Directors at Large.

Ayelet Baron is a change agent with Cisco Systems, Inc., working with the CIO and senior staff responsible for the $12 billion company's worldwide use of information technology.

Before joining Cisco, Baron was with ODR Inc. She also ran her own consulting company in Toronto, was an associate with Ernst & Young's change management practice, consulted for international HR consulting firms and was a project director at one of Canada's leading market research companies. She started her career as a media analyst in the Israeli Prime Minister's office.

Baron is past president of IABC/Toronto (1995/96), where she launched the annual IABC/Toronto CEO Award of Excellence in Communication Leadership. She has spoken at the IABC international conference and at chapter meetings in Canada and the U.S.

Baron served on the Washington, D.C., board of the Strategic Leadership Forum and is a member of the American Management Association, the Council on Communication Management, the World Future Society and Women in Technology.

She holds a bachelor of arts in political science from York University, Toronto, and a master's in political science and communication (cum laude) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Warren E. Bickford is director of communication and public education for the Saskatchewan Department of Justice. Previously, he was communication advisor and acting executive director of communication and public information for the Saskatchewan Department of Health. From 1992 to 1996, Bickford was on the senior management team of the Regina Health District as director of public affairs.

Bickford has served in a number of volunteer leadership positions, including president of IABC/Regina; director of Canada District 1; director, Children's Health Foundation of Saskatchewan; director, Regina Volunteer Information and Training Centre; director, Regina South Rotary Club; vice president of the Health Care Public Relations Association of Canada; and representative to the Prime Minister's National Forum on Health.

Stephanie Griffiths is the senior partner in Material Assistance, an organisational development and applied communication practice, specializing in team intervention, negotiation and conflict resolution, leadership development, communication practitioner development, and applied organisational research.

Before founding Material Assistance 10 years ago, Griffiths worked in communication, human resource and organisational development with the The Star -- South Africa's leading daily--and edited various consumer and financial journals within the Barlow Rand Group.

Griffiths serves on the IABC Research Foundation research committee. She has served on the IABC/Southern Africa board since 1994 and is a past chapter president. She has served on the board of SAAIE (South African Association of Industrial Editors) and on a regional board, SACOB (South African Chamber of Business). She now sits on the steering committee of the South African National Standards Setting Body (NQF) for the communication profession.

Brane Gruban, ABC, has more than 28 years of business experience, including 15 years in public relations and management consulting. He is managing director/CEO, Literal Information Technologies, Ljubljian, Slovenia. Previous to his current position, he formed Pristop, a public relations and communication management firm.

Gruban is a founding member and past president of IABC/Slovenia and of the Public Relations Society of Slovenia (PRSS). He is a past member of the Slovenian National Board for the Promotion of Slovenia. Since 1997 he has served as president of the Management Consultancy Association of Slovenia at the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce. Gruban also is a member of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) and the Confederation of European Public Relations Associations (CERP). His work has earned three IABC Gold Quill awards.

Annette Martell, ABC, has worked with not-for-profit, financial services, corporate and agency-based organizations during her 15 years in the communication field. She is now part of the senior management team at Acadia University of Wolfville, N.S.

Before joining Acadia, Martell was divisional vice president of communication, government and industry relations with the Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, one of Canada's largest and oldest not-for-profit associations of financial advisors.

An active IABC volunteer, she has served as a director-at-large on the IABC executive board, on various international committees, and as president of IABC/Atlantic Canada, director of Canada District 2 and blue ribbon panel judge for the international Gold Quill competition. She was also a contributing author to the recent edition of "Inside Organizational Communication."

A graduate of Mount Saint Vincent University's bachelor of public relations (co-op) program and a recipient of Acadia University's arts degree, she earned the ABC designation in 1992. Six years later she received IABC's Master Communicator distinction, Canada's most prestigious honour.

Wilma Mathews, ABC, is director of public relations for Arizona State University in Tempe. Her responsibilities include marketing communication planning and coordination for the 49,000-student public university.

Mathews's 30 years in the communication field include stints with a magazine, weekly newspaper, chamber of commerce, medical center and AT&T. She is author of "Effective Media Relations: A Practical Guide for Communicators" and co-author of "On Deadline: Managing Media Relations," and she has written more than 30 articles or chapters on communication topics. She is an internationally recognized speaker and seminar leader. Active in IABC since 1974, she has been a member of four IABC chapters and three districts; she served on the IABC executive board from 1978 to 1981 and chaired the IABC Research Foundation from 1988 to 1990. Mathews has been a Gold Quill division coordinator and a blue ribbon panel judge, and she has served on numerous committees at all levels within IABC. She is past chairwoman of the IABC Accreditation Council and board. She was named an IABC Fellow in 1988 and in 1997 was named the IABC/Phoenix Communicator of the Year.

