CMD Alumni Advisory Council March Visit
The Alumni Advisory Council for the communication management and design program was on campus March 27-28, 2008. Members of the council visited classes and engaged with faculty and students, offering their perspectives on student work, the current professional environment, and future directions for the program.
Traveling to snowy Ithaca this year were Henry L. Berman '74, Elizabeth King '02, Andree S. Mastrosimone '88, Eric Tabone MS'05, and Aaron Zwas '95. With the increased interest of CMD students in event management careers, King made a special presentation about opportunities in her profession, answering the questions of an enthusiastic crowd. Council members follow up their annual visit by submitting a report with their suggestions to Steven Seidman, department chair and CMD program director.
The Council members span various generations of the undergraduate program which is now called communication management and design. Alumni of the graduate program in communications also participate. They all represent the breadth of industries and professions that CMD graduates enter.
Berman is president and trustee of The Edith Glick Shoolman Children’s Foundation. He also works with organizations on the use of film, video, and other media technologies for communication, motivation, information, education and training. In his 30 years of media experience, he has provided consulting services and created videos, films, multimedia and print materials for, among others, Compaq Computer, Boeing, GM, DaimlerChrysler, the United Auto Workers, Sun Microsystems, Fidelity Investments, The University of Michigan, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Polaroid, Reebok, Avid Technology and the A&E Network.
King is a corporate events planner at iStar Financial Inc., a commercial real estate finance company in Manhattan. She serves as the lead planner for approximately 50 of the company’s 90+ annual corporate events including internal conferences, board meetings, client receptions, golf outings, investor events, and an annual fund raiser at Madison Square Garden. For the last two years, Liz has volunteered as an on-site event manager for the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation. She is also an active member of the International Special Events Society (ISES) and Meeting Professionals International (MPI).
As president and senior strategist for Calm & Sense Communications, Ltd., Mastrosimone has over 20 years of experience in corporate and marketing communications, specifically in the areas of strategic planning, executive coaching, copywriting/ speechwriting, creative direction, and project/media production management. Founded in 1992, her company has been recognized with over 25 local, national and international industry awards for its work. She is also a board member on the Fairport, NY Office of Economic & Community Development.
Tabone is a producer with Big Spaceship LLC, a top digital agency which uses emerging technologies to build award winning campaigns across disciplines: broadcast design, original video content, multi-platform digital marketing, and branded gaming. Prior to Big Spaceship, he was a project manager at the interactive agency, Domani Studios in Brooklyn, New York, and a web developer at The Cyrus Company in Ithaca.
Zwas is principal of the New York City-based consulting firm he began in 2003, the Zwas Group. He works with clients such as The Blackstone Group and Groupe Danone to provide business process optimization, policy and procedure development, training development and delivery, application and vendor selection, and project management. He began his professional career as a technical writer and online help developer and distance learning consultant for The CBORD Group in Ithaca.
Advisory Council members Samantha Aurelia MS'01 and Rich Morris '81 were unable to attend.
Aurelia is currently a senior brand consultant for Wachovia in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she supports the advertising efforts for all levels of recruitment in the organization. Her responsibilities include developing core branding messages for Wachovia as an employer creating targeted ad campaigns across the nation and internationally, and building market-entry tools for Wachovia’s new territories. She also has acted as a relationship manager for the various vendors Wachovia uses in the recruitment advertising space.
Morris is currently a principal in a consulting firm, ROI Consulting, specializing in family business. He also teaches marketing at The Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Rich has been a visiting instructor at Ithaca College and has lectured at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, as well as numerous association and automotive organizations.
0 Comments