Staff
Marketing General Incorporated has assembled some of the membership marketing profession’s most creative thinkers and experienced managers with a diversity of backgrounds and depth of expertise you will find nowhere else.
Richard P. Whelan
President
I often say that MGI stands for “Many Great Individuals.” The skills, experience, and can-do spirit of my colleagues is MGI’s greatest resource.”
Rick Whelan has more than 30 years of marketing and advertising experience for both non-profit and for-profit organizations and now manages 60 marketing specialists implementing strategic marketing for 45 organizations in 16 states and the District of Columbia. He was recently awarded the 2009 Direct Marketing Association of Washington’s (DMAW) Award for Distinguished Achievement (ADA) recognizing his lifetime contributions to direct marketing.
Over the course of his career Mr. Whelan has designed creative strategies and implemented marketing programs for dozens of education, healthcare, public service, trade, professional, and fundraising organizations.
Rick is a Certified Direct Marketer and serves on the Direct Marketing Association of Washington, DC, Educational Foundation Board of Directors. He is a past DMAW Board Chair and former Chair of the American Society for Association Executives Membership Section. A frequent presenter for ASAE, DMAW, PCMA and other organizations, he has authored numerous articles on association marketing.
Rick earned his BS in Political Science and Social Science from Frostburg State University.
He may be reached at Rick@MarketingGeneral.com
Tony Rossell
Senior Vice President
“Membership marketing – recruiting, engaging, upgrading, and renewing members – is the cornerstone for associations and relationship driven organizations.”
Tony Rossell joined Marketing General Incorporated more than 25 years ago and now oversees all aspects of association membership marketing. He is a strategic thinker who integrates all levels of direct response marketing to expand membership and increase dues and non-dues revenue.
Mr. Rossell has designed hundreds of marketing programs for dozens of association and corporate clients including some that have more than tripled membership.
He makes numerous presentations to professional organizations including ASAE and the Center for Association Leadership, the Direct Marketing Association of Washington, the USPS Postal Partners, the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives, and the American Marketing Association.
Mr. Rossell is a prolific contributor to marketing publications including Associations Now magazine, Membership Developments, and the Chicago Forum, and he is a contributing author to two books, Membership Marketing (ASAE 2000) and Membership Essentials (ASAE 2008).
Tony is a graduate of Dickinson College where he earned his BA in History.
He may be reached at Tony@MarketingGeneral.com
Raylene Kershaw, CDM
Senior Vice President & COO
“I have the greatest respect for our staff – experts who are passionate about client success – and that is reflected in everything we do.”
Raylene Kershaw has exceptional marketing and management experience with both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Working in visual communications for over 30 years, she has managed a major design studio and served eleven years as creative director and operations vice president for a large marketing/visual arts firm.
Kershaw has developed marketing and creative strategies for hundreds of clients, from corporate identity development and branding to convention marketing. She currently directs internal operations and account management at Marketing General Incorporated.
Ms. Kershaw has guest-taught a Masters’ communications course at American University, has judged numerous corporate communications competitions, (i.e., United Way, National Restaurant Association, and the Society for Marketing Professional Services), as well as speaking frequently at PCMA and ASAE.
Ms. Kershaw is a graduate of Penn State University with a BFA in Visual Communications and earned her Certified Direct Marketing certificate from Virginia Commonwealth University.
She can be reached at Raylene@MarketingGeneral.com
Erik Schonher
Vice President
“We work as a team for our clients, from our officers and account managers to graphic artists and production managers. We are all active participants in our clients’ success.”
With 21 years experience in sales development and marketing management, Erik Schonher in many ways exemplifies the keen spirit of an entrepreneurial businessman. He has held corporate leadership positions in publishing and consumer products and he founded and managed his own highly successful direct marketing agency.
Mr. Schonher is an experienced strategic planner and a seasoned tactician who mixes direct marketing, media placement, branding, creative design, and web marketing into multi-channel campaigns.
As vice president at Marketing General Incorporated, Erik oversees MGILists, and is one of the most successful client sales representatives. Mr. Schonher’s clients include the National Association of Housing Redevelopment Professionals; the American Health Information Management Association; the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists; the American Chiropractic Association; and the Association of School Personnel Executives.
Mr. Schonher regularly presents at meetings and conferences including the ASAE Annual Conference and the ASAE Marketing & Membership Conference. He is the author of many professional articles and MGI white papers and hosts “Erik’s Experts in Membership Marketing,” a blog that examines membership marketing best practices, research and analysis, communication theories, and sales techniques.
