Women's Leadership Conference 2021 Direct-2-You

Kate Alavez is the chief operating officer at PromoShop, Inc., where she is responsible for people operations, human resources and logistics. On a mission to reimagine the relationship between employees and their employers, she is focused on creating outside-the-box solutions to business challenges and creating synergies between team members as a means to a happier workplace.

Before taking on her role as COO, Kate worked as a director of human resources and operations, gaining experience in infrastructure build and employment law. She has been a strong supporter of community efforts and has served on the boards of the Specialty Advertising Association of California, the Foundation Board—a 501(c)(3) benefitting students of specialty advertising industry members—and The El Segundo Nursery School Group. Her passion for service and leadership began to bloom in her undergraduate years at Loyola Marymount University, where she studied English, worked on the Los Angeles Loyolan and served in leadership roles for Sigma Tau Delta and Kappa Alpha Theta.

Thanks to her involvement in 4‐H as a youth, Megan always had a desire to give back to her community. Through this passion she found her way into the Corporate Responsibility space in 2016. Her current role within Social Responsibility at Stryker gives her the opportunity to strengthen healthcare systems globally while engaging the employee base daily. Prior to her work at Stryker she worked in project management, grant writing and youth development. She is a proud Hokie and Terrapin, graduating with her Bachelor of Arts from University of Maryland, and Master’s in Political Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. During her free time Megan loves new adventures and getting to know others through local boating in Baltimore, Maryland.

Joél Bastien, MAS, is the SVP of AIA’s Owner Success, responsible for providing the
company’s nearly 300 distributors with the resources needed to achieve their business,
sales, marketing and strategic goals. Joél also leads the effort of growing AIA’s
distributor community overseeing the business development, training and onboarding
experience.

Bastien has 23 years of experience in the promotional products industry. She began her
career as distributor with Arrow Uniform, where she advanced to vice president of direct
sales and marketing during her 16 years with the company. Bastien spent seven years
with alphabroder, where she served as vice president of sales.
Honored as a PPB’s 2019 Best Bosses, involved in PPAI’s Women’s Leadership
Conference for the past six years serving on the WLC Workgroup in 2019 and 2021.
She is a lover of the industry, creative people, coffee, photography and serving others.

Trina Bicknell is CRO HPG. Trina joined HPG in 2016 as SVP of sales with more than 20 years of sales leadership experience, developing and coaching sales teams to double-digit CAGR growth rates. In 2019 Trina was nominated by her team and selected as one of the best bosses in the promo industry by PBB magazine. Prior to joining HPG Trina began her career in the technology industry at CDW/MicroWarehouse leading her sales divisions to record-breaking growth, and most recently in the pet industry at PetEdge where she built a highly successful B2B sales team that worked with large pet specialty and independent retailers. While leading sales efforts at Petedge in 2016, Trina was named a Woman of Influence in the Pet Industry. In 2021 Trina was promoted to CRO of HPG.

Brittany David, MAS is the Chief Revenue Officer at SnugZ USA collaborating with the sales, marketing and product development teams. She is a 15 year veteran of the promotional products industry and has been with SnugZ for ten years. David is an advocate for the industry and has just completed a five-year term on the PPAI Board of Directors, serving as Chairperson in 2019. As a proven and driven leader she serves on many advisory groups and committees. David is a PPAI Fellow and most recently selected as the Supplier Visionary award and listed on the ASI Power 50 most influential people in the industry listed alongside President & CEO Brandon Mackay. Her creative firepower and engaging personality has landed her on Counselor Magazine's Hot List and she has been a panelist, guest speaker and keynote for many industry events. Among her other accolades, she was listed a Rising Star for both PPAI and PromoMarketing.

Chad Dziedzic, Director, is a Market Leader covering the Core Market in North Texas. He works with Financial Advisors and their clients to design and implement investment solutions and processes aimed at improving long-term performance.
In his current role, Chad educates Financial Advisors on the benefits of BlackRock products and solutions within the broader context of portfolio construction.
Chad has presented the BlackRock Social Security Seminar more than 1200 times to educate Financial Advisors, their clients, and COIs.
In 2020, Chad delivered, in partnership with Financial Advisors, over 300 end-client webinars aimed to educate clients on macro events, their impact on markets, and the importance of staying invested.
He joined BlackRock in 2011 after 10 years at Invesco Ltd, where he worked as a Regional Vice President and Internal Wholesaler.
Chad earned his bachelor’s degree in business management with a concentration in Finance and Marketing from the University of Houston, where he was also a member of the baseball team.
In his free time, Chad enjoys coaching and playing sports with his kids and traveling with his family. Raised in the Houston area, he currently resides in Frisco with his wife, Lena, and their two children.

