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AMA Leadership

Executive Team

Bennie F. Johnson – Chief Executive Officer

Bennie F. Johnson is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Marketing Association. AMA is the largest community-based marketing association in the world, trusted by marketing and sales professionals to help them discover industry trends. AMA’s community of local chapters spans more than 70 cities and 320 college campuses throughout North America. AMA is home to award-winning content, PCM® professional certification, five premiere academic journals, and industry-leading live and virtual training events.

He most recently served as the Executive Director of AIGA, the largest professional association for design. AIGA grows the power of design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, business driver and catalyst for positive impact. While at AIGA, Bennie hosted the acclaimed Design Adjacent podcast and the design leadership fireside chat series from 2020 to 2022.  

Currently, he serves on the Board of Overseers for Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, as a Trustee of the Smithsonian Archives of American Art and is a former Board Chair of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. Bennie is also a special advisor to the People’s Graphic Design Archive.

Bennie thrives on the connections between marketing, technology, education and innovation. With experience in strategic and consumer marketing, brand management and innovation management, he is drawn to opportunities that allow him to lead and create new modes for business engagement. He has broad experience growing brands, businesses and organizations with a special focus on venture launch and brand relaunch business environments.

Bennie graduated from Yale University with a B.A. and from Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies with a M.S., Strategic Communications.


Jeremy VanEk AMA COO

Jeremy Van Ek – Chief Operating Officer

Jeremy came to the AMA as Chief Operating Officer in 2016.

Jeremy has spent his 20+ year career in the marketing industry in roles that drive strategy, financial performance, digital transformation, people development and operational efficiency.  His experience spans many different types of organizations: B2B and B2C; regional, national, and global; public, private, and non-profit. He’s had the pleasure of successfully managing the good, the bad and the ugly: high-growth and severe retrenchment business cycles, mergers and acquisitions, digital transformation, exit strategies, change leadership, global process evolution, and being cash-strapped to cash-flush and everything in between.

As COO of the AMA, Jeremy has primary responsibility for the execution, enablement and development of all finance, operations and technology within the organization, including but not limited to:

  • Optimizing performance
  • Delivering significant cost efficiencies
  • Executing transformational or change management projects
  • Discovering and supporting growth opportunities for the business
  • Ensuring effective governance and risk management
  • Developing and implementing financing and M&A strategies
  • Accountability to the Board of Directors for the integrity of all finance and business operations
  • Managing functional departments, including Accounting and Finance, Human Resources, Business and Information Technology, Project Management and Office Administration.

Matt Weingarden – Executive Vice President, Communities and Journals

A fan of AMA and Marketing history, Matt Weingarden appreciates the tradition, passion and innovative spirit that are hallmarks of the AMA’s three broad communities and four journals. As Vice President, Communities & Journals, Matt is grateful to support the AMA’s network of community leaders and get-it-done volunteers. Since joining the AMA, Matt helped reenergize the academic community and led a journal production transformation in partnership with SAGE Publishing.

Matt has worked in volunteer management and marketing roles at internationally recognized universities, traditional membership associations and municipal government. If you know any AMA trivia, please share it by emailing mweingarden@ama.org.

Amy Gwiazdowski – Vice President, Communications

As the Vice President of Communications, Amy looks to identify needs, build engagement opportunities, and facilitate collaboration. Before joining AMA, she held the position of Senior Director of Communications for AIGA, the professional association for design, working to amplify the impact of the design profession. 

Amy is a communications professional who looks for solutions that bring the greatest benefit. She has experience leading both internal and external communication outreach efforts and has managed the external and internal communications for several trade associations in Washington, DC.

Julie Schnidman – Vice President, Alliances

Julie has always believed in the power of partnerships to create transformational change. As Vice President of the Alliances team, Julie leads the advertising and sponsorship efforts of the AMA, ensuring that our B2B partners find the right platform to share their unique solutions with our engaged audience of marketers. She is also grateful to oversee the AMA Foundation, which celebrates marketers who have made an impact in their community and supports the next generation of marketing leaders.

