PRESIDENT
Susan Schulz
Susan has been at Hearst Magazines since 2000, currently serving as Editorial Brand Director of Cosmopolitan, where she oversees the website, CosmoBooks and a variety of other brand extensions. Prior to this she served as Editor-in-Chief of CosmoGirl. She began her career in magazine publishing as an Editorial Assistant at Redbook after earning a BA in English from Loyola College, Maryland. Susan has received much-deserved recognition for her community service including the 2003 Media Partnership Award from the National Eating Disorders Association, the 2005 “Do Something” Award from the National Alliance for Eating Disorder Awareness and a 2011 Galaxy Award from the New York Women’s Agenda. She is also the outgoing Chairman of the Advisory Board for GlamourGals Foundation, which provides complimentary makeovers to women living in senior homes.
TREASURER
Linda Buckley
Linda joined Tiffany & Co. in 1995, and today serves as Vice President of Worldwide Public Relations. In that position, she is responsible for all corporate public relations promotions, special events and media relations. She also serves as the company’s spokesperson to all consumer and jewelry industry press. Previously she held positions at the Diamond Information Center and at Fleishman-Hillard, where Linda executed strategic communications programs for fashion and lifestyle clients. Linda graduated from Colgate University with a degree in Economics.
ASSISTANT TREASURER
Susan Goodall
Susan joined Glamour in 2002, and today she is the magazine’s Editorial Development Director responsible for strategic development of the Glamour brand including web, TV, books, partnerships, charitable projects and events. Prior to joining Glamour, Susan was Executive Editor of Worth Magazine and has also served as Editorial Business Manager at Vanity Fair and Foreign Editions Editor at Harper’s Bazaar. She is a graduate of Smith College with a degree in English Literature.
SECRETARY
Catherine L. Carlozzi
Catherine is a communications professional with more than 30 years of experience in corporate, agency and consulting environments. Her specialty is business-to-business communications and speechwriting. Her clients include American Express Publishing, The Ayers Group, Departures, Karan International, Fortune, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Microsoft and Tiffany. An active member of NYWICI and its leadership since 1992, Catherine received the organization’s coveted Distinguished Service and Liz Hoover awards in 2009 and 1999, respectively. She earned a BA in English from Denison University and a MA in English from the University of Wisconsin.
VP- COMMUNICATIONS
Linda Levi
Linda is Managing Director of LSL Strategic Communications, a consultancy offering integrated marketing and editorial services to clients in the non-profit arena. She previously served as Senior Communications Officer at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Corporate Communications Director at New York Blood Center and Public Relations Director at the National Kidney Foundation. Earlier, Linda was Vice President at The Rowland Company, orchestrating public relations campaigns for such clients as MasterCard, Bacardi and McDonald’s. For her service to NYWICI, Linda received the Liz Hoover Award in 2010. Her BA in Communications and Foreign Languages is from American University and her Masters in Non-Profit Management is from New School University.
VP- COMMUNICATIONS
Kendra Bracken-Ferguson
Prior to launching Digital Brand Architects in NY, Kendra was instrumental in launching the digital practice group at Fleishman-Hillard NY and developing social media campaigns for such clients as AT&T, Motorola, DKNY, Reebok, Nine West and Gatorade. She launched Polo Ralph Lauren’s first global social media department, navigating brand management, marketing, advertising and public relations to develop and drive a cohesive online approach. Kendra has been named one of Mobile Marketer’s “Mobile Women to Watch in 2010” and was featured as one of 28 most influential African-American women in Essence in October 2011. She is also a member of the Leadership Council for YMCA of Greater New York. She has a love for education and a MBA.
VP- DEVELOPMENT
Jeanne-Marie Byington
Jeanne is President of JM Byington & Associates, Inc., a boutique agency offering public relations and marketing counsel to a range of clients including international corporations, family-owned businesses, associations and start-ups. Service is one of her passions and the topic of her blog — “The Importance of Earnest Service.” She currently directs the graduate communications mentoring program at Baruch College and is a former Trustee of the IFDA Educational Foundation. Her past service has earned Jeanne NYWICI’s Liz Hoover Award for Distinguished Service, the IFDA Honorary Recognition Award and the Circle of Excellence Award. Her degree in Government/History is from Boston University.
