Meryl David, ABC, GAICD

An early career in architecture focused Meryl David on what she really wanted to do - help people communicate and interact effectively. She has run her own business coaching leaders in communication skills and served clients - as a consultant and in-house - with strategic communication programmes. She returned to corporate communication three years ago to focus on internal communication and currently works as Internal Communication Manager for Zurich Financial Services in Australia.

With more than 20 years’ experience in the practice of business communication and media relations, Meryl has counselled clients in the public and private sectors with major companies in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, the United States and Japan. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Australian Centre for Public Communication and on the Accreditation Council of the International Association of Business Communicators representing the Asia Pacific region.

Laurie Dawkins, ABC

Laurie Dawkins, ABC, is the Regional Director of Public Affairs for Vancouver Coastal Health. She has over 13 years experience in the communications industry, gained in the health care, education, engineering and natural resource sectors.

Laurie is currently serving as the Speakers Track Chair for the 2007 IABC International Conference. Past volunteer roles include Chair of the Hospitality Task Force for the 2006 IABC International Conference in Vancouver (yes, she had a hand in those red foam reindeer antlers!), and President of IABC/BC. During her time with Vancouver Coastal Health, Laurie has been involved in the planning and execution of several high profile media campaigns and projects, including the launch of North America’s first Supervised Injection site in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, which earned an IABC Gold Quill Award of Excellence.

When she’s not volunteering for IABC, Laurie relies on copious amounts of chocolate and high-test espresso to keep up with her two-year old son who moves surprisingly fast and believes that applying a hammer forcefully to anything constitutes “fixing”.

Ralph Gaillard

Ralph has over 15 years of publishing and marketing experience, specializing in event management and marketing, affinity marketing and new product development.

Currently, Ralph is running The RG Marketing Company, a specialty firm that helps organizations use marketing communications and professional development offerings to reach target markets.

Prior to launching his firm, Ralph held a variety of leadership positions at Lawrence Ragan Communications, Inc., a leading publisher of corporate communication information. He was also an account executive for The PBN Company, an international media relations firm based in San Francisco. Early in his career, Ralph worked for The Chicago Tribune as an editorial researcher and at The Washington Post as the staff researcher for National News.

He is a member of IABC, the Society for Human Resource Management and the American Society for Training and Development.

Chris Grossgart

Chris directs education, recognition programs and strategic alliances for IABC including conferences, distance learning, awards, accreditation and sponsorship. She has been in the communication profession forever, having worked as PR director for Goodwill Industries, field rep to former California Assemblyman Bill Filante, legislative aide to former U.S. Senator Hayakawa and a writer for Capitol News Service. Chris has a B.A. in political science from the University of California, Davis, with grad work in public policy. Her decision to decline law school offers ended with a stint as a paralegal at a large San Francisco law firm spending 14 hour days locked in a windowless office examining municipal bond documents.

Chris is a certified Parent Educator Program (PEP) instructor, teaching drug prevention and peer leadership to teens. She also spends time running with her dog Murphy, raising funds for local youth and breast cancer research, and managing chaos at home.

Todd Hattori, ABC

Todd is the communication manager for the Washington Department of Information Services where he manages the employee, customer relations, and Web communication strategies to promote technology solutions to state and local government agencies, tribal organizations, and qualified non-profit organizations throughout the State of Washington.

For the past 15 years, he has developed a broad range of communication management skills by volunteering and working for a variety of non-profit organizations, government agencies, and private corporations. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Utah in argumentation and negotiation, and a Master of Arts degree from Westminster College in technical writing, where he later taught courses in newsletter writing writing, design/desktop publishing, and communication strategy development and measurement.

Todd is currently serving as a director-at-large, ethics chair, and finance committee member for the International Executive Board of IABC.

Neville Hobson, ABC

Neville is a communicator, blogger and podcaster, one of the leading European early adopters and influencers in new-media communication for business. He blogs at NevilleHobson.com with commentary and opinion on business communication and technology, and co-presents ‘For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report‘, a twice-weekly business podcast at the intersection of online communication, business and technology. He is a frequent speaker on the subject of new-media communication channels and their effective use in organizational communication. Neville has served in numerous IABC leadership roles, including regional director in Europe and member of the executive board and executive committee.

