and audio-visual production for which she has received numerous awards. Her past experience also includes writing for local newspapers and hosting a public affairs talk show on WNUA and WGCI in Chicago. In addition, she has considerable expertise in business development as well as organizational development/behavior and is a skilled facilitator, meeting designer and leadership coach. Peg also teaches diversity and introductory/ overview courses (including writing, research, teambuilding, presentation skills) for the Chicagoland campus of the University of Phoenix. She holds a B.S. Degree in Communications/Social Science from Northern Illinois University and a M.A. Degree in Whole Systems Design/Organization System Renewal (focus: Change Management/Organizational Development) from Antioch University.
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Director, Awards
Mary Goodrich
Communications Manager
CDK Global
Mary Goodrich, communications manager, CDK Global, brings more than 20 years’ experience leading global organizations in diverse industries, including technology, retail, service, manufacturing and telecom/media. Leading external communications strategies for CDK in the automotive technology market, she has also directed internal and external communications and marketing operations in B2B and B2C markets.
Most recently, Goodrich led internal communications strategies for Sears Holdings Corp. (SHC) where she managed teams and technology platforms for three divisions, including more than 1,000 North American stores and service locations. Prior to joining SHC, Goodrich managed P&L responsibility for four business units in the publishing industry, as well as ecommerce, marketing, media relations and crisis communications for organizations, including Cummins Allison Corp., Quebecor World and non-profit organizations in education and social welfare. Goodrich holds a master’s degree in leadership from Judson University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Northern Illinois University.
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Director, Chapter Marketing & Public Relations
Stacia Doss
Communications Consultant III
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma & Texas
Stacia Doss provides strategic guidance for executive-level leadership as a communications consultant for Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. She is a creative communicator who is passionate about writing, process improvement and digital communications. Stacia’s background includes nearly a decade of communications experience, with previous roles in marketing, digital communications, public relations and corporate communications. In her positions, Stacia has led social media strategy, driven employee communication initiatives and contributed to securing industry award recognition and media coverage from national news outlets, such as Ad Age and the Chicago Tribune. She received her bachelor’s degree in internet journalism from the University of Memphis and holds a Master of Arts degree from DePaul University.
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Director, Creative Services
Heather (Blondin) Natal, CMP
Marketing Manager
GF Machining Solution USA
heathernatal@gmail.com
For over 15 years, Heather has been working at international companies in Marketing and Communications. Her breadth of experience ranges from copywriting and graphic design to strategic brand management, internal communications, and digital media. In her current role, Heather specializes in event planning to ensure that each event is unique in its message and memorable for the attendee. She received her B.A. in Communications from the University of Illinois at Chicago and holds the IABC’s Communication Management Professional (CMP) Certification.
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Director, Membership Communications
Carolynn Muci
Internal Communications Manager
Harper College
Carolynn Muci (MS, Corporate and Organizational Communication) has spent her career crafting content that connects with audiences, starting her career in advertising and making the shift to internal communication because she believes in the tremendous impact engaged employees can have on the success of an organization.
Currently the Internal Communication Manager at Harper College, she counsels leadership on best practices for effective internal communications and develops consistent, coordinated messages to meet the needs of the organization and the faculty and staff.
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Director, Member Services
Julia Dunlop
President and Creative Director
ODA Creative Partners
julia@odacreativepartners.com
Julia is an award-winning designer, creative director, project manager, and brand evangelist. She has more than 25 years in stakeholder and employee communications utilizing both print and digital media. Julia received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois Champaign Urbana. She is a member of AIGA, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and of the Women Presidents’ Organization.
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Co-Director, Professional Development & Events
Kyle Kappler
Sales Enablement Lead
Gagen MacDonald
Kyle Kappler brings a passion for cohesive, creative communications, as well as expertise in project management and business development to every account she touches. At Gagen MacDonald, Kyle created and entered into a sales enablement role, where she manages the process for all proposal and budget development from start to finish as well as managing the firm’s pipeline.
Prior to sales enablement, Kyle was in a role where she provided project management, planning and execution support for the firm as well as several Fortune 500 clients during large scale change and communication initiatives. Her recent work includes supporting the restructuring and headquarters relocation of Alexion Pharmaceuticals as well as a global HR transformation for a fashion parent company. Additionally, Kyle recently managed the delivery of numerous creative elements for a global pharmaceutical company’s three-day meeting of its senior leaders.
Prior to joining Gagen MacDonald, Kyle was the division director at The Creative Group (a division of Robert Half). She also began her career at Target, where her responsibilities included running several departments and overseeing major store product transitions, creating changeover plans from start to finish to improve efficiency, and driving sales.
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Co-Director, Professional Development & Events
Kelly France
Culture & Purpose Communications
Mondelēz International
Kelly France is a passionate and experienced communications and social impact professional who thrives at the intersection of purpose, culture and engagement. She currently serves as a member of the internal communications team at Mondelēz International, a global snacking company with iconic brands such as Oreo, Cadbury, Trident and belVIta. Prior to this, she led social impact employee engagement programs at Mondelēz International and held internal and external communications roles of increasing responsibility at Grainger. She lives in Chicago, loves to volunteer, travel and sing, and is a proud alumna of Northwestern University.
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Committee Member, Professional Development & Events
Randolph Pitzer
President
SE10 LLP
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Committee Member, Chapter Marketing & Public Relations
Rhonda Carlson
Rhonda is a global internal communications guru. She most recently worked for PepsiCo, a consumer package goods company. Her client was the IT organization. She can decode “tech talk,” as well as develop content and executive communications, employee engagement and shape culture and so much more. Just ask her!
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