VP- HIGH SCHOOL OUTREACH
Judith Harrison
Judith is Senior Vice President, Staffing and Diversity & Inclusion, for the Constituency Management Group agencies, which include Weber Shandwick, GolinHarris, Rogers & Cowan, FutureBrand, Octagon, Jack Morton, KRC Research, Powell Tate and Axis Communications. She was previously Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Ruder Finn, after beginning her recruiting career as Vice President at The Fry Group. Judith also has a background in public relations and marketing. She also has lent her expertise to the Council of Public Relations Firms, the WorldStudio Foundation and the NY Chapter of American Women in Radio & TV. In 2011, Judith received a 2011 New York Women's Agenda Star Award.
VP- HIGH SCHOOL OUTREACH
Saundra Thomas
Saundra is Vice President of Community Affairs at WABC-TV, where she manages all community outreach and station community projects. She is also responsible for the station’s philanthropic support of more than 100 non-profit organizations. Earlier, Saundra was a writer/producer in WABC-TV’s Creative Services Department where she wrote, produced and edited on-air topical promotions for Eyewitness News and award-winning ABC7 special programs. She is also an active board member supporting organizations such as Jazz Reach and serving as current board chair of Council for Unity and Dancewave. Saundra’s BA in Journalism is from Rutgers University and her MA in Media Studies is from New School University.
VP- MENTORING
Erin Galloway
Erin is a Publicist for the Berkley and NAL imprints of Penguin Group (USA), where she works to book media coverage, events and book tours for fiction and non-fiction authors. She runs publicity campaigns for New York Times bestselling authors such as Nora Roberts, Laurell K. Hamilton, Kay Hooper and Nalini Singh as well as debut authors. Erin’s BA in Communications is from Lemoyne College and her MS in Publishing is from Pace University.
VP- MENTORING
Beth-Ellen Keyes
Beth-Ellen is a corporate communications and conference/event production specialist with strategic experience across a wide range of industry sectors. She is currently the Operating Director of SpeakerSpace, a conference development and corporate communications consultancy she founded in 1997. Her clients have included Variety, A&E Networks, the Paley Center for Media, the Toy Industry Association, the World Technology Summit & Awards, the TED Conference and Winstar Broadband Services. Beth-Ellen spearheaded the Foundation’s mentoring program and has also chaired NYWICI’s annual Matrix Awards for 10 years. She also serves as an Executive Committee Member of the New York Women’s Agenda (NYWA) and a three-time Chair of its prestigious annual STAR Breakfast. She attended the City College of New York.
VP- SCHOLAR RELATIONS
Marie Dugo
Marie is currently in the NBCUniversal East Coast Page Program, a year-long career development and pipeline program. Her assignments have included assisting production at “Today,” public relations for the NBC-owned TV stations, management of the NBC Studio tours and audience coordination for “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “Saturday Night Live” and “The Dr. Oz Show.” Marie first interned with NBCU in 2009 in MSNBC News Media Relations and again in 2010 at Superb Entertainment. Marie also has the distinction of being the first-ever three-time Foundation scholarship recipient, winning awards in 2007, 2008 and 2009. She graduated from Vassar College in 2011 with a BA in Media Studies and Urban Studies.
VP- SCHOLAR RELATIONS
Lauren Gould
Laura is Media Relations Manager at Bullfrog & Baum, a public relations firm specializing in restaurants, consumer products and personalities. Previously she produced culinary and celebrity segments for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) and helped launch “Living in Style,” a weekly program hosted by fashion trendsetters Robert Verdi and Judy Licht. She is a James Beard Foundation award winner as well as a recipient of a New York Women in Communications Foundation scholarship. Prior to working at MSLO, Lauren freelanced at ABC Sports and held internships at Lifetime TV, Howard County Government TV, News 12 Long Island and ID Public Relations. Lauren graduated with a BA from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, and she is a proud 2011 NYC Marathon finisher.
VP- SCHOLARSHIPS
Joan Cear
Joan, the Immediate Past President of the Foundation, is Vice President of Communications at Kellen Communications responsible for public relations, marketing communications, social media, integrated marketing and issues management programs for clients in the NY office. Before joining Kellen, she was Managing Director at G.S. Schwartz & Co. for 10 years, where she led the consumer practice in both new business development and client management. Joan had been President and Owner of The Wachsman Cear Group when it merged with G.S. Schwartz in 2001. In addition to her Foundation service, Joan is the public relations advisor to Angel Flight Northeast and a board member of Education Housing Services. She earned a BA in Communications from the State University of New York at Oswego.
