Meet your SV-IABC Executive Board for 2008. Feel free to contact them with questions about their area of responsibility at SV-IABC.
Susan Karnstedt, President
Susan has over 18 years of strategic communications, change management and sales success within the technology, healthcare and financial services industries. Most recently, she was responsible for creating and building the Organizational Communications function at VERITAS Software now Symantec Corporation. In this capacity she was responsible for analyzing stakeholder needs, creating actionable strategies, overseeing message development, coordinating multiple stakeholders, managing media production and measuring overall program effectiveness.
Prior to her role at VERITAS, Susan was an operations improvement consultant for Keane Consulting Group. She obtained a BA in Communications from the University of Illinois and a Masters in Organizational Development from Loyola University in Chicago.
Last year, Susan delivered an exceptional lineup of events as Vice President of Programs. As the incoming President, Susan is excited to get more Silicon Valley communicators more involved in the chapter. “My primary goal is to ensure that SV-IABC is no longer the best kept secret for communicators in the valley.”
Susan is an amateur winemaker who enjoys participating in a variety of activities with her 1-1⁄2 year old daughter.
Ron Schmidt, Past President
Ron is managing director of Rosswood Communications, a PR consultancy based in San Jose. His client list includes Cisco Systems, Guidant, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies and Secure Computing. Ron was PR manager at Ramp Networks, and was an associate with Cunningham Communication and Neale-May & Partners. He holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. He keeps busy parenting two young boys, Clayton and Lance, and enjoys swimming, hiking and reading.
"I've grown personally and professionally during the six years I've been involved with IABC, especially as a board member. I enjoy the diverse range of communications professionals in our chapter and I am impressed with the depth of experience among the membership."
Kathie Gaddy, VP of Administration
Kathie is a senior manager in the global internal communications department of Hewlett-Packard (HP). In this role she has led in the development of CEO/Senior Leader communication strategies, launched a global effort to increase employees’ connection to the brand, and initiated more robust communication effectiveness data measures.
Prior to this role, Kathie was Communications Manager for HP’s Emerging Market Solutions (EMS) group and the award winning global e-inclusion initiative. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University. Kathie keeps busy with her adorable puppy, Beau, and enjoys spending time with friends, family, and her peers.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to participate in IABC and hope I can bring real value to the board. I enjoy seeing how an idea or discussion can really help a fellow member tackle a new challenge or solve an existing one and I’m looking forward to working with such a talented group of professionals.”
Colleen Harrington Fleming, VP of Communications
Colleen has been a member of the Silicon Valley chapter of IABC since 2004 and this is her second term as Vice President of Communications. Currently a communications professional with Agilent Technologies, Colleen is also completing graduate thesis work toward an M.A. in Communication Studies.
With a background spanning internal communication, public relations and client services, Colleen is has worked in a variety of industries including technology, retail and financial services industries, for global corporations, a consulting firm and dynamic start-up companies.
“IABC has been a tremendous resource for me to continuously learn and a great way to stay connected with other communication professionals.”
Kathleen Makranyi, VP of Community
Kathleen has over 16 years of corporate communications experience primarily in the high tech industry. She has been at Cisco Systems for 8 years and is currently Director of Communications for the Worldwide Manufacturing organization. Her team is responsible for executive and strategic communications including communication strategy, planning, and messaging to key internal and external stakeholders.
Prior to Cisco, Kathleen led an account team at Cunningham Communication, ran her own consulting practice, and held communication and marketing positions at a few high-tech start-ups and a non-profit agency. Kathleen has a B.A. in Sociology/Communications from UC Santa Barbara and a certificate from the Mass Media Institute at Stanford University.
Kathleen loves to travel and makes a yearly trip to Europe with her husband and 3 year old son. Her other passions include music, dance, animals, and venti nonfat light foam lattes at Starbucks.