Erik earned his Bachelor of Science from SUNY Fredonia and a Masters of Business Administration in Managerial Marketing and Management Information Systems from the Lubin Graduate School of Business at Pace University. He is also an avid musician and is sometimes seen playing his 1974 Fender P-Bass at local charity events.
Erik may be reached at ESchonher@MarketingGeneral.com
Page Stull, CDM
Senior Account Director
“We are marketers and we are strategists. We are tacticians and we are problem solvers. But most of all we are dedicated to serving our clients in every way we can.”
Page Stull has more than 30 years of marketing, communications, and management experience. In his 10 years at Marketing General Incorporated, he has developed creative strategies and directed marketing programs for more than a dozen association clients.
Mr. Stull was senior marketing manager at a business-to-business publisher and served as a congressional press secretary. He has worked in executive and editorial positions in newspapers, radio, and cable and broadcast television.
Page earned his BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the Kogod School of Business, and a Certified Direct Marketing certificate from Virginia Commonwealth University.
He may be reached at PStull@MarketingGeneral.com
Teresa Sullivan
Senior Account Director
“Analytics opens the door to new insights for better marketing strategies, which are the springboards for imaginative, creative, and innovative implementation.”
Teresa Sullivan brings to Marketing General Incorporated more than 25 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. Her credentials as an association executive include profit and loss responsibilities for dues and non-dues revenue, publications, and websites.
Ms Sullivan is a seasoned consultant to Fortune 500 companies including top ranked telecommunications, information technology, and consumer products firms. She was the knowledge management leader at one of the country’s foremost management consulting firms and has special expertise in databases and analysis.
Theresa is a regular speaker at industry conferences including the Direct Marketing Association, the National Center for Database Marketing, and the Inc. Magazine conference. She has authored articles for strategic marketing publications such as the DMA Business-to-Business Journal, Target magazine, and Relationship Marketing.
She may be reached at TSullivan@MarketingGeneral.com
Scott Seril, CDM
Senior Account Director
“There are few moments that are more satisfying than presenting our clients with the results of marketing programs that have done exceptionally well.”
Scott Seril has more than 20 years of experience in direct marketing and non-profit fundraising and has managed all aspects of multi-million dollar projects including copywriting, graphic art design, data segmentation and analysis, telemarketing, and print production.
Mr. Seril was an account director at a donor and advocacy communications firm where he oversaw membership development and fundraising programs for national and international humanitarian organizations.
Scott was also an account executive at a fundraising management company for national and international nonprofit organizations where he managed direct marketing programs for four separate multi-million dollar organizations.
He graduated from Queens College of the City University of New York with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. He is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Association Foundation Group, and the Direct Marketing Fundraising Association.
Scott may be reached at SSeril@MarketingGeneral.com.
Harold L. Maurer, CDM, CeM
Senior Account Director
“Successful membership growth programs demand a studied mix of broad marketing experience, practically applied knowledge, and hard won intuition with an exceptional commitment to clients.”
Harold Maurer brings to Marketing General Incorporated a depth and breadth of experience in corporate communications, integrated marketing consultancy, and agency executive management.
A Certified Direct Marketer and Certified eMarketer, he has designed and implemented MGI membership growth programs for the Institute for Supply Management, the Institute for Real Estate Management, and the National Business Aviation Association, among others.
Skilled in both traditional and advanced digital marketing techniques, Harold has been an account executive with Fortune 500 companies such as Rubbermaid, Cummins Engines, and the Trane Company; a senior consultant for Lexmark, 3M, Yellow Freight, Corporate Express, and IBM; and an agency executive for Publicis/Frankel and NetStrategies. Maurer’s honors include a national Golden Telly and the 2010 PRSA Thoth Award for Excellence in Social Media Marketing.
Harold holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Language Arts, and Certifications in Direct Marketing and eMarketing.
He may be reached at HMaurer@MarketingGeneral.com .
Todd Michaels, CDM
Director of Marketing Solutions, e-Business Division
“The challenge in electronic marketing is integrating complex systems so they seem simple to users and produce outstanding results for our clients and their prospects.”
Todd Michaels has fifteen years of marketing experience and oversees the development, execution, and management of best-practice electronic marketing communications strategies for MGI. He is experienced in developing and evaluating acquisition metrics, program profitability, usage patterns, and measuring return on investment, and he specializes in online lead generation.
Mr. Michaels is a skilled analyst of emerging technologies and their impacts on marketing techniques, site experience and design, creative testing, and how they contribute to bottom line performance for MGI clients.
Todd is a graduate of the University of Central Florida and is a Direct Marketing Certified Professional.
Adina W. Wasserman, Ph.D.
