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
Position | Name |
President | Julie Bjorkman, PhD, ABC |
President-Elect | Heather (Blondin) Natal, CMP |
Past President | Sara Burcheri |
Director, Chapter Operations | Heather (Blondin) Natal, CMP |
Board of Directors
Director, Membership Communications | Christina Witczak |
Director, Marketing Communications | Rhonda Carlson |
Director, Member Services | Allison Dietz |
Director, Professional Development | Veronica Sloma |
Associate Director, Professional Development | Sylvia Maldonado |
Director-At-Large | Astrid Greve-Spencer |
Director, Certification | Arek Gazda |
Director, Student Relations | Sally Ann O’Dowd |
President
Julie M. Bjorkman, PhD, ABC
Associate Dean, Assistant Professor
Benedictine University
Julie Bjorkman, PhD, is the associate dean and an assistant professor in the Goodwin College of Business at Benedictine University. She also 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. Julie is a past president of IABC/Chicago, and served in many board roles over the years, including IABC’s International Executive Board. Her PhD is in organization development 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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President-Elect & Director, Chapter Operations
Heather (Blondin) Natal, CMP
Marketing Manager, Manufacturing Solutions
Computer Aided Technology
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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Past President, and Director, Sponsorship
Sara Burcheri
Success Consultant, Reverie
With over 13 years of experience focused on experiential marketing at a large retailer, Sara decided to take her corporate knowledge and apply it to helping small businesses. She is currently a Success Consultant at Reverie Organizational Development where she is able to focus on her passion- helping to design and implement solutions for small business growth.
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Director, Member Communications
Christina Witczak
Employee Communications Manager
CME Group
Christina Witczak is an employee communications manager at CME Group. In this role she leads broad internal communications initiatives and manages all employee communications channels for the global workforce, working with business partners around the company to keep employees engaged and informed.
Christina’s 10+ years of experience in communications is bolstered by her Bachelor of Science in Communication from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She is also a recent graduate of DePaul University’s Master’s in Professional Communications program. She moved to Chicago in 2010 and enjoys spending the weekends at the lakefront.
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Director, Marketing Communications
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 Services
Allison Dietz
Internal Communications Manager
PEAK6 Investments
Allison Dietz currently serves as the Internal Communications Manager at PEAK6 Investments. In this role, she leads change management, employee engagement, and communication platform strategies. She is dedicated to fostering collaboration and facilitating growth within the organization.
Allison graduated magna cum laude University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee with B.A. in Communications. She also obtained an M.A. in Communications and a certificate in Public Relations from the University of Colorado – Denver.
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Director, Professional Development
Veronica Sloma
Senior Communications Consultant
Allstate Insurance Company
Veronica is a creative communications expert focused on employee engagement, strategic communications and corporate storytelling. Since 2018, she has held several roles at Allstate Insurance Company and is currently a Senior Communications Consultant responsible for executing internal communications initiatives, promoting continuous learning through educational events and managing employee communications for a global workforce. Her passion for the employee experience grounds her in her pursuit of creating an environment where employees feel respected, engaged, and connected. When she’s not at work, you can find Veronica reading the latest thriller novel.
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Associate Director, Professional Development
Sylvia Maldonado
Director, Corporate Communications
Barry Callebaut Americas
Sylvia Maldonado is a global communications, storytelling, and engagement strategy leader in a variety of sectors including food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, and health and wellness. Since 2018, she has served as the Head of Corporate Communications, Americas, at Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her family.
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Director-At-Large
Astrid Greve-Spencer
Global Director, Thought Leadership Strategy
AkzoNobel
Astrid Greve-Spencer has significant leadership experience in PR, journalism, branding, and communications. She is currently the Global Director, Thought Leadership Strategy at Wolters Kluwer. Prior to her current role, she was the Communications Manager for North America with AkzoNobel (a global paints and coatings company headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands), where she was responsible for brands awareness and reputation, public affairs and government relations initiatives in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Astrid holds an MBA and a Master of Science in management from the University of Maryland University College, as well as a Master of Arts in magazine design and bachelor’s degrees in broadcast journalism and communication from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
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Director, Certification
Arek Gazda
Manager, Internal Communications
Alliant Credit Union
Arek Gazda is a professional communication rising leader focused on DEI, engagement, recognition and storytelling. Being a storyteller and employee advocate, Arek has committed his career to creating programs that engage and inspire employees, connecting them to the business, company culture and each other. He also serves as a strategic advisor to his executive team, translating business goals and needs into strategic storytelling.
Arek recently graduated with distinction from DePaul University’s Master’s in Professional Communications program. He was named the 2022 MA in Professional Communication Outstanding Student by the PROCMN Faculty and awarded with the 2022 Outstanding Achievement & Leadership Award by the Dean of the College of Communication at DePaul.
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Director, Student Relations
Sally Ann O’Dowd
Content Lead
Accenture
Sally is an expert in global advertising, corporate communications, content marketing, journalism, PR, and social media. A mission-driven, integrated marketing-communications professional with demonstrated success in building insightful strategies for corporations and brands. She currently leads the global marcom team at Accenture developing top-funnel content strategy and managing production of multimedia campaign assets to promote Accenture’s Cost and Productivity Reinvention consulting services. She manages editorial, design and project-management staff to produce web pages, video, blog posts, and LinkedIn articles for members of the North America Leadership Team. She earned her master’s of science in journalism from Northwestern.
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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
2020 | Award of Excellence – Strategic Planning |
2016 | Award of Merit – Leadership Development |
2009 | Award of Excellence – Financial Management |
2009 | Award of Merit – Membership Marketing |
2008 | Award of Excellence – Financial Management |
2008 | Award of Merit – Membership Marketing |
2005 | Award of Excellence – Membership Marketing |
2005 | Award of Merit – Professional Development |