John Spieth, VP of Education
John received a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce (marketing) and minor in communication from Santa Clara University in 2006. John joined SV-IABC in the fall of 2006 and recently accepted the position to serve as the VP of Education. He is excited to work with surrounding universities and colleges to increase student awareness and participation with SV-IABC. John previously was the Director for Education (Santa Clara University) for SV-IABC where he assisted coordinating and selecting scholarship winners for SV-IABC.
John is currently a Ticket Sales Account Executive with the San Jose Giants. He coordinated a sponsorship with Blue Shield of California and Club One. In addition, John coordinated group packages for HP, Intel, NVIDIA, Juniper Networks, and Blue Shield of California. John has prior marketing and sales experience with the San Francisco 49ers, Santa Clara University Athletics, and ABC 7 News Chicago.
An Illinois native, John has been living in the Bay Area for the last 5 years and has no plans to move back! In his free time, John enjoys spending time with family and friends, coordinating service projects and fundraisers, traveling, and playing sports.
Justine Pelina, Director of Education
(San Jose State)
Justine is a student at San Jose State University, learning all about the exciting world of public relations. She is currently the newsletter editor for the PRSSA chapter at school and is currently interning for JDS Group, a local public relations agency.
Being an intern and apart of PRSSA, has given her the chance to learn what PR is really like outside the classroom. She understands the benefits “getting involved” can offer and plans to take full advantage.
“Getting involved will enable me to continue learning and gain more knowledge and experience outside the classroom.”
Desiree Elsharif, VP Finance
I joined Cisco's Corporate Communications department in 2007 as an Employee Communications Manager. I'm responsible for developing/executing strategic communication plans on topics ranging from new program introductions to major corporate initiatives. I also ensure content is timely, credible and integrated on Cisco Employee Connection (CEC), the company's internal news and information site.
Previously, I was a Communications Program Manager for Hewlett-Packard's Global Internal Communications team. In my eight years at HP, I was responsible for developing and delivering programs that helped the company's global workforce of more than 150,000 employees understand/embrace the strategy, brand, products, corporate announcements and business performance.
I've been a loyal 500 Club Member of IABC since 1999 — spending the first few years mostly attending the monthly luncheons and taking advantage of occasional volunteer opportunities. In 2006, I became more active by serving on the board as Vice President of Administration. And, for 2007, I'm on the board again as Vice President of Finance.
An Arizona native, my husband Karim and I now live in San Jose. My passion for scrapbooking, which transformed into a home business as a Creative Memories consultant, occupies a lot of my free time. I also enjoy curling up with a book, traveling to new places and the satisfaction of a good run/workout.
Renate Kammersgard, VP of Membership
After 11 years as a communications professional with Hewlett-Packard driving the communication strategy, development and implementation of executive, sales, employee, PR, industry analyst, and customer focused initiatives, Renate decided to take a two-year hiatus. During her break from the corporate world, she enjoyed spending as much time as possible with her two children, Morgan and Jake.
In December of 2004, Renate started her own consulting business - Kammersgard Consulting- focused on executive, internal, external and marketing communications. Kammersgard's clients to date include Intuit, Hewlett-Packard, and Queen of Apostles School.
"I joined IABC as a 500 Club Member because I consider being a part of an organization that values creativity and professionalism, sharing best practices, and networking as imperative in today's business environment," commented Kammersgard. "I look forward to serving on IABC's board again as VP of Membership for 2007."
In her free time, Renate enjoys scrapbooking, supporting her children's various sporting endeavors, and spending time with friends and family.
John Robertson, VP of Partnerships and Sponsorship
As Vice President of Partnerships and Sponsorships, John is responsible for building relationships between our chapter and other external organizations. The goal of these relationships is to improve the value the chapter brings to its members.
Through partnerships, John will be exploring ways to team with other local communication associations like PRSA and WIC. He will also be responsible for co-marketing events with the San Francisco chapter of IABC. The goal of these partnerships is to provide a broader range of contacts, job seekers and job opportunities for all.