Prior to her work at the AMA, Julie served in business development, grants administration and client services roles within corporate and nonprofit organizations. 

Molly Soat – Vice President, Professional Development

As the Vice President of Professional Development, Molly oversees a team of production and programming experts that strategize, curate and create experiences to drive employable skills and personal growth for our marketing community. In her eight-year tenure at the AMA, Molly has served in creative and leadership roles for the AMA’s practitioner publication, Marketing News.


Prior to her work at the AMA, Molly was the editor in charge of magazines spanning business and architectural design verticals. She’s always looking for good book recommendations, and can be reached at msoat@ama.org.

CW Headshot

Charles WigginsVice President, Technology

A technology transformation evangelist, Charles has continuously evolved how the AMA, its customers, communities and partners utilize and interact with digital experiences. By collaboratively working with AMA key stakeholders over his ten-year tenure, Charles and his teams have delivered updated and innovative technology that has and will continue to enable the AMA to drive its strategic goals and mission forward well into the future.

Prior to his time at the AMA, Charles held various technologist roles in the fields of marketing and advertising, data analytics, finance and health care.


2024-25 Board of Directors

The AMA Board of Directors is a group of volunteer leaders who are impactful visionaries in marketing. They provide insight and guidance as the AMA works to become the essential community for marketers.

Mike Brady – Chairperson

Term: 7/1/2022 – 6/30/2026

Michael (“Mike”) Brady is the Bob Sasser Professor and director of the Rockwood School of Marketing at Florida State University. He is also an affiliated faculty member or honorary professor at six universities around the world. Mike’s primary research interest lies at the intersection of customers and employees in frontline service transactions. He has published articles in many top scholarly journals, and his research articles have been cited over 30,000 times to date.

Mike has won numerous awards for research, teaching, and service, including the Christopher Lovelock Career Contributions to the Service Discipline Award. He is past president of the AMA Academic Council and a current member of the AMA Board of Directors. Mike is an editorial review board member for Journal of Marketing, area editor for Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and just completed a four-year term as Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Service Research.

Robin Tooms – Chairperson-Elect

Term: 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2027

Robin Tooms has spent her 20+-year professional career ascending from a variety of roles – from creative and design, to leading strategy for clients and serving as a virtual CMO, to an in-house CMO for a leading financial institution. As an innovative marketer, she has deep expertise in areas including B2B, corporate and product branding, digital marketing and marketing automation, and integrated brand and marketing strategies. Over the years, she has gained a reputation for driving initiatives that capture millions of dollars in brand value and new revenue opportunities.

Tooms firmly believes that everyone has a responsibility to support the community that helped their personal and professional success. Her mission has been twofold: create awareness and value for our design and marketing communities, and to support the organizations and students that will shape the next generation of professionals. To do this, she regularly volunteers for board and leadership positions with organizations, including the American Marketing Association (AMA).

She holds an MBA with a concentration in Marketing Management from Rice University, in addition to a BFA in Graphic Communications from the University of Houston.

Tiffany White – Secretary

Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2028

Tiffany Barnett White is Professor of Business Administration and Advertising and Bruce and Anne Strohm Faculty Fellow in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. She serves as Academic Director of the Master of Science in Management program at Gies and Faculty Athletics Representative for the University of Illinois. She received a Ph.D. in marketing from Duke University and BS and MS degrees in Advertising from the University of Illinois.

Her research addresses affective and behavioral aspects of consumer-brand relationships with a particular emphasis on the drivers and outcomes of consumer (dis)trust. White has presented on the topic of branding and brand strategy to national and international audiences. Her research on the “Brand Connected Consumer” is a featured TEDx presentation. She is an award-winning teacher and is consistently featured on the University-wide list of faculty rated as excellent by their students. 

White served as Secretary-Treasurer for the Society for Consumer Psychology, At-Large Director for the Association for Consumer Research and as ACR Co-Chair. She is a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Consumer Psychology, the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, and the Journal of Service Research.

