I've been working in Marketing, Public Relations, and Advertising since 1992. An internship at the Indiana University News Bureau for its "Radioline" morphed into an almost full-time job for me while in college. At the time, I thought I was working in journalism. It wasn't until I graduated that I realized the Indiana University syndicated "Radioline" was really a brilliant PR platform for the school. After graduation, I started at GDMI as an Account Executive in the advertising world. I learned the ropes on everything from negotiating with groups of franchisees to creatively communicating advertising initiatives to corporate executives. Two years in, I switched my focus (back) to Public Relations and landed a job as an Account Executive at Winger & Associates (the company that I eventually bought from the owners and renamed Winger Marketing). At Winger, I worked on a variety of accounts including hospitals and healthcare organizations, luxury home builders, healthcare consulting firms, international art shows, nonprofit organizations and even reptile conferences! After landing stories in the "Chicago Tribune," "Chicago Magazine," "The New York Times," "The LA Times" and WGN Television, and the Conan O'Brien Show, I was eventually promoted to Vice President and was regularly meeting with CEO's of organizations regarding their Integrated Marketing Strategy. After I acquired the firm in 2006, I expanded Winger Marketing's offerings to include strategic PR and marketing planning services, advertising, sales enablement, PR Training, Media Coaching, and speaker coaching. I've worked on developing and implementing campaigns for high-profile non-profits and have leveraged relationships with media to gain national exposure for B2B clients at a global level. At my core, I am driven by the desire to help businesses thrive through smart and strategic storytelling. As a leader, I operate from a place of compassion and curiosity. I have been successful at cultivating both clients and staff that stick around. While most agencies have clients on retainer for two or three years, our average client stays with us for ten years. I've developed a work process with my team so that we become an extension of our client's business; creating and executing strategies that move businesses forward. Clear communication, consistency, and accountability are central to our success.Finally, I love sharing my knowledge and I regularly speak at events for the American Marketing Association Chicago, the Women’s Business Development Center, and for other groups and companies.