Experience

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  Retirement

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  • Writer of Next Chapter

    • Mar 2023 - Nov 2023
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  Velvet Chainsaw Consulting

  • Greater Boston Area

  • VP, Strategic Narratives

    • May 2016 - Mar 2023
    • Greater Boston Area

    Velvet Chainsaw provides strategic consulting for associations and companies that are interested in growing or transforming their major in-person and virtual events. We offer expert advice on how to design premium education and networking experiences, as well as how to evolve the tradeshow floor, which results in increased conference loyalty and revenue. We achieve results through a forensic approach to a client’s data, including filtering registration, sponsorship, and exhibitor metrics, which reveals insights and analysis that lead to change. VCC is comprised of a team of industry experts who are change agents, specializing in conference improvement, sponsorship growth, education differentiation, speaker optimization, general session design, and strategic facilitation. Our work encompasses strategizing face-to-face with staff, and oftentimes with our associations' clients, their volunteers.

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  MeetingsNet/Informa

  • Cambridge, MA

  • Executive Director of Content

    • 2000 - Dec 2015
    • Cambridge, MA

    Communications |Content |Public Relations• Led b-to-b magazine content and design team from a print base to a Web-first environment (meetingsnet.com) including creating an interactive tablet app. Managed budgets. Surpassed content user engagement goals every year.• Created industry partnerships to produce program content for events• Executed public relations and messaging campaigns through volunteer positions at associations• Presented at industry conferences as a subject matter expert on healthcare events.Event Design | Education Programming• Launched the Pharma Forum, an annual conference for pharmaceutical meeting managers, now an Informa event, in 2005. In this highly regulated meeting area, identified themes, speakers, topics, and nurtured faculty relationships for 50+ sessions. Created an advisory board, first-timers event, tracks for senior executives, mobile app, and hosted buyer program. Specialized in new meeting formats and technologies and content co-creation to improve attendee engagement. • Led education for the annual Las Vegas Corporate Invitational and Education Day, a half-day educational workshop for senior corporate executives; and the Beyond Borders Summit, an annual one-day conference for global meeting executives.• Created MeetingsNet’s monthly webinar series. Project management included business development, content creation, faculty recruitment, and live execution. Trained presenters in best practices for attendee engagement and presentation techniques.• Managed a workshop for ICCA on global healthcare meeting issues and challengesMarketing |Audience Acquisition |Business Development• Created marketing strategies and plans for audience acquisition for publications and events• Developed strong business relationships that propelled the MeetingsNet franchise, including events, toward greater revenue streams. Specialized in brainstorming custom concepts for sponsors • Oversaw research and content marketing projects

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  The Laux Company

  • Maynard, MA

  • Editor

    • Mar 1982 - Jan 2000
    • Maynard, MA

    Built Medical Meetings magazine, a trade publication for meeting planners, into a highly successful franchise, along with Financial & Insurance Meetings, and Corporate Meetings & Incentives magazine. Launched Association Meetings and Technology Meetings magazines. Edited Religious Conference Manager for the Religious Conference Management Association.