Chapter Leaders (2025-2026)

IABC/Chicago’s Board of Directors are professional communicators from diverse backgrounds, who are passionate about providing valuable professional development and networking opportunities for Chicagoland communicators.

Our goal is to provide growth opportunities for current and aspiring Chicago communications professionals, and to raise the profile of communications as a strategic leadership function.

We work collaboratively to deliver exceptional experiences for IABC members and volunteers, and to build relationships between IABC/Chicago and the broader professional community (including communications professionals, sponsors, and partners).

Executive Committee

Board of Directors

President
Arek Gazda, SCMP®

Director, Internal Communications
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Arek Gazda is a strategic communication leader with more than a decade of experience shaping how organizations communicate with purpose, clarity, and equity. He currently serves as Director of Internal Communications at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where he leads enterprise-wide efforts to inform, engage, and inspire employees in support of the Foundation’s mission to advance health equity.

Arek is passionate about using communication to build trust, drive change, and center diverse voices. He holds a Master’s in Professional Communication from DePaul University and is a certified Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP®). In addition to his role at RWJF, Arek serves as President-Elect of IABC Chicago, where he supports the professional growth of communicators across Chicagoland.

He is a systems thinker, storyteller, and champion of justice-centered communications and believes the right message, delivered with empathy and intention, can transform our culture.

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Past President
Heather Natal, CMP®
Marketing Manager, Manufacturing Solutions
GoEngineer

For over 20 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 strategic planning and event management. 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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President-Elect
Allison Dietz, SCMP®
Manager, Global Enterprise Communications
McDonald’s

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Director, Finance
Julie Bjorkman, PhD
Assistant Professor
Benedictine University

Julie Bjorkman, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Goodwin College of Business at Benedictine University where she teaches undergrad and grad courses in management and organizational change including being the resident subject-matter expert on change communications. She leads the Arthur J. Schmitt Future Leaders scholarship program at BenU – directing the leadership development of high performing undergraduate students. After three decades of leading change communications and supporting organizational transformation at some of the world’s largest Fortune 100’s she transitioned to higher ed to put her education and experience to work in new ways. She developed IABC On Demand’s Leading Through Change Communication e-learning course and is a past president of IABC/Chicago, and served in many board roles over the years, including IABC’s International Executive Board. She is a 30-year plus member of IABC. Her PhD is in organization development (OD) from Benedictine, and she has her M.S. in OD from Case Western Reserve University, and a B.A. in English from John Carroll University.

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Director, Digital & Operations
Christina Witczak
Senior Communications Consultant
Aon

Christina Witczak is a senior communications consultant at Aon. In this role she works with clients to develop effective high-impact, creative content and support communication and change strategies in the areas of total rewards (compensation, benefits, and more), talent programs, and corporate change.

Christina’s experience in communications is bolstered by her Bachelor of Science in Communication from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She is also a graduate of DePaul University’s Master’s in Professional Communications program.

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Director, Professional Development & Events
Michael Shmarak
Adjunct Lecturer
Northwestern University

Michael Shmarak is a senior communications strategist and storyteller whose toolbox includes corporate communications, employee engagement, media relations and reputation management—all focused on helping companies build and grow. He thrives working with complex subjects and making them more understandable for stakeholders who benefit from them. He has led global teams in both agency and in-house environments, and brings a teaching-based leadership style to teams as a result of teaching as Adjunct Lecturer at Northwestern University.

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Director, Member Services
Rhonda Carlson
Global Internal Communications Guru

Rhonda is a proactive and dedicated communications professional with 15 years of experience in internal communications. Her expertise is in global communications with an emphasis in partnering with global teams, senior leaders, human resources and more. She has experience leading awards and recognition programs, diversity and employee engagement initiatives. Rhonda has served on the IABC/Chicago board for the past four years.

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Director, Member Communications
April Runft
Content Marketing Lead
Vyond

April is a customer-centric B2B marketing and communications leader who has led content and customer advocacy efforts for companies like Aon and Relativity. She also served in enterprise change management and global employee communications roles at Northern Trust. She’s currently the content marketing lead for AI video-creation platform Vyond, focused on customer storytelling for case studies, webinars, video testimonials, and articles.

April earned her MA in literary writing from DePaul University and a BA in English literature from Saint Mary’s College. She’s a reader, runner, dog mom, and avid traveler.

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Director, Community & Networking
Astrid Greve-Spencer
Strategic Communications Leader

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Director-At-Large
Linda Carlisle
Founder, Communications Consultant
Comm-ext, LLC

Linda is an internal communications consultant, providing integrated internal communications services for middle-market firms. As an outsource corporate communications partner, she combines strategic problem-solving with creative storytelling to build powerful employment brands, enterprise cultures and change management narratives that engage the entire team. By informing, exciting, and aligning the entire team members around mission, vision, values and strategy, her clients are able to drive loyalty and performance, manage change, create inspiring company brands and impactful cultures, and attract and retain top talent, while reducing turnover and recruiting costs.

Linda’s 20+ years of experience in communications has been influenced and informed by her experience leading Marketing Communications, Brand Management, Internal Communications, Listening and Culture Building, Philanthropy and Volunteering, and ESG/CSR for her employers and clients, large and small — as well as her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and her Master’s in Integrated Marketing & Communications from Roosevelt University. She has lived in the greater Chicagoland area for much of her career, and enjoys vacationing Americana-style in Door County, WI, and Sullivan’s Island, SC and all points in between.

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Award-Winning Chapter

Over the years, IABC/Chicago has received recognition from IABC in exemplary leadership and chapter management by receiving Chapter Management Awards (CMAs). The CMAs are an annual awards program that recognizes the leadership, management, creativity and teamwork of IABC chapter leaders around the world. It’s an opportunity to showcase IABC chapter successes and demonstrate the value that each chapter provides locally.

We appreciate the all hard work and dedication of IABC members. Our community of communication professionals is growing and thriving because of you. We’d like to take this opportunity to recognize the leaders of the Chicago Chapter over the years that have contributed to the successful steadfast commitment to our local communication community.

Chapter Management Awards