Jeff Lupinacci – Treasurer

Term: 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2026

Jeff Lupinacci is a diverse and well-rounded financial executive. Jeff has extensive experience at Interpublic Group and Omnicom. And has held positions as the Global CFO of media, creative and public relations divisions with annual revenues exceeding $1.6 billion. He has led many M&A/Private Equity transactions in the US and in various international markets. In addition, Jeff has led many of the initiatives to dramatically improve profit margins while leading financial systems conversions and business transformation processes.

Jeff began his career at JP Morgan Chase & Co. and hold a Bachelor of Arts degree from Providence College.

Jeff currently lives in Manhattan, NY with his family.

Lisa Bowman – Immediate Past-Chairperson

Term: 7/1/2021 – 6/30/2025

Lisa Bowman is the founder and Chief Mojo Officer (CMO) of Marketing Mojo. She most recently served as United Way Worldwide’s Chief Marketing Officer leading the organization’s efforts to create, develop and implement global marketing strategies highlighting the organization’s image and 130-year history of galvanizing donors, advocates, volunteers and workplace partners to fight for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community.  

She joined United Way Worldwide from a 15-year career at UPS. Lisa began her career with UPS in 2000 as Vice President of Market Development for UPS e-Ventures, the company’s dot-com incubator. In subsequent senior-level marketing roles with the logistics company, she led several high-profile marketing initiatives designed to transform UPS from its historical position as a business-to-business entity into a business-to-business-to-consumer entity. 

Following UPS’ 2001 acquisition of the former Mail Boxes, Etc. network of nearly 4,000 franchised locations, Lisa led the integration and re-branding to The UPS Store™. In 2009, she developed and launched UPS Direct-to-Door, a co-op media product intended to compete with direct mail. She then took a role in The UPS Foundation, where as part of her $80 million social investment portfolio she also oversaw the transportation company’s United Way campaign.

Target Marketing Magazine recognized Lisa as their Marketer of the Year in December 2019. She was also honored by the American Marketing Association as their 2017 Non-Profit Marketer of the Year. Her work has received numerous awards inclusive of the Harvey Communications Awards, multiple Gold Stevie® Awards, multiple PRNews Awards, and multiple Gold MarComm awards. The PSA campaign she launched on behalf of United Way in her inaugural year was recognized as PSA of the Year by PRNews. Under her leadership, United Way’s research team also received a DigitalEdge 50 Award for PerformanceLink; the organization’s first Business Intelligence tool.

Lisa holds a B.A. in Marketing from Columbia and has completed executive education at Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business.

Kimberly Whitler – AMA Foundation Chair

Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2025

Kimberly (Kim) Whitler is the Frank M. Sands Sr. Associate Professor of Business at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Whitler’s research focuses on helping boards, CEOs, and Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) better understand and leverage marketing for firm advantage. She has published two books in addition to articles in several leading academic journals with her research winning the 2023 Journal of Marketing’s Sheth Foundation Award, the 2020 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Sheth Foundation Award, and the 2017 Robert D. Buzzell Best Paper for research that had the most significant impact on marketing practice and thought. She has also published in Harvard Business Review and Sloan Management Review on CMO-related challenges.

Previously, Whitler worked for nearly 20 years in strategy, General Management, and CMO positions within the CPG and Retailing industries, managing global, U.S., and Eastern European-based businesses. She has more recently worked with a number of organizations, including the FBI, U.S. Department of Defense, The Coca-Cola Company, Forbes, E. & J. Gallo, Gartner, among others.

Whitler attended the USAFA, has a BA from Eureka College, an MBA from University of Arizona, and an MS and PhD from Indiana University.

Brian Fergemann

Term: 7/1/2022 – 6/30/2025

Brian Fergemann is Senior Counsel, Marketing and Intellectual Property, at McDonald’s Corporation, where he counsels the business on a wide range of legal issues related to advertising, marketing, social media engagement and intellectual property. Prior to joining McDonald’s in 2016, Brian was a Partner in the Advertising and Marketing practice group at the law firm of Winston & Strawn in Chicago, where his clients included both national advertisers and agencies. While at Winston & Strawn he was recognized by Chambers USA as an “Up and Coming” attorney in Illinois in the Media & Entertainment category and as a “Leading Lawyer” in the advertising and marketing category by Leading Lawyers magazine from 2014 to 2016.