Mathews received her undergraduate degree from Stratford College with additional studies from East Carolina University, the University of Maryland-European Division and Guilford College. She was a lecturer at the School of Visual Arts in New York City for two years.

Paul Mlodzik, ABC, is vice-president of marketing and communication for The Co-operators Group, the largest Canadian multi-line insurance corporation. He is responsible for strategic communication planning, brand management, advertising, market research, employee communication, customer service and interactive media.

Before joining The Co-operators, Mlodzik held senior positions in marketing communication with the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC), Richmond Savings Credit Union and Prudential Assurance. He also has worked as a communication planning consultant. His work at ICBC and Richmond Savings has earned him many honours, including IABC awards at the regional, national and international levels.

Mlodzik is district director for Canada District 1 and a past president of IABC/BC. He has a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in communication studies.

He received his IABC accreditation in 1995 and has also earned professional designations in the life insurance and financial planning industries.

Paul Sanchez, APR, is executive vice president of Stoorza Ziegaus & Metzger, a full-service communication firm offering services in communication strategy, brand marketing, public affairs, public relations and advertising. Sanchez leads a firmwide practice area specializing in internal communication and integrated communication programming. He is also general manager of the firm's San Diego office.

Before joining his current firm, Sanchez was global director of Watson Wyatt's communication and education consulting practice and U.S. east region practice leader, with responsibilities for client consulting, staffing and business development. He has more than 25 years of human resources and communication management experience in the public and private sectors. He has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Loyola University of Los Angeles and a master's degree from Boston University and attended the Harvard Business School Advanced Management program.

Kevin Thomson, ABC, FCIM, is chairman of the Marketing & Communication Agency (MCA), Europe's first internal marketing and communication consultancy.

A leading authority on applying marketing concepts internally, he has been named one of "Thirteen Masters of the Next Century," along with Gary Hamel, Charles Handy, Bill Gates, and Daniel Goleman, by the journal of the Associacion para el Progreso de la Direccion (Spain's leading management association) in collaboration with the Hay Group.

He has spoken at many IABC international and national conferences, and at other conferences around the world. He also has published numerous articles and is author of several management books in the Financial Times-Pitman series, including "The Employee Revolution" and "Managing Your Internal Customers." He also is author of the chapter on internal marketing in the "Financial Times Handbook of Management." His latest books, "Emotional Capital" and "Passion at Work," were published by Capstone Publishing in February 1998.

Marcia White, ABC, is vice president of community relations for the Foundation for Educational Funding, Inc., in Lincoln, Neb. After 10 years with the Foundation's sister company, FES, including the last seven as vice president of corporate communication, she stepped into the newly created community relations position in September 1998. She also is adjunct faculty to Doane College -- Lincoln, where she teaches public relations.

An 18-year member of IABC, White served in many capacities at local and district levels, including chapter president of IABC/Lincoln and district director of U.S. District 4. White is a Gold Quill winner and received her accreditation in 1991. She has chaired the EXCEL award committee and served as Gold Quill division coordinator and on the Gold Quill blue ribbon panel. She currently serves on the IABC Accreditation Board.

Active in her community, White is on the board of directors of the Downtown Lincoln Association, Downtown Neighborhood Association, Updowntowners and the Folsom Children's Zoo and Botanical Gardens. She also serves on the Program Steering Committee for Leadership Lincoln and as an English as a Second Language tutor for the Lincoln Literacy Center and a reading mentor at McPhee Elementary School in downtown Lincoln.

White received her bachelor's degree in agriculture and master's degree in adult and continuing education from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Gwendolyn W. Young is president of Young Communications Group, Los Angeles, a strategic communication agency specializing in providing public relations and marketing communication for health care and nonprofits as well as developing communication programs to reach emerging majority populations.

Young, a member of IABC since 1985, has held leadership positions with the Los Angeles chapter for five years. She was the first chairwoman of the chapter's diversity committee in 1992, becoming the vice president of the committee in 1993 and president-elect in 1994. She was chapter president in 1995 and senior delegate in 1996, serving as a liaison to IABC U.S. District 6 and participating in the professional development task force. Under Young's leadership, the chapter won two chapter management awards: leadership development and community and education relations.

