Our Chapter:
Meet the Board
Laurie
Bowser-Sever
President
lbowser@att.net
Laurie Bowser-Sever is a seasoned 20-year marketing and public relations veteran with national and international experience in brand management and positioning, marketing/business plan development, public relations, marketing communications and corporate communications. Her specialties lie in developing and executing business-to-business and business-to-consumer communications strategies in the consumer goods, retail and technology sectors.
Bowser-Sever has led corporate marketing and public relations departments for several startup and prominent blue-chip companies and has worked as an independent public relations consultant for several agencies in North Carolina and on the west coast. Currently, she is account manager for Interprose Public Relations, where she manages several technology accounts from her Cary office.
Bowser-Sever is a member of IABC's 500 Club. Prior to her role as president,
she served as the chapter's vice president of membership from 2005-2007.
She is also a board member of Community Partnerships, a nonprofit organization
that helps those with disabilities live independent lives. A former journalist,
she holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and public relations from
Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and a master's degree in corporate communications
from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Penn.
Leslie
Hart
Past President
leslieahart@yahoo.com
Leslie Hart has been a member of IABC since 2004 and recently joined the 500 Club, becoming a lifetime member of the international organization. Leslie is the director of marketing for Asparity Decision Solutions, a provider of decision support and data solutions in the areas of employee benefits and operational risk management. She has more than 15 years of experience in managing sales support materials, ad layouts, marketing and product literature, product packaging, event management, target marketing, marketing programs, and marketing/corporate communications. Leslie has successfully developed and implemented programs to increase sales, meet strategic business goals, improve internal and external communications and create brand awareness. Her experience is in both B2B and B2C in wireless applications, e-commerce software and consumer building supplies. She received a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in marketing from The University of Texas at Austin.
Shannon
Helm
Vice President of Membership
shannonh@nc.rr.com
Shannon Helm joined the Triangle chapter of IABC in 2003 and served on the membership committee for two years, and most recently served as VP of Chapter Operations. Currently she works as marketing communications manager at ABB Inc., where her responsibilities include planning and implementing communication strategies for the Power Products/Power Systems division. She also consults with business units on best practices for branding and implementation of communication plans. Prior to joining ABB, Shannon worked at Lenovo as an integrated marketing campaign manager, supervising direct mail, advertising and interactive marketing programs targeting business partners. She has more than ten years of experience in the communications field, including work in public relations, internal communications, event management, advertising, planning and strategy. She also has extensive experience serving as the corporate liaison to advertising and public relations agencies, managing key relationships and campaigns. Shannon holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a master's degree in communication from North Carolina State University.
Abbie Kiefer
Vice President of Professional Development
abbie@abbiekiefer.com
Abbie is a freelance writer and public relations strategist. She began her
career as the editor of a weekly newspaper in Maine, where she covered a
wide variety of topics including elections, accidents, championships, layoffs, town meetings, museums and monster trucks. After relocating to North Carolina, she spent two years at a Raleigh PR/marketing firm, where she was responsible for communication strategy and planning, media relations, message development and a wide range of writing projects. Clients included John Deere, Raytheon, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and BB&T.
A graduate of Eastern University, Abbie has a B.A. in English and political science. Her work has been recognized by the Maine Press Association and North Carolina Public Relations Society of America. She has been member of IABC since 2008.
Mary
Hecht-Kissell
Vice President of Marketing
maryhk@pr-strategies.com
Mary Hecht-Kissell is president and founder of PR Strategies, a public relations (PR) consultancy that serves information technology clients. With more than 15 years of experience as a communications professional, Mary has managed marketing, public relations and corporate communications programs for global companies including Cisco, Verizon and Time Warner Cable. Most recently, Mary was the Director of Global Public Relations at Exinda Networks, an information technology vendor.
Mary joined IABC in 2008 and is eager to publicize the many benefits that IABC membership has to offer. Mary received an MBA from George Washington University with a concentration in marketing. She also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.
Kelly
Duffort
Vice President of Chapter Operations
kduffort@yahoo.com
Kelly Duffort is a communications strategist, website producer and social
media newcomer. Over her 12-year career, she has worked in the healthcare,
information technology and environmental industries. Fascinated by technology’s
role in the communications world, she is honing her social media skills
by blogging at http://searchformycause.blogspot.com/
and tweeting at http://twitter.com/kellyduffort.
For four years, Kelly worked as an employee communications manager for a division of R&D at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Prior to GSK, she spent several years in information technology, learning the ins and outs of website development and management. Kelly focused on community relations in the early part of her career, working as a consultant for the Environmental Protection Agency and as an account executive with a Philadelphia-based public relations agency.
Kelly has been a member of IABC since 2002. She holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Wake Forest University.
Michelle Robbins Aronson
Vice President of Finance
michelle.aronson@nextgenerationmedia.com
Michelle has more than 15 years experience helping companies deliver their messages to market. As a Business Development Manager for Next Generation Media, she works with corporate communications, marketing, government, education and special interest groups to provide digital media solutions that inform and engage their target audiences.
Michelle began her career as a freelance video producer developing training videos for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. She earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications and theater from North Carolina State University.