Brian previously served as legal counsel to the Board of Directors of the Chicago Advertising Federation and in various roles on the Board of Directors for nonprofit organizations based in Chicago.

He holds a B.A. in International Relations and Political Theory from Michigan State.

Rebecca Slotegraaf

Term: 7/1/2022 – 6/30/2025

Rebecca J. Slotegraaf is Professor of Marketing and Neal Gilliatt Chair in Marketing at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. Rebecca’s research focuses broadly on new product introduction and design, brand strength, and marketing assets and capabilities. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Product Innovation Management, and other top marketing and management journals. 

Rebecca serves as an Area Editor for the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Product Innovation Management and on the editorial review boards of JAMS, IJRM, and Journal of International Marketing. She has received several awards, including the Jagdish N. Sheth Award for best paper published in JAMS, the IU Trustees Teaching Award, and a Kelley School of Business Innovative Teaching Award.  

She teaches new product development at the undergraduate, MBA, and Ph.D. levels.

Anders Gustafsson

Term: 7/1/2022 – 6/30/2025

Anders Gustafsson is a professor of marketing at BI The Norwegian Business School. Anders is also Distinguished Professorial Fellow at the University of Manchester’s Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS). He is conducting research on customer satisfaction and loyalty, management of customer relationships, and consumer behavior. Anders has published articles in journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of Consumer Research. 

He is the current editor-in-chief for Journal of Business Research. Anders was the first international president for the American Marketing Association Academic Council and he is also a recipient of the Christopher Lovelock Career Contributions to the Services Discipline Award. Recently, he has joined The Sheth Foundation as a member of the board.

Angela Brutsche

Term: 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2026

Angela Brutsché is Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Texas REALTORS®, an association representing more than 150,000 members. With extensive experience in the field of association management, Angela has consistently led initiatives that positively influence the communities she serves through education, advocacy and innovation. Prior to her current role, Angela worked to expand the reach of benefits to military veterans as Deputy Director of the Texas Veterans Land Board.

Her contributions to the marketing profession encompass a broad range of activities, including mentorship, public speaking and committee service. She is a past president of AMA Austin and the AMA Professional Chapters Council. In 2020, Angela was named AMA Chapter Volunteer of the Year.

She is a member of the McCoy College of Business Marketing Department Advisory Board at Texas State University and regularly volunteers for the Texas Society of Association Executives. Angela holds an MBA and is a Certified Association Executive (CAE).

Christine Mathers

Term: 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2026

Christine Mathers is Head of Global Communications and Brand for Noble Corporation, a leading offshore drilling contractor with a global fleet working in every major offshore field around the world. In this role, Christine is responsible for the Company’s internal and external communications and brand strategy, as well as all crisis response for the organization.

Prior to joining Noble, Christine served as Head of Marketing for Worldwide Oil-field Machine (WOM), a pressure containment technology company in the en-ergy sector. She served on the Company’s leadership team, providing strategic direction for the global organization.

For seven years, Christine was Vice President of Marketing and Communica-tions for AFGlobal Corporation, an OEM and technology specialist for the oil and gas industry. In this role, Christine was responsible for positioning the com-pany for growth and building a brand presence for the enterprise across multiple markets.

Christine joined AFGlobal from Baker Hughes where she served as Director of External Communications, leading all investor, crisis and media communica-tions efforts. Prior to this role, she held escalating marketing and communica-tion leadership positions for 20 years with Weatherford International.