For sponsorships, John’s goal is to secure funding that allows the Silicon Valley chapter to continue offering high-quality programs and services to our members at reasonable prices. If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please drop John an email at jrobertson@roico.com.
John is currently a Senior Associate for ROI Communications, an internal communications consulting firm focusing on helping organizations through change. When he’s not working with clients, he enjoys time with my two boys, Jack and Drew. His hobbies include volleyball, golf, and watching the Green Bay Packers (with cheesehead).
Tony Berumen, VP of Technology
Tony is the webmaster for Hewlett Packard’s worldwide internal communications website, hpNOW. He is responsible for maintaining the site’s content, including program and database development.
Prior to joining HP, Tony was an independent software developer who’s clients included the City of Mountain View Fire Department, Darryl Sink and Associates, Apple Computer, Advantage Computing, Agilent, Whiskey Hill Software, Hewlett Packard and the Electric Power Research Institute.
He occupies much of his free time gardening and raising California native plants in his central coast home.
Yvonne Thomson, VP of Volunteers
Yvonne joined IABC over 6 years ago and has been an active member of the board serving previously as VP of Technology, President, and Past President. She is excited about continuing her involvement as VP of Volunteers this year.
Professionally, Yvonne has over 15 years experience in marketing and internal communications at Mervyn's, Hewlett Packard, Intuit and a full service-marketing agency. Currently, at eBay, Yvonne facilitates the exchange of information to help connect employees to business strategies and supports a variety of communications needs, from strategic communications planning to consulting on executive communications. She holds a BS degree in Marketing and an MBA, both from Santa Clara University.
Personally, she and her husband and enjoy spending time with their two sons (Peter, 9 & Nicholas 5) in the mountains or at the local Shark Tank. Expressing her creative side—Yvonne is an avid scrapbooker.
Deborah Hoard, Director of Volunteers
Since joining IABC almost 4 years ago, Deborah has been actively involved in contributing to the development and strength of the Silicon Valley chapter. She started as the Judging Director and served as a Board member for two years as the VP of Membership and the VP of Volunteers. For the 2007 year, Deborah will continue recruiting volunteers as the Volunteer Director.
Deborah has run her own marketing communications project management company, Net Results, for over nine years. She has managed the development and production of a variety of global marketing programs, implemented corporate branding initiatives across all levels of marketing touch points, and created streamlined and cost-saving project processes for a range of Silicon Valley businesses, from start ups to Fortune 500 companies. Deborah has compiled a proven track record of consistently delivering powerful results for her clients such as Cisco Systems, Inc., Maxtor Corporation, Quantum Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Informatica Corporation, and BroadVision, Inc.
Adrienne Alessandro, Membership Director
Adrienne is an internal communications manager who focuses on company-wide initiatives for Intuit's corporate communications team. In this role, she drives CEO communication and technical requirements plus comm. support for the redesign of Intuit's intranet – in addition to providing strategic communication support to groups including Marketing, Legal and Finance. Prior to joining Intuit in 2006, Adrienne spent six years in a communication and event-planning role with Adobe Systems. During that time, she was recognized both by the American Society of Professional Communicators and Dalton Pen for excellence in writing. Adrienne holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and professional writing from the University of Redlands .
“IABC membership has helped me immensely. I've found colleagues with whom to benchmark and share best practices, completed the IABC-Ithaca College program for personal development, and stayed current on the latest trends in communication. I'm excited to share the benefits of such a great resource with new members.”
Adrienne is married to a full-time operations manager at Google/part-time U.S. Airman, and together they spend their free time like oldsters – playing Scrabble once their 10- and 2-year olds are in bed.
Jamie Beckett, Director, Programs
Jamie is managing editor of the HP Labs external Web site, responsible for content strategy, creation and quality for Hewlett-Packard's advanced research center.