Director of Market Research
“At MGI we understand the value of research; going beyond just the collection of member feedback to the creation of strategy and technique based on the data.”
Adina Wasserman has 15 years of experience in research and analysis and is highly trained in both quantitative and qualitative methodology and interpreting data to design strategic and tactical marketing programs. She has directed research projects for national and international clients in multiple industries as well as for governments and municipalities.
Dr. Wasserman was the Market Research Manager at a customer retention specialist company where she was responsible for all primary client research. Through her research she provided evidence-based information about client customers to guide strategic communication and marketing campaigns.
Adina earned her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and completed her Master’s and Ph.D. in social psychology at Florida State University where she concentrated on group dynamics and influences on behavior and decision-making.
She may be reached at AWasserman@MarketingGeneral.com
Kimberly Humphries, CDM
Production Director
“Production is at the nexus of what we do at MGI. I see our account managers envision exciting new projects for our clients and I have the privilege of helping them come true.”
Kimberly Humphries has more than a dozen years of management experience in print production and mail processing for corporate and non-profit organizations. She directs Marketing General Incorporated’s day-to-day printing and mailing operations and oversees a staff of experienced and customer-centric production managers.
Ms. Humphries coordinates client projects for MGI account managers with the MGI design team and data services professionals. She is liaison with dozens of suppliers and manufacturers and directs quality control for all aspects of print, personalization, and lettershop operations.
Before joining MGI, she handled print and mail operations for a Virginia non-profit association.
Kimberly earned her Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Messiah College.
Aleda Ahmed
Art Studio Director
“Creative design is a cornerstone of successful membership marketing and is often the first and lasting impression of an organization’s brand.”
Aleda Ahmed directs Marketing General Incorporated’s award-winning graphic design team. She cultivates an analytical approach to creative development that is as memorable and engaging as it is imaginative.
Ms. Ahmed has more than 28 years of experience in graphic design, visual arts, and manual and computer illustration for both corporate and non-profit organizations. She has worked with more than a half dozen Fortune 500 and Service 500 companies in manufacturing, transportation, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals.
In her ten years with Marketing General Incorporated, Aleda has pushed her design team to embrace innovation and expand their creative scope. She has introduced new technologies, products, and procedures as platforms for artistic invention and greater member engagement.
Aleda earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Tom Beauchamp
Data Services Director
“Our job is complex, exacting, and demanding. What we do with data, from conditioning to suppressions, is absolutely critical to the success of MGI’s client programs.”
Tom Beauchamp is the hands-on manager of Marketing General Incorporated’s Direct Data Services Division and brings nearly ten years of programming and data processing experience in direct marketing.
Mr. Beauchamp manages all aspects of data operations from file conditioning to authoring client and project specific merge-purge programs optimizing list resources. He has developed several proprietary services that MGI offers clients including member matchbacks to identify responders and a non-responders program that optimizes member acquisitions.
Tom also supervises project scheduling and quality control and directs Marketing General Incorporated’s team of database specialists and coordinators. He is also a postal service processing and regulations specialist.
He was the lead programmer for one of the East Coast’s largest letter shops where he worked with a variety of Fortune 500 clients.
Tom studied computer science and sports medicine at Old Dominion University.
Barbara Armentrout
Media Services Director
“Successful membership marketing is all about the careful selection of lists and being certain they are the best conditioned and most carefully segmented files possible.”
Ms. Armentrout manages MGI’s Media Services division that houses list management and brokerage services for nearly 100 companies and associations.
She came to MGILists in 2007 following her service as Executive Director of the Direct Marketing Association of Washington, DMAW.
Barbara is experienced in both publishing and marketing. She was marketing director for a prominent national housing and development newsletter and for more than 10 years held marketing and conference roles for one of the top legal publications firms.
She is a past member of the D.C. Postal Customer Council executive committee and serves on a variety of professional boards and committees.
Barbara can be reached at BArmentrout@MarketingGeneral.com.
Tim Andrews
Director of Technology & Development
“It’s constantly exciting to see new technologies deliver better results for our clients and better value for the investment of time and intelligence by our account staff.”
Tim Andrews became IS Director in 1996 and oversaw the modernization and expansion of MGI’s technology infrastructure that facilitated new technology applications in day-to-day operations.
Tim developed MGI’s data center, which now handles more than 80 million records each year. He also contributed to the creation of MGI’s data division that includes e-commerce operations.
He has managed projects that developed CRM tools, the online membership registration site, JoinUp.Org. He was instrumental in writing MGI’s fulfillment, inventory, and subscription management tools.
Tim earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Virginia Tech University.