Christine maintains strong professional affiliations. As a long-time member of the American Marketing Association, Christine currently serves as an honorary board member for AMA Houston. She previously served as director of the chap-ter’s CMO forums. At a national level, she previously led the AMA Professional Chapters Council, supporting more than 40 chapters. She began her AMA jour-ney at a local level, ultimately serving as Chapter President for AMA Houston in 2005-06, for which Houston was named AMA’s Chapter of the Year.

Christine holds a master’s degree in marketing from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas.

Eli Jones

Term: 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2026

Dr. Eli Jones is a Professor of Marketing, Lowry and Peggy Mays Eminent Scholar, and the former Dean of Mays Business School at his alma mater, Texas A&M University. He served as the Dean of three flagship business schools over 13 years. Dean of Mays Business School (2015-2021), Dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and holder of the Sam M. Walton Leadership Chair at the University of Arkansas (2012-2015), and as Dean of the E. J. Ourso College of Business and the E. J. Ourso Distinguished Professor of Business at Louisiana State University (2008-2012). Prior to becoming a dean, he was on the faculty at the University of Houston as an Assistant Professor, Associate Professor with tenure, Full Professor, Associate Dean for Executive Education Programs, Director of the Program for Excellence in Selling, and founding Executive Director of the Sales Excellence Institute at the University of Houston in the Bauer College of Business.

He has published sales and sales management research in top academic journals and is a co-author of three professional books, Selling ASAP: Art, Science, Agility, and Performance; Strategic Sales Leadership: Breakthrough Thinking for Breakthrough Results; and a forthcoming book, Making Differences Work. His solo-authored book, Run Toward Your Goliaths, is about his and his wife’s faith journey and is meant to encourage a new generation of leaders to persevere in spite of major obstacles. His academic publications have been cited more than 9,000 times, according to Google Scholar. He is the recipient of Excellence in Teaching awards on the university, national, and international levels having taught strategic selling, advanced professional selling, key accounts selling, sales leadership, and marketing strategy at the undergraduate, MBA levels and in executive education programs. Before becoming a professor, Jones worked in sales and sales management for three Fortune 500 global companies. He is currently on the boards of Invesco Funds, Insperity, First Financial Bank, and the American Marketing Association (AMA).

In 2016, the AMA Sales Special Interest Group awarded Dr. Jones the Lifetime Achievement Award for sustained contributions to the sales and sales management discipline. In 2021, he was honored with recognition by Savoy magazine as a “Most Influential Black Corporate Director” in business today, and the Texas A&M University Black Former Students honored him with the Aggie Impact Award for making a global impact in his community and profession. In 2022, AMA awarded Dr. Jones the prestigious AMA-Irwin-McGraw-Hill Distinguished Marketing Educator Award for distinguished service and outstanding contributions in marketing education. In the same year, the Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) awarded Dr. Jones its prestigious Distinguished Marketing Educator Award. His mission is to bridge academia and business, and, as evidence, his alma mater recognized Jones as an outstanding doctoral student alumnus in 2009 and an outstanding business alumnus in April 2022. He also is one of 12 recipients in the TAMU System to be awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which was presented in the Spring of 2022.

Matt Witt

Term: 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2026

Matthew is a marketing and digital innovation executive, who has built and scaled global teams to drive creative transformation across many industries and businesses. As an agency leader, he focuses on the fusion of creativity with technology innovation and business strategy, to deliver effective, award-winning customer experiences that generate future value and empower his clients to compete and win in a 21st century global marketplace.

Matthew currently serves as the national lead for the Digital Experience capability of Deloitte Digital, a global, creative consultancy, where he has the privilege of working with a talented group of designers, strategists, engineers, and storytellers. Before assuming this role with the firm, Matt was the General Manager of the Deloitte Digital Chicago studio, tripling the size of that office during his tenure.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Matthew held the role of VP, Director of Creative Innovation at VMLY&R, where he helped drive the evolution and growth of the agency, delivering transformative campaigns and customer experiences for a variety of clients, across sectors that included financial services, hospitality, retail and commerce, and food and beverage. Following VMLY&R, Matt was the EVP of Brand Experiences at Chicago-based independent agency Trisect, where he transformed the agency into a data-powered creative company, and ultimately helped drive the agency to a successful acquisition by a private equity firm.

