Co-Presidents
Carla Capizzi
Carla Capizzi is a senior public relations specialist at Rutgers University in Newark NJ, where she works in media relations, publications and public relations. She also is the campus webpage editor and does ghost-writing. Prior to coming to Rutgers in 1995, Carla worked in corporate communications with Prudential Financial in Newark for 14 years, working in employee communications, client communications, marketing and speech-writing. She received awards from the IABC and the LIAA for her publications work. She also worked with financial services clients as a communications consultant.
Carla started her career as a copy editor, reporter and feature columnist for the Herald-News, a daily newspaper in northern New Jersey. She is a graduate of Montclair State University, where she as editor of The Montclarion weekly student paper, and a news-writer for the campus radio station.
Lynn D. McFarlane
Lynn D. McFarlane is a seasoned communications professional with more than 20 years experience that includes public relations, marketing, writing, editing and special event planning, primarily in the educational and healthcare arenas. She currently serves as director of communications and marketing for the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey’s School of Nursing, which offers the state’s largest program of graduate nursing education. Prior positions include director of marketing and public relations for Saint Clare’s Health System; director of public affairs for Liberty Healthcare; assistant director for communications at the national Consortium for Policy Research in Education (based at Rutgers University); and director of public relations for the Montclair, NJ Board of Education.
McFarlane has also served as consultant for corporate and not-for-profit clients, as well as freelance reporter and copy editor for newspapers and magazines. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Temple University and recently completed a professional certificate in Marketing Positioning and Branding from New York University. McFarlane was named recipient of a 2008 Pyramid Award for a publication completed for UMDNJ-School of Nursing. She is particularly interested in harnessing the power of digital communications, social networking and other emerging communication vehicles in promoting not-for-profit organizations. McFarlane served as a vice president of programming for AWC-NJ from 2006-2008.
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Secretary
Holly Kaplansky
Holly Kaplansky is the owner of Minuteman Press of Newark, which she purchased in 2005 after a successful 30-year career in corporate upper-management. Minuteman, located in Newark, NJ, is a full-service operation offering printing, copying, and bindery services, as well as branding and design of brochures, flyers, Web sites, letterheads, business cards, and other print products
Holly has served in executive management positions for companies in both New Jersey and New York, giving her a solid background in management and marketing. Her experiences have included successes at Ovid Technologies, where she was Global Marketing Director, and Russ Candybears as Chief Operating Officer. During her tenure at Kraft General Foods, Inc. as Product Manager, she was responsible for consecutive annual revenue growths of 45, 34 and 40%.
Holly is a member of the North Essex Chamber of Commerce, and is President-Elect of the NJ Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO). She is also a 2006 winner of the Teal Heart Award, a NJAWBO service award designed to acknowledge members for outstanding service and dedication. Holly’s company is certified as a Woman Owned Business (WBE), Small Business Enterprise (SBE) by the State of New Jersey, and a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) by NJ Transit. Holly earned her B.A. in Art from the State University of New York.
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Vice Presidents—Programming
Beth Forman
Beth Forman is the Director of Marketing for Euro-American Brands, one of the largest U.S. importers of Gourmet Specialty Foods and Confections from Europe. She serves as the liaison to over fifteen manufacturers and suppliers, including Ritter Sport Chocolate and Bahlsen Cookies (Germany), Anthon Berg Confections (Denmark), Manner Wafers (Austria), and Jacquot (France), building and enhancing their marketing presence to distributors and customers in all classes of trade.
Prior to joining Euro-American Brands in 1999, Beth was Director of Marketing Communications for Ogden Entertainment Services where she managed the creative direction for sales presentations and sponsorship sales; developed marketing campaigns and presentations with an emphasis on high end, value-added service; and directed all advertising, promotions, and public relation. During her tenure with the company, she helped close over $1.4 billion in new business and was the 1994 recipient of Ogden's Masters Awards for outstanding achievement.
Prior to Ogden, Beth was a Communications Consultant designing marketing and promotional services for companies and executives in financial services, construction, and engineering. She has taught writing at Bergen Community College and Columbia University. Beth received her B.A. in English from New York University, her M.A. in English from Columbia University, and her M.B.A. in Finance from Rutgers University. She has been a member of Women In Communications since 1989 (New York City, Chicago, and Northern New Jersey chapters) and is a member of AAUW (American Association of University Women).
Laurel Weber Snyder
Laurel Weber Snyder has more than 20 years of experience in corporate and broadcast communications. She has coached hundreds of executives, physicians and scientists in on-camera presentation, live appearances, and message development. In addition to her private clients, she is currently traveling the country as a consultant for a multinational communications firm, teaching medical thought leaders public speaking techniques and strategies. As a consultant Laurel prepared executives, researchers, and others to speak publicly for such organizations as Novartis, Medco, Janssen, Merck, AT&T, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Atlantic Health Systems and the Robert Wood Johnson Health Network. She also brings extensive production experience as a producer/director of location segments for production companies, several of which won awards.
A former host of medical “specials” distributed prime time on ABC television New York, she also produced and hosted a health series for the public, distributed monthly on cable outlets in the tri-state area. As Manager of Corporate Communications for a leading medical lab, Corning Lab Sciences, she honed the public speaking skills of management and other company spokespeople. She gave multiple workshops as well as provided one-on-one training. Laurel has a bachelor’s degree from New York University.