Shel Holtz, ABC

Shel Holtz, ABC, spends a significant portion of his life online. That’s as it should be, since he makes his living counseling organizations on how to communicate online. He authors a popular communications blog, “a shel of my former self” and co-hosts the first-ever communications-focused podcast, “For Immediate Release“. As principal of Holtz Communication + Technology, Shel has worked with dozens of Fortune 500 companies to help them improve their online communication efforts. He has authored several books, including “Public Relations on the Net” and “Corporate Conversations.” He is the co-author of “Blogging for Business” and, with his podcasting co-host Neville Hobson, ABC, he is currently writing “How to Do Everything with Podcasting” for McGraw-Hill. Shel reluctantly admits to more than 30 years in the communication profession, including corporate stints with ARCO, Mattel, and Allergan, as well as senior consulting jobs with two global human resources consulting firms. He struck out on his own in 1996 and has spent a significant portion of the years since then on the speaking circuit. He was accredited by IABC in 1994 and was named an IABC Fellow in 2005.

Wilma Mathews, ABC

Wilma is the director of constituent relations for Arizona State University, the largest public university in the U.S. She is co-author of On Deadline: Managing Media Relations, now in its 4th edition, and author of numerous articles on communication disciplines and issues. Her career spans more than 35 years and includes positions with AT&T, chambers of commerce, a medical center and a weekly newspaper.

She has served on the IABC executive board and is a past chairman of both the IABC Accreditation Council and the IABC Research Foundation. Wilma is an IABC Fellow and on the advisory board of communication briefings newsletter.

Andrew Riley, ACA

Andrew is the founder/director of The Life of Riley Limited which provides information and communication programmes to enable organizations to meet their Compliance and Corporate Governance requirements and improve their operations.

After following a schoolboy desire to teach Social Sciences in Papua New Guinea, Andrew qualified as a chartered accountant and has spent 15 years working in benefit communications and investment risk management for consultancies such as Talking People, PwC and Ernst & Young.

Andrew bumped into the IABC in the year 2000, took two years deciding whether to join and is at present serving as the Chair of EuroComm Dublin 06, Regional Grants Chair, VP of Finance for the UK chapter and is part of the Executive Finance committee.

Located by Greenwich park, Andrew and his wife Carol are car free and spend much of their spare time chilling out around Greenwich village, the river Thames and other vibrant parts of London.

Jane Sparrow

Jane Sparrow has been responsible for Internal Communication & Change within Sony Europe since 2001. From the outset she has worked closely with people of all levels within the business to build communication strategy, implement behavioural change programmes, increase understanding about the value of communication and culture within a changing business environment. She travels extensively across Europe, working with local teams to plan and deliver internal and external communication.

Prior to her current role, Jane was a senior management consultant for MCA Communicates, where she assisted board-level clients with marketing and communication challenges. She has also held marketing and communication management roles with IBM and is an advisor to many small businesses. She is currently the Programme Chair for the IABC International Conference for 2006-07.

Jerry Stevenson

Jerry will be the first to admit he’s something of an odd hybrid — half technologist, half communication consultant. His background includes corporate communications, public relations, and software engineering. If techies are from Mars and communicators are from Venus, his consulting practice focuses on keeping the two planets in harmony.

Formerly the lead strategist behind one of the world’s largest global intranets at EDS corporation, Jerry’s clients include more than a dozen Fortune 500 firms, representing everything from pharmaceuticals to government agencies. He co-authored Ragan’s Almanac of Top Intranets 2003 Edition, and is a former columnist for the Ragan Report. He was named 2004 Communicator of the Year by Dallas IABC.

Jerry lives in Dallas with two very demanding cats.

Belinda Lazaro

Belinda Lazaro is the Communications Analyst for Coventry Health Care of Louisiana, as well as Public Relations for the Hotel Monteleone in the glorious recovering city of New Orleans. A native of New Orleans and currently president of the New Orleans Chapter of IABC, Belinda joined IABC in 2001 and has held the roles of Bronze Quill Chair, President Elect, and Hospitality Task Force Co-Chair for the IABC 2007 International Conference in New Orleans. Belinda is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, the Communications Committee of the Louisiana Association of Health Plans, the New Orleans Press Club, and serves on the Advisory Board, and Steering Committee for the Louisiana SPCA. She has served on the Public Relations Task Force for the New Orleans Metropolitan and Convention and Visitors Bureau, as Community Relations Director of the French Quarter Business Association, and as a member on the French Quarter Festival Fundraising committee. Belinda earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Our Lady of Holy Cross College.

When Belinda’s not working, (and sometimes while she IS working), she enjoys spending time with her beloved dog Monty, taking him on walks to New Orleans’ City Park, and setting up endless puppy play dates.