Karen Foy is the co-owner of Gorman Foy, Inc., a printing and promotional products distributor since 2001. She specializes in all things print and takes pride in superior customer service She has been in the printing industry since 1994 and the promotional product industry since 1999. Karen has served on multiple PPAI committees over the years, is currently the committee chair of the PPB Editorial Advisory Committee and has been a judge for the PPAI Pyramid Awards for multiple years.

With 15 years of experience in the industry working for several promotional products distributors, Jessica Gibbons-Rauch, CAS, brings a bizarre love of product and curiosity for the “why.” Easily able to talk about the breadth of products, she always asks the tough questions to figure out the purpose behind the campaign—this and her love for marketing create a passion that comes through on each project. Looking for a creative outlet after taking a bet on her own sanity, she founded the Trend on Brand community and searches for other promo Misfits! Jessica is also chef – editorial content for PromoKitchen and a part-time adjunct professor for Northern Illinois University.

Arlene is an Organizational Psychologist, Executive Coach, and Leadership Development Speaker. She is the author of two works currently in publication - "Pandemics: Shining a Spotlight on Racial Disparities at Work" in publication with the Industrial and Organizational Psychology Journal; and the book "You Deserve to Love Your Job: How to Find Your Purpose and Enjoy Your Life" in publication with Conqueror Productions. Arlene is the Founder and CEO of Enelra Talent Solutions, LLC. Enelra works with individuals and businesses they believe in to provide Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, and Inclusive Team Development services that enable business and people development.
Arlene brings over 20 years of experience working internally in Fortune 500 organizations and has worked and consulted with various organizations in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. She is known for her business partnership and ability to collaborate to bring solutions to complex challenges. In her coaching practice, she is known for partnering with clients to achieve greater business and career impact, meaning, and results.
Arlene has her Ph.D. in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology from Old Dominion University. She lives in Frisco TX with her husband Kelvin, daughter Lauren, and their Chiweenie Sugar. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, singing, reading, and spending time with her family, friends, and Life Group.

Becki Heinen is the current Director of Partner Development at Facilisgroup. In her current role she leads a team responsible for the onboarding and retention of Facilisgroup distributor partners. This role has afforded Becki the opportunity to fulfill her passion of working directly with distributors across the US and Canada in supporting their business and sales goals. Becki is an avid University of Iowa “Hawkeye” fan who loves the outdoors, guitar and spending time with her family.

GABRIELLE HOLGATE brings 24 years of fitness experience to each training session and has been certified through NASM/AFAA since January of 1998*. She maintains her Adult CPR/AED Certification every two years, including Pediatric CPR and First Aid.
As the fitness world has evolved, Gabrielle has perfected her fitness expertise to include HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), weight and cycling classes, strength, plyometric, endurance, and personal training. Gabrielle’s ultimate focus is to help clients achieve their personal goals while having fun and maintaining proper form. Her philosophy is that anyone can work out in an individual or group setting with minimal equipment and achieve positive results at any age and any level of fitness.

Jo-an Lantz, MAS, is president/CEO of Geiger and a member of the Board of Directors. She represents Geiger as the sole U.S. member of the international group WAGE (World Advertising Gift Exchange), a more than 50-year-old organization with 26 members from 25 countries, where she is a past president She has served in a variety of roles for groups and associations, including as former chair of the Board of Directors of PPAI, and serving on the PPEF Board twice, once as chair. Jo-an was inducted into the PPAI Hall of Fame in 2009, is a former ASI International Person of the Year (2004) and a member of ASI Power 50, and was named the 2014 PPB Woman of Distinction. Jo-an is passionate about leadership and development and is one of the founders of the PPAI Women’s Leadership Conference, as well as a member of Senator Olympia Snow Foundation for developing leadership in young women. She also works with a number of nonprofits to develop training and fundraisers for endurance events.

Bob is PPAI's executive vice president. He was hired in June 2008 as its CFO and is responsible for Finance & Administration, Information Technology and the Promotional Products Education Foundation. In October 2011, Bob was promoted to EVP and now also has the responsibility for the Membership and Tradeshow departments. Before joining PPAI, Bob served in the for-profit world and held COO and CFO positions with large public and privately held companies. Bob received his BS in Accounting from Drexel University and his MBA in Finance from the University of Miami.