Matthew is also a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, where he serves as a judge for the Webby Awards, and has recently been a mentor on behalf of Deloitte, for the Blackstone Launchpad program, coaching young entrepreneurs. He has authored thought leadership articles with publications that include Wired.com, Adobe’s CMO.com, and Digiday, and has been fortunate to have worked on projects that have been recognized by the SXSW Interactive Festival, the Effies, the Clios, the One Show, and many other festivals and creative organizations.

He holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Arts from the College of William & Mary. Matt lives in Chicago with his wife Suzanne and two daughters, Catherine and Elizabeth.

John Kennedy

Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2027

John is the Managing Partner of The Sorium Group, a boutique strategic marketing consultancy that partners with companies on the frontier of their industries. John is active in the early-stage venture community where he participates as an advisor/consultant, fractional CMO and investor. On a part-time basis, John teaches Strategic Marketing as an Adjunct Teaching Professor at Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business. 

Prior to going out on his own, John had an almost three-decade marketing career in b2b technology, culminating as a senior marketing and communications leader at several Fortune 100 brands. Notable leadership positions included: founding CMO of Conduent (formerly Xerox Services); CMO of Xerox; and a range of senior positions at IBM, including CMO of Global Business Services (now IBM Consulting), VP of Corporate Marketing and CMO of two geography units: Americas and Asia-Pacific. 

John began his marketing career at Procter & Gamble in Brand Management working on both market leading brands like Downy Fabric Softener and classics like Spic n’ Span Floor Cleaner.  

John received his MBA from Harvard University. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Nadya Kohl

Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2027

Nadya Kohl is an award-winning business leader, domain expert, and seasoned operator with over 25 years of experience in driving top and bottom line business growth by harnessing data, analytics, marketing and technology for premier Media, Retail, Consumer Products, and Technology organizations. She is also a frequent industry speaker and commentator on data-driven digital marketing, customer analytics, privacy compliant identity management, location intelligence, business management, and “women in business” topics.

In addition to her active presence in the high-growth data and technology industries, she also currently serves on the Advisory Boards of early-stage data companies.

Nadya’s entre- and intrapreneurial background highlights her ability to innovate at the intersection of data, technology and consumers – and to develop the next generation of experts. Most recently, Nadya served as Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Data Services/Decision Sciences at Volta Charging. Acquired by Shell [NYSE: SHEL] in 2023, Volta was the industry-leading electric vehicle charging and media company, and a key player in driving toward a clean energy future. As Volta’s first ever Chief Marketing Officer, she designed and delivered a successful commercial marketing growth engine -for multiple vertical markets- from “scratch” for the 10-year-old late stage start up. She also created the company’s first growth-aligned data strategy, developed and launched novel product offerings, and transformed Volta’s Data and Decision Sciences capabilities. 

Her leadership delivered strong top line growth, created new data monetization revenue streams, increased brand awareness of the benefits of a carbon-neutral charging and media network, established new client-centric content franchises, retained top talent, and set a foundation for continued growth in key markets. 

Prior to joining Volta Charging, Nadya directed Business Development, Data Sales, Channel Partnerships and Marketing at PlaceIQ, the leader in geolocation intelligence. Previous to that, Nadya held multiple positions overseeing corporate strategy, business development, digital platforms and for Experian’s Marketing Services $1B global business, where she co-founded Experian’s global Audience Services platform – a pillar of the digital marketing economy today. 

A fluent Spanish speaker, Nadya was the President of the Latin American Business Group and the Co-Chair of the International Business Group during her MBA studies at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She remains actively involved with her alma mater. She earned her BBA in Economics with a minor in Philosophy, cum laude, from Loyola University of Chicago. 

A native of Chicago, Nadya has adopted the New York metro area as her current home. She enjoys traveling with her husband and two children, mentoring young professionals, and actively volunteering for organizations focused on poverty alleviation.

