I love to laugh, and I come from a family that can find humor in just about anything. I’ve hung around in this business so long because marketing people, in general, are pretty funny people. I’ve spent the bulk of my career in the financial services industry, which sounds rather dry and unfunny but, in fact, is filled with bright, creative, witty people (at least in the marketing department). I started out with the Philadelphia-based money management firm Delaware Investments where I learned how to market mutual funds to brokers and their clients and developed and implemented sales promotions and incentive programs. It was an interesting tenure. I started in the business when the stock market was raging and we operated in an “anything goes” environment. Quite honestly, it wasn’t very hard to get people to invest in a stock market that was making record gains each day. We all felt very smart. A year later, the market crashed (not so funny) and the pendulum swung the other way. Now we had to “talk people down” so to speak, and educate them on why they should put their money back into the stock market. This was marketing!

Educating brokers, who, in turn, educated their clients, became (and still is) an important part of the marketing process in the financial industry. It was during this time that I implemented and managed Delaware Investments “Due Diligence” and producer recognition programs and was responsible for all facets of meeting and event management. Today, I continue to manage conferences, seminars, and events with Lincoln Financial who acquired Delaware Investments five years ago. I’m now doing this for DEETER as well.

Since my stint at Delaware, I’ve gathered a lot of wonderful experience through various marketing/communications positions. I’ve expanded my breadth of experience beyond the financial services industry, and I’ve gone from client to vendor, which provides a valuable perspective. I’ve never stopped learning and growing, and I continue to work with very smart, creative, fun people. I’m constantly trying to balance work and family and life. I love photography, youth sports (I spend a lot of time on fields), vacations, and Kentucky basketball – which often tests my sense of humor.