Javier Melendez is a National Sales Executive for Walker-Clay Inc. His career started in a Vocational Technical High School, learning about printing and design, and his experience has grown in the 13+ years since then. He holds a MASI certification and is a sous-chef volunteer for 501(c)3 PromoKitchen. He is mainly known for his fun and unique social media, which heavily uses TikTok, which landed him #18 on the 2020 #online18 List of industry influencers.

Dawn Olds, MAS, has been in senior management for over 20 years, spanning three focus areas: accounting, information technology, and general operations. She currently has responsibility for the Billing, Order Processing, Customer Service, Sales Onboarding, Pre-Sales Support, and general Operations of the organization. Ms. Olds has been involved in several industry committees and organizations focused on technology and operational improvement. She has developed and managed project integration plans for dozens of successful acquisitions. Ms. Olds holds a Lean Six Sigma blue belt, as the executive sponsor for several LSS projects. Her career highlights also include mentoring and developing dozens of professionals within the HALO organization and promoting them. In addition to the development of people, Olds dedicates time to volunteering for Junior Achievement, is a mentor for a high school entrepreneur program, and is a member of the Women’s Professional Network. She holds a bachelor’s in information systems and an associate degree in accounting.

A 30 plus year veteran of the promotional products industry, Ray is currently the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for top 40 supplier Tekweld, based out of Hauppauge NY.

Starting his career with Bic Special Markets Division as an Assistant Zone Manager, he helped take the division from $3 million to over $30 million in sales. During his tenure at Bic SMD he held several positions such as, Regional Manager, Premium and Hotel specialist. He eventually left as Sales and Marketing Manager to start his own company, Multiline Marketing Group.

M.M.G. was based out of Clearwater Florida and in 10 years became the largest independent manufacturer’s representative firm in the Promotional Products Industry. In the year 2000, ASI Counselor Magazine voted Ray top 13 people to watch in the industry. At its peak, MMG had 12 Regional Field Sales Managers and 5 internal office personnel generating $55 million in sales for quality suppliers such as Pioneer Balloon, Evans Manufacturing , Dart, Senator Pen and others.

After MMG sold in 2008, Ray opened his own real estate brokerage firm “Florida Rays Realty” in Sarasota where he managed over $1 billion in 2 Real Estate Developments for Sarasota Development Corporation. During this time, Ray kept one foot in the promotional product industry by aligning himself with a prominent Top 40 Distributor selling promo to local businesses as an independent representative.

Florida Rays Realty was absorbed by a large development group which prompted Ray to get back into the Promo Industry full time. In 2013 he went back on the supplier side assisting Gordon Sinclair, Maple Ridge and the Appollo Line grow their business in various sales management capacity. For the past 5 years, Ray has been responsible for setting the sales and marketing strategy for Tekweld and moving the company forward.

Rays Favorite Mantra: To succeed you must execute and focus on the 5 Ps of business and life. Proper Planning Prevent Poor Performance.

Trooper Andrea Tillman has been apart of the Michigan State Police since 2017 and works out of the Cadillac State Police Post. Prior to joining MSP, Trooper Tillman attended Lake Superior State University where she received a bachelors degree in Homeland Security and Law Enforcement.

Paula is President of CE Competitive Edge LLC, one of the largest promotional firms in America with headquarters in Stevensville, Michigan. CE is also a certified Woman-Owned Business and was the first to be certified by WBENC in the promotional products industry on the West side of Michigan. Competitive Edge offers its clients a collection of promotional products with an emphasis on quality and value, and has consistently been named one of the “Top 50 Places to Work in the Promotional Products Industry.”

Paula has 30 years of marketing, sales, operations and general management experience in both international and entrepreneurial organizations. She strives to be an active leader in the Southwest Michigan community currently serving on the Board and Executive Committee of United Federal Credit Union and The Education Investment Team for United Way of Southwest Michigan. Paula has a degree in Marketing from Western Michigan University. She and her husband Tom live in Stevensville and have two grown children, Jillian and Nick.

Roni S. Wright is the vice president of supplier The Book Company based in Delray Beach, Florida and was inducted into PPAI's Hall of Fame in 2020. To excel in her career, find balance in her life, and cultivate joy, Roni has found a love of all aspects of yoga. She achieved her 200-hour certification and has journeyed to India twice to study at the renowned K. Pattabhi Jois Institute. When you do not find Roni on her mat or at her desk, you might find her hiking, skiing, or reading a book.