Maura Scott

Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2027

Maura L. Scott is Professor of Marketing and the Persis E. and Charles E. Rockwood Eminent Scholar in Marketing at Florida State University. Her research interests include consumer behavior, consumer and societal well-being, public policy, and services marketing. Her research examines how to help improve consumers’ financial, health, and food decisions, particularly among vulnerable populations. Maura values connecting students, managers, policymakers, consumers, and scholars with rigorous, state-of-the-art scholarly research to help them make informed decisions that can benefit society.

Maura has been actively involved with the American Marketing Association in a variety of roles over the last 20 years. She is the Immediate Past President of the American Marketing Association’s Academic Council and has been an active member of the council for several years.

She has engaged with AMA journals as an Editor, Associate Editor, ERB member, and author. Maura recently completed her three-year term as Joint Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. She currently serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Marketing Research. 

Maura co-chaired the AMA Marketing and Public Policy conference and has served as a Faculty Fellow at several AMA-Sheth Doctoral Consortia. She served on numerous AMA committees to support AMA best practices, including the AMA Ethics Committee. She appreciates the importance of AMA awards and scholarships and has served on several award committees including the AMA Fellows Committee, the AMA Board of Directors selection committee, the Irwin Award committee, and the MASSIG Emerging Scholar selection committee. She has been a reviewer for AMA awards including the Williams-Qualls-Spratlen Multicultural Mentorship Award and the Valuing Diversity scholarship. 

Maura’s research is published in leading journals including the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, among others. She won an AMA-EBSCO-RRBM Responsible Research in Marketing Award and a JCP Best Paper award. She was a finalist for the JMR Paul E. Green Award and a runner-up for the JCR Ferber Award. 

Maura finds mentoring students to be a central and rewarding aspect of her professional life. She serves as the co-director of the marketing doctoral program in marketing at Florida State University. She recently won the AMA DocSIG Mathew Joseph Mentorship Award.  Maura has been involved with the PhD Project for many years, including serving as faculty advisor for the Marketing Doctoral Students Association. She has won the Williams-Qualls-Spratlen Multicultural Mentorship Award. She was nominated for these student awards by her past and current doctoral students. 

Maura’s industry background includes marketing management positions at 3M, Dial Corporation, and Motorola. Maura has taught undergraduate consumer behavior, marketing management, marketing principles, and marketing strategy, and doctoral seminars in consumer behavior theory and research methods. 

Overview of AMA Board of Directors

The purpose of the AMA Board of Directors is to oversee the mission of the association in accordance with the organization’s Constitution and Bylaws. The CEO and management team of the AMA oversee the daily affairs of the organization and exercise all powers not otherwise reserved to the Board or membership.  

The Board of Directors meets twice annually or more often as needed. Subcommittees of the Board have more frequent meetings.  

The Board of Directors is responsible for the AMA as an enterprise. The AMA utilizes its three councils and other volunteer groups both as “listening posts” and to represent the “voice” of their respective communities, constituents, and colleges. AMA board of directors’ duty is to the AMA as a whole on fiduciary matters, strategy, risk, organizational capacity and fitness, and governance.

  • Safeguard the organization’s mission and purpose
  • Select the chief executive
  • Provide proper fiduciary oversight
  • Ensure adequate resources
  • Protect legal and ethical integrity and maintain accountability
  • Identify enterprise risk and mitigation efforts are in place
  • Recruit and orient new board members and assess board performance
  • Enhance and ensure the organization’s public standing and reputation
  • Support the chief executive, their agenda, and assess performance

Activities of the Board include:

  • Providing input on the strategic direction of the AMA
  • Approving annual budget
  • Reviewing progress on key initiatives
  • Reviewing ongoing financial results and KPIs
  • Evaluating performance of CEO
  • Meeting with heads of community councils
  • Planning for the future
  • Approving items as required (ex: Bylaws revision, chapter merger)

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee supports the Chairperson in the management and strategic direction of the Association. The Executive Committee has the authority to exercise all the powers of the Board while the Board is not in session except for actions specifically reserved to the Board.  