Young spoke at the 1995, 1996 and 1997 international conferences and participated in a 1994 Chapter Leadership Institute panel discussion on diversity and diversity programs.

She also is active in community affairs, currently serving as vice president of the board of the Los Angeles Civil Service Commission, a mayoral appointment. Young received the 1999 Living History Makers/Entrepreneurial Award from Turning Point magazine, a California-based, African American publication.

She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from California State University, Northridge.

Asia/Pacific

Meryl David, ABC, runs her own business, MD Communication, specializing in developing leaders' communication skills in the areas of media, business presentations, crisis and community relations.

She draws on 17 years' experience in the practice of business communication and public relations for major Australian and international organizations, such as Avco Financial Services, BT, Compaq, Cable & Wireless Optus, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Fletcher Challenge, IBM, Intel and the Sydney Paralympics Organising Committee.

She was part of the team that established IABC's chapter in Australia and has served on the chapter board for three years, in 1998 as chapter president.

David received her undergraduate degree from the University of South Africa and subsequently an English Honorus degree from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. She has continued her education in business, has a business management certificate from the Australian Institute of Management and is in the process of completing the diploma course of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Europe/Africa

Nelo Emerencia has been communication director of APME (Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe) since June 1998. He is responsible for the development and co-ordination of the communication programme, measuring its effectiveness through media coverage analysis and public opinion surveys. His responsibilities involve developing and introducing new communication vehicles, including a web site and intranets.

Before joining APME, he held a number of communication and marketing roles within Exxon Corporation and affiliated organisations, most recently as communication and change manager in a major project for Exxon Company International.

He was president of IABC/Belgium from 1997 through 1999.

Emerencia was educated at the Universities of Delft in The Netherlands and of the Netherlands Antilles and holds degrees in Chemical Technology and Antillean law.

Canada District 1

Heather Magotiaux, ABC, is director of communication at the University of Saskatchewan, a position she has held since July 1997. Previously she worked as a communication officer for the university, liaison officer for the Government of Saskatchewan, and newspaper reporter.

As director, Magotiaux is a member of the senior executive team responsible for planning, implementing and evaluating internal and external communication. She has received awards for her work from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, and the National School Public Relations Association. In December 1995 she earned accreditation in IABC.

An IABC member since 1991, Magotiaux has served as chapter president, judged Silver Leaf awards and proctored accreditation exams, and in 1998-99 she served as secretary for Canada District 1. She is also active in her community, serving on the Meewasin Valley Authority board of directors, the Chamber of Commerce business education committee, and St. Joseph's Parish council.

Canada District 2

Jan Graves is director of development and communication at London Regional Cancer Centre, located in London, Canada. Her responsibilities include all facets of fundraising and communication at the centre.

Graves has been an active member of IABC since 1990, and over that time spent seven years in various portfolios on the executive board of IABC/London. She was integrally involved in the establishment of the Virtuoso Awards (London's primer for the Silver Leaf Awards) and the creation of the chapter's long service pin program.

In 1995/96 she was president of the chapter, then spent two years on the Canada District 2 board as finance chair, and one year as deputy director preceding her current role as director.

She has a double major degree in Life Sciences and Petroleum Geology from Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.).

U.S. District 1

Jan Thibodeau is the founder and president of JT Communications LLC in Rhode Island, where she develops employee and marketing communication programs for corporate clients in the technology and healthcare industries.

Before founding JT Communications in 1994, Thibodeau worked for eight years at Motorola as a marketing communication manager, instructional designer and trainer. Previously, she taught special education and managed National Endowment for the Arts Dance Residency programs for the public schools in Massachusetts. She is currently on the adjunct faculty of Lesley College School of Business, Cambridge, Mass., where she teaches graduate courses in instructional design and development.

Thibodeau has been active in IABC since 1995, serving on the district board. She has a bachelor's degree in elementary and special education and master's degrees in arts in education and business management.

U.S. District 2

Patricia Cameron, ABC, is vice president of public relations for CenturyTel, Inc., headquartered in Monroe, La. Her responsibilities include communication counsel to executive management; company-wide branding; developing and executing public relations programs; industry, business and trade press relations; employee communication; and executive/financial communication.