VP- SCHOLARSHIPS
Karen Karpowich
Karen was formerly Senior Vice President and head of account management divisions for Scali, McCabe, Sloves and Ketchum. She subsequently became involved in women’s empowerment issues and in 1998 joined iVillage, the largest community of women on the Internet. As Vice President of Sponsorship Marketing, she developed and managed all their Fortune 500 partnerships. In 2002, Karen created the Trendsetters Network in conjunction with the NYC Board of Education to cultivate the interest of young women in science, medicine, engineering and technology careers. In addition to her work with the Foundation, Karen is Immediate Past President of the New York Women’s Agenda and currently chairs the board of She’s the First. Karen is a graduate of Hunter College with a degree in Theater and Film, and she is also a published poet who has been presented at Symphony Space and Writers Collaborative.
VP- STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
Audrey B. Pass
Audrey is Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs for WNYW-TV/FOX5 and WWOR-TV/My9, the Fox-owned flagship TV stations in NY, where she oversees media and talent relations as well as public and community affairs. She is the Executive Producer of two weekly public affairs programs and has executive produced the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, the Hispanic Day Parade and Gospelfest 2008. Previously Audrey was Director of Communications for WBCS-TV and Senior Publicist at Harpo Productions in Chicago. Before that she was Director of Marketing and Public Relations for The Second City, Inc., and Assistant Director of Marketing and Press Relations for the Museum of Broadcast Communications. For her community service efforts, Audrey has won numerous richly-deserved awards. She graduated cum laude with a BA from Washington University.
VP- STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
Francine Ryan
Francine has held sales management positions at House Beautiful and People as well as at Country Living, where she broke sales records and the glass ceiling. Her ability to create and sell ideas that wed advertisers to the magazine earned her the first Marketing Director/Associate Publisher position at Country Living. She went on to Associate Publisher/Marketing Director positions at Martha Stewart Living and Good Housekeeping, before leaving in 2000 to join with her husband/business partner to create The Ryan Group (TRG). As President and Chief Marketing Officer of TRG, Francine manages clients’ needs, creating and executing innovative, multi-platform marketing solutions. She studied at New York University and has truly created a communications industry legacy — her three children all work in advertising, sales and marketing.
VP- STUDENT AFFAIRS
Rachel Bowie
Rachel is Associate Editor, Digital Editions, Good Housekeeping. Previously she was Associate Editor for Boston Common, where she helped launch the magazine and covered its entertainment, philanthropy and travel sections. Rachel has also written for Forbes Travel Guide, PureWow.com, Gotham, Parent & Child and other print and online outlets. She received a MA in Journalism from Emerson College and earned her undergraduate degree from Wheaton College in Massachusetts, where she was in the Wheatones, an a capella group.
VP- STUDENT AFFAIRS
Stephanie Fraiman
Stephanie is the Associate Public Relations Manager for The Knot Inc., where she works to promote all the company’s brands focusing primarily on TheKnot.com and TheNest.com. Previously she was an Account Executive at Kellen Communications where she worked on PR campaigns for such clients as Sweet’N Low, Sugar in the Raw, the MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership, Jennifer Brisman Weddings New York and Fred Marcus Photography. She is a graduate of the University of Florida with a BS in Public Relations and a minor in Jewish Studies.
VP- YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
Dorothy Crenshaw
As CEO/Creative Director of Crenshaw Communications, Dorothy is the creative force behind a broad range of high-profile marketing public relations campaigns. Previously she was President of Stanton Crenshaw, one of the nation’s premier mid-sized PR firms. Before creating her own businesses, Dorothy was Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Worldwide Consumer Marketing with GCI Group, the PR unit of Grey Advertising. Prior to Grey, she was with Edelman Public Relations Worldwide as Senior Vice President. She began her PR career at Dorf and Stanton, where she rose from Account Executive to Executive Vice President and Partner in seven years. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Dorothy was named one of the public relations industry’s “100 Most Powerful Women” by PR Week.
ADVISOR
Nancy Megan
Nancy comes from the worlds of advertising and magazine publishing including tenures at a number of advertising agencies and 27 years at TIME Inc. For Time and Sports Illustrated, she directed advertising promotion, special events and industry conferences. She also served as President and Executive Director for Advertising Women of New York (AWNY). A graduate of Wellesley College with a BA in Music, Nancy helped establish the New York Women in Communications Foundation and previously served as its VP-Finance.
Kellen Company
355 Lexington Ave., 15th Floor
New York, NY 10017-6603
T: (212) 297-2133 Fax: (212) 370-9047
Maria Ungaro
Executive Director
(212) 297-2124
mungaro@kellencompany.com
The Foundation's Mission
New York Women in Communications Foundation, the philanthropic arm of New York Women in Communications, Inc., cultivates leaders in our field by providing financial support, opportunities for professional development and mentoring, and entrée to a diverse community of communications professionals. We are the largest foundation for women’s communications scholarships in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut-Pennsylvania region.
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