  • Chaired by: Chairperson of the Board
  • Members: 4

Audit & Finance

The role of the Audit & Finance Committee is to oversee 1. AMA’s financial reporting, internal control and audit functions; 2. budgetary and financial matters, including investment management; 3. enterprise risk management, including information technology risks and enterprise insurance coverage; and 4. compliance with applicable legal, ethical and regulatory requirements.

  • Chaired by: Treasurer
  • Members: 8

Nominating

The Nominating Committee is charged with identifying and vetting candidates for upcoming vacancies on the AMA Board.

  • Chaired by: Past-Past Chair

Governance

The Governance Committee is responsible for assuring that the governance of the Association is carried out in compliance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association and the conflict of interest policy.

  • Chaired by: Chair-Elect
  • Members: 3

Ethics

The Ethics Committee reviews and recommends changes or revisions to the Code of Conduct; reviews complaints received and adjudications rendered under the Code; and advises the Association’s Chairperson and Board of Directors on matters of ethics and ethical standards that are applicable to the practice and teaching of marketing.

  • Chaired by: Secretary
  • Members: 6

The AMA Board of Directors has 17 members:

  • Chairperson
  • Chair-Elect
  • Past Chair
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • AMAF Chair
  • AMA CEO
  • 10 At-Large Members

The Chairperson role is a sequenced four-year progression starting with the Secretary role, then moving through Chair-Elect, Chair, and Past Chair. 

What am I voting on?

AMA members vote annually on a slate of candidates to hold office on the AMA Board of Directors. 

How do candidates get on the ballot?

The list of potential candidates is compiled using broad community input, professional search firms, and a wide network of engaged professionals and academics. From a list of many initial candidates, the Nominating Committee meets to narrow the list down to a final slate that is then reviewed and approved by the current AMA Board of Directors. 

Why is there only one candidate for each position?

Each candidate is running unopposed, in accordance with the AMA Bylaws. It is intentional that there is only one candidate for each position. The Nominating Committee works each year to identify candidates who: 1. Have exemplary credentials, 2. A track record of AMA involvement, and 3. A commitment to invest their time and talent in the AMA’s future. Due to the rigor of evaluation prior to getting on the ballot, each position runs unopposed.

Why is there an election if there is only one candidate for each position?

The election process should be seen by AMA members not as a competitive election, but an opportunity to be informed regarding future leadership. The AMA moved to this model several years ago for three reasons: 1. It allows the AMA to attract more candidates for office since we found that some otherwise highly qualified candidates were not interested in investing in a competitive election process where they may need to campaign for office, and may not succeed in being elected, 2. AMA volunteer board service requires a multi-year commitment (3-6 years) for which it is critical to establish a mutual understanding in advance as part of the vetting process, and 3. The new model follows best practices in corporate America and the nonprofit world. 

How can I get on the ballot?

The AMA invites those interested in being considered for AMA Board service in the future to contact AMA COO Jeremy Van Ek.

How does the election process work?

A ballot, candidate information, and a link to the voting site for the election will be sent to members electronically on March 31, 2023.  The voting site will remain open through 11:59 p.m. CST on April 30, 2023.

Through our mission for DEI, the AMA is committed to increasing the diversity of underrepresented groups, perspectives, and identities within the AMA community that have been historically left out. 

This lens is what will help us lead and mobilize the work and efforts of our community of volunteer leaders (i.e. AMA Board of Directors), stakeholders, and partners that are committed to supporting the AMA in delivering on this mission.

Our Mission for DEI

The AMA strives to create the essential community for marketers.

In order to authentically achieve this mission, we are committed to making sure that the intersectionality of diverse thought and perspectives are reflected, understood, and elevated across our community. 

It is our responsibility to intentionally layer DEI best practices into every aspect of our organization, so that this work becomes a fundamental part of who we are as a community. 

For us DEI is not a destination, it is a journey and a practice that should be a continuous learning process that leads to measurable outcomes and impact.