During her 12-year communication career, Cameron has managed a full range of communication programs and services. She also has taught a public relations campaigns course at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Cameron has served in a number of volunteer leadership positions, including professional development director and finance director for U.S. District 2 and liaison to satellite members for IABC/ New Orleans. She is a member of the Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF) and past president of the Northeast Chapter of the Public Relations Association of Louisiana (PRAL), which named her practitioner of the year in 1992.

U.S. District 3

Shelley J. Griewahn is practice leader for the communication unit of Towers Perrin in Rosslyn, Va. She is responsible for strategic planning, project management and implementation in a variety of areas.

Griewahn has more than 20 years of experience in helping organizations achieve their business objectives through effective communication.

She has won numerous awards for writing, videos and communication campaigns, including recognition by IABC and NeoGraphics.

Active in IABC since 1981, Griewahn has been a member of two chapters and served on the U.S. District 3 board. She has held a number of leadership positions in IABC/Washington, including president. She also served on the IABC/Philadelphia board.

In her tenure in Washington, a "twinning" program, connecting IABCI/Washington and IABC/London as twin chapters, was instituted. She also was instrumental in developing a niche marketing program for the chapter.

Griewahn received her bachelor's degree in communication from The College of Wooster.

U.S. District 4

Jill Folan is a vice president and organizational change communication consultant with Aon Consulting, assisting domestic and international clients with communication planning to meet corporate objectives and enable change.

She has 17 years of experience in human resource communication. Before joining Aon, she was a change management consultant with Ernst & Young. In addition to working with major consulting firms, Folan spent two years as a freelance business writing, marketing and communication consultant.

Folan has earned several individual and team awards in IABC's district and local competition. She has been an active member of IABC since 1985 and has held many board positions, including chair of IABC's international conference, IABC/Chicago chapter president, U.S. District 4 director of professional development, treasurer, and incoming director. She has also served as a judge for Chicago/Spectra and Gold Quill awards.

She holds a bachelor's degree in interpersonal communication from the University of Colorado and has completed coursework for a master's degree in speech communication from Northwestern University.

U.S. District 5

Glenda R. Holmes is the assistant director of communication for the Texas Apartment Association, a statewide trade association representing the Texas rental housing industry. In this capacity, Holmes is part of a team responsible for all member communication vehicles targeting nearly 10,000 association members.

In addition to managing association communication in her professional life, Holmes has served as a volunteer for several professional societies and associations, including IABC and the Texas Society of Association Executives.

As an active participant in IABC for the past 10 years, Holmes has held various positions on the local and district boards. During her term as president of IABC/Austin in 1996-97, the chapter was awarded five district chapter management awards and two international awards. In addition, she has served in various capacities on the board of U.S. District 5, including her current position as district director. In 1997, she was named Member of the Year for U.S. District 5.

Holmes holds two undergraduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

U.S. District 6

Caroline Leach is senior manager of employee communication for DirecTV, Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp. and the leading digital television entertainment service in the U.S. Before joining El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV, she was a publication editor and senior writer at TRW Space & Electronics Group in Redondo Beach, Calif.

Currently a member of IABC/Los Angeles, Leach served as president of IABC/Long Beach-South Bay in 1995. Under her leadership, the chapter won its first IABC Chapter Management Award. She served on the U.S. District 6 executive committee as deputy director of finance and administration from 1997 to 1999.

Leach has received more than two dozen individual and team awards for excellence in writing, communication programs, publications and leadership from IABC and other organizations.

In 1995 Leach completed a master's degree in communication management from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. She also holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and a certificate in public relations from UCLA Extension. She has served as an instructor in UCLA Extension's Journalism and Public Relations program.

U.S. District 7

James Tyler is a marketing publications editor for the Dayton Daily News in Dayton, Ohio. Before joining the newspaper, Tyler was communication specialist and production coordinator for the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. Since 1994, he has served the chamber as a communication consultant.

Tyler's 15 years of communication experience include a stint as a copywriter for the Lutheran Church in America's church supply and book publishing operation.

He has been an active member of IABC since 1992. He served the Dayton chapter as newsletter editor, vice president of communication, president and district representative. He has helped judge numerous award competitions and has been a presenter for chapter-sponsored public relations workshops. He served on the U.S. District 7 board as secretary and then director of communication before taking on the role of deputy director.

Tyler graduated magna cum laude from the University of Dayton with a bachelor of arts with concentrations in English and communication arts.