Leadership Bios

Executive Board Bios

President, Tom Myer ()
Thomas Myer is a technical book author, consultant, and web developer. In 2001, he founded Triple Dog Dare Media in Austin, Texas. Triple Dog Dare Media focuses its attention on helping companies create CodeIgniter-based applications like content management applications, portals, and ecommerce systems. He is the author of No Nonsense XML Web Development with PHP (Sitepoint, 2004), Lead Generation on the Web (O'Reilly 2007) and Professional CodeIgniter (due out July 2008 from WROX). He has also authored dozens of technical and business articles for IBM DeveloperWorks, Amazon Web Services, AOL, Darwin Magazine, and others.

President-Elect, Robyn Milder ()
Robyn Milder, an Austin native, is the account development manager for the Southern region for BOSSdev, an interactive and social media company. Prior to BOSSdev, Robyn had a long career with American City Business Journals as advertising director and business development manager in Tampa, FL and Houston, TX respectively.

Robyn has been involved in the AMA since college. She served on the Board of the Houston chapter from 2004-2006 and as the VP of programming for the Austin chapter in 2008-2009. In addition to the AMA, Robyn is involved with Austin Habitat for Humanity Young Professionals (HYP) and the Texas Food & Wine Foundation. Robyn is a graduate of the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in Advertising.

Secretary, Angela Brutsche ()
Angela Brutsché connects people to the right resources and implements strategies that drive success. As the director of marketing and communications for the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR), Angela works to educate consumers, the media and real estate professionals about issues that impact Central Texas real estate. Marketers looking to purchase a home in the Austin area may be familiar with ABoR’s public Web site, www.AustinHomeSearch.com

When outside the office, Angela can be found sharing adventures with her husband and two children, volunteering or planning her next road trip. As the chapter secretary, Angela oversees the fulfillment of the Austin AMA’s Constitution and Bylaws and promotes a strong community of marketing professionals.

Treasurer, H.J. Wassenaer ()
Henk Jan Wassenaar (aka HJ) holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of Illinois, with a focus on integrating business and marketing decision making in relation to maximizing market share, revenue and profit. He applies his education to improving the efficiency of sales incentives and developing price optimization solutions as a senior price scientist at Zilliant. In his spare time, HJ enjoys catching up with friends, networking, diving into the Austin music and restaurant scene and road cycling. HJ previously served as the Austin chapter’s assistant treasurer.

VP of Communications, Priscilla Brave ()
Priscilla Brave supports one of On Your Mark’s largest clients as an account manager and moderator for qualitative market research that is designed to understand the female consumer. On Your Mark (www.oymresearch.com) has accumulated vital information from proprietary research, women’s panels, secondary data and endless individual and group discussions over the past 15 years.

This native Texan is also a proud community advocate and volunteers with organizations including Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Texas. She is an active volunteer with the American Marketing Association and now serves as vice president of communications for the Austin chapter.

VP of Collegiate Relations, Terri Waggoner ()
Terri Waggoner is the public information officer for the City of Pflugerville. Terri is a graduate of Texas State University with a degree in mass communications and an emphasis in public relations. She has served on the AMA Board in various capacities for the past six years.

VP of Membership, Michelle Vrudhula ()
Michelle Vrudhula is the Vice President of Operations and Finance for Customer Research International, a full service market research firm. As one of the principals of the company, Michelle has over 20 years experience in technical and logistical operations, project management, customer service, human resources and finance.

VP of Special Projects, Tracy Sullivan ()
Tracy Sullivan is the President of Project By Project Marketing Communications, where she is responsible for strategic development, design and production of marketing materials for a client portfolio ranging from healthcare corporations, associations and public affairs firms to cable companies, private schools and religious organizations.

Tracy's experience spans account management, integrated marketing, database management, media buying, graphic design, and marketing consulting. She holds a B.S. in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin.

Tracy is an Austin Chapter past president and has served as a member and president of the AMA's Professional Chapters Council (PCC), an international advisory board. As President of the PCC, she was responsible for the launch of the AMA's "Board in a Box," a leadership program developed for the Association's 74 chapters. She has been an instructor for the Association's annual Leadership Summit, serving as Summit Chair in 2002, where she was responsible for the event's curriculum and instructor training, all marketing materials and event logistics.

VP of Programs, Simon Salt ()
Simon Salt is the CEO and founder of the IncSlingers, an integrated marketing communication company that provides all forms of marketing communication from customer-winning copy to actionable social media strategies and their execution.

Simon writes regularly for the IncSlinger blog (www.theincslingers.com/blog) and occasionally at Chris Brogan’s Dad-O-Matic. He is an avid Social Media Practitioner and national speaker on social media, with a current focus on convincing traditional marketers of the value of Web 2.0 before the arrival of Web 3.0. He is VP of programming for the Austin Chapter.

VP of Emerging Media and Technology, Christina Davis ()
Biography to come soon

Immediate Past President, Jean Conover ()
Jean keeps her finger on the pulse of the Austin community and fosters relationships with other Marketing professionals. She helps implement the goals of the Austin Chapter of the AMA and plans effective and innovative ways of networking within the organization and beyond. By profession, Jean is the Director of Business Development at TradeMark Media, an award winning, interactive design and development agency based locally here in Austin. Jean also serves on the Board of Directors for the Young Women's Alliance (YWA) as the VP of Marketing. She lives in East Austin with her husband and their dog. She enjoys meeting new people, networking, playing volleyball, running, watching movies at the Alamo Draft House, traveling, and cheering for Carolina basketball.