Under Jamie's leadership, the site has become a dynamic tool promoting HP innovation, with a steady stream of features, news, multimedia and blogs. She's also responsible for providing compelling content on advanced technologies to HP communication vehicles worldwide.
Prior to HP, Jamie spent 10 years at The San Francisco Chronicle as an editor and reporter. She also worked at Newsday, the Norwich (Conn.) Bulletin and the Stamford (Conn.) Advocate, where she was part of a team nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Jamie holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree in American Studies and magazine journalism from Syracuse University.
Jamie is also a published fiction writer, a passionate gardener an avid reader.
Sharon Cullen, VP of Finance
As the VP of Finance, Sharon is responsible for managing the Silicon Valley IABC Chapter financial transactions, records and budget.
Sharon is a Communications Manager at Cisco Systems, Inc. located in San Jose, California. At Cisco, Sharon manages communications efforts for the Commercial Business Council, which sets forth the strategy for the Commercial market segment. In addition to her work on the Council, Sharon is involved in various communications initiatives within the Corporate Positioning organization including best practice development and mentoring.
Prior to joining Cisco Systems in 2006, Sharon began her communications career at Sun Microsystems, Inc. in various roles with the Venture Investment team, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Acquisition Integration. During her 10 year tenure at Sun, she was instrumental in building an online executive deal reporting system and establishing the communications infrastructure for 10+ acquisitions.
Sharon holds a B.S. Degree in Advertising from San Jose State University and an A.S. Degree in Commercial Arts from Mission College in Santa Clara, California.
A native of San Jose, Sharon and her family reside in Milpitas, California. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband Joe and two young daughters who are active in soccer and Girl Scouts. Sharon enjoys gourmet cooking, music and decorating her new home.
As a new board member, Sharon intends to collaborate with the team to maintain and monitor the Chapter’s financial obligations. Additionally, she hopes to further automate and document the finance processes for ease, accuracy and portability for future board members.
Laura Roman, Communications Director
Laura Roman is IT Executive Communications Manager at Hewlett-Packard Company. In this role she works to identify near and long term communication opportunities that support IT strategy and objectives, as well as the communications methods and tools that best support the message and the audience.
Laura has nine years experience in corporate communications. Prior to Hewlett-Packard, she was partner and co-founder of an executive communications consulting firm, providing keynote presentation, editorial, blogging, podcasting, executive platform and messaging services to high tech executives.
Laura combines her business experience with ten years experience as a professor of communications in the US and Europe. Prior to her position at Stanford, she held posts at Oxford University (where she completed her Ph.D.,) Sorbonne and the American University of Paris. Her academic research includes work on music, language, and the rhetoric of sound, which has informed her approach to speech writing and coaching executives to render an effective delivery.
Laura is a triathlete and former competitive figure skater; she teaches the sport in her spare time.
Pam Leitterman, Director of Community
Pam Leitterman has 28 years experience in communications, training, and customer experience. Most recently she was the Global Customer Experience and Quality Communications Manager for Hewlett-Packard where she was responsible for company-wide customer experience program communication targeted to executives, managers, employees, and industry analysts. Pam is known as a strategic thinker with strengths that include synthesizing and simplifying complex ideas, leading geographically-dispersed teams, designing and managing meetings, advising executives, and achieving practical alignment of vision and tactics. In the organizations she serves, she is recognized as the go-to person for making credible and timely information exchange happen.
Pam was thrilled to be in San Antonio at the 2008 IABC Leadership Institute to accept the chapter’s Merit Award for Community. “Leadership Institute is a wonderful forum for professional development, best practices, and networking. I so appreciate the opportunity to have attended in 2008 and look forward to sharing what I learned with other leaders and members of our chapter.”
Other personal interests include reading and singing. “I’m currently reading Gently Down the Stream: 4 Unforgettable Keys to Success by Matt Weinstein who was the keynote speaker at this year’s Leadership Institute. And I’m learning music and preparing publicity for an April 27 performance of The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins.”