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Vice Presidents—Communications
Kathleen Brunet Eagan
Kathleen Brunet Eagan is the owner of Clarus Associates, LLC, a copywriting, communications and marketing firm serving higher education, nonprofits, professional associations, small businesses and corporate clients. Prior to starting her own firm in 2005, she worked as Director of Communications for the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA) where she was responsible for the Society’s internal and external communication vehicles, media relations and special programs. Previous to that, she held the position of Assistant Director of Communications for the Newark campus of Rutgers University, where she also served as a science publicist. She began her career as journalist working as a municipal and education reporter for several daily newspapers, including the Daily Progress in Charlottesville, Virginia, and The Union-News in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Kathleen earned her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her Master’s in Public Administration from Rutgers University. She is the recipient of a number of awards, including three Pyramid Awards from the Public Relations Society of America/New Jersey Chapter and several APEX awards for publication excellence in both print and online formats.
Shelley Kusnetz
For over 25 years, Shelley Kusnetz has been photographing people from all walks of life. She has worked extensively in public relations, corporate/industrial, executive portraiture, editorial, annual reports, special events, political campaigns, private parties and, over the past couple of years, aerial. In the work Shelley does with people, she has found that a combination of openness, kindness and a gentle approach always produces wonderful results. Photographing people requires a good critical eye, knowledge of the medium and empathy with the subjects. Shelley loves what she does and it shows in her work.
Shelley is a member of the American Society of Media Photographers. Her work titled "Beyond the Music" won the 2006 Gold Jasper Award, Direct Mail Single Piece, from The Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association.
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Vice Presidents—Membership
Francine LaMarr
Francine LaMarr is a career strategy coach dedicated to working with women in Communications who are looking to fast-track their careers to the executive level. She has over 20 years experience in various communication roles, from broadcast and journalism to advertising, PR and marketing. Her career choices led to the opportunity to leverage her passion for entertainment via long-term positions at Time Warner and, most recently at HBO where she was a marketing director for 12 years, overseeing the video marketing efforts of a diverse product line including Sports, Family, Late Night, Comedy and Documentary programming.
Francine utilizes personal experience in addressing 5 key challenges that women moving into executive positions face: creating and executing a personal career strategy; developing the leadership skills that have the most impact on career success; maintaining an external network that is both enjoyable and effective in attracting new opportunities; standing out from the competition by utilizing the attributes of personal branding; prioritizing multiple life roles and responsibilities to include a rich personal life.
Francine is a CTA Certified Coach and is qualified to administer the prestigious Myers-Briggs® Type Indicator and the CEO Partnership Emotional Intelligence Assessment. She is also a certified Personal Branding Strategist. Francine's current professional affiliations include the International Coach Federation, International Association of Business Communicators, the Association of Women in Communications and the Garden State Woman Educational Foundation.
Nicole Carrubba
Nicole Carrubba, Principal and Founder of Captivate Communications, has an extensive background in marketing communications, project management and product development. In addition to her experience in a variety of industries, Nicole also has particularly strong expertise in the legal marketing profession. She possesses a deep knowledge base in how to position and sell to lawyers and law firms online, and has held senior positions at one of the most prestigious legal technology companies, prior to forming Captivate Communications. In addition to her legal marketing experience, Nicole has specific expertise in brand development, transformations and integrations and has been a driver of several companies' newly acquired product portfolio integrations. She has also held several senior-level positions in major corporations, including Director of Product Marketing. Nicole has her MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University and an undergraduate degree in communications.
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Vice President—Corporate Relations
Karen Streiff
With over 20 years experience in film and television production as a director, writer and producer, Karen Streiff has created hundreds of memorable and dynamic programs for her clients. Her expertise in eliciting poignant interviews, designing compelling graphics and scores, and writing inspired scripts will generate the results you need with your audience -- on-time, and on-budget - 24/7!
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Vice Presidents—Student Relations
Marnie Lawler McDonough
Marnie Lawler McDonough is an Account Group Supervisor for Insidedge in New York. She has extensive communications experience including internal communications, public relations, event-planning, global communication, promotions and marketing. For almost eight years, she has worked in entertainment media, both on the cable system and the television network sides. At Insidedge, she has worked with clients including Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, American Express, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Vonage.
Prior to joining Insidedge, Marnie was the marketing manager for Comcast Spotlight in the NY area. There she planned events and helped to implement internal communications strategies for her division. She also worked closely with ad sales professionals to conceive and execute creative marketing solutions for their clients. Marnie began her career at BBC Worldwide Americas, where she managed the North American internal and external communications practice. At the BBC, she gained valuable experience in international communications, serving as the US lead in global employee initiatives.
Marnie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Scranton and a Master of Arts in Corporate and Organizational Communication from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is an active member of both the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the Association for Women in Communications (AWC) and previously launched and co-chaired the New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Mentoring Committee.
Nicole Bansal
Nicole Bansal is a rising Senior at Rutgers University. She is very involved with student organizations, including the Association for Women in Communications and Lambda Pi Eta, the Communication Honor Society. She is an experienced coordinator having organized PR campaigns to raise awareness for AWC-Rutgers chapter events, including promotional brochures, newsletters, and developing alliances with other campus organizations and Career Services.
Nicole is a communications and marketing major seeking a career as a brand manager in pharmaceutical or medical technology company. She has five years of diversified experience in pharmaceutical, medical care, and hospitality industries. Nicole specialized in lobbying, marketing, and public relations as it relates to the pharmaceutical industry. Her strengths are in areas of communication, research, public speaking, and leadership.
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