IABC-LI Announces 2009-2010 Board Of Directors

(Plainview, N.Y.) – The International Association of Business Communicators – Long Island Chapter (IABC-LI) yesterday announced the chapter’s new Board of Directors for the 2009-10 term. The new Board took the oath of office during the chapter’s Annual Awards luncheon, its final event of the program year.

Julie Gross Gelfand, APR, Executive Vice President and Director of Public Relations at Harrison Leifer DiMarco (HLD), was elected President of the Board.  A 2008 class member of Long Island Business News’ Top 50 Women, Gelfand also received IABC-LI’s 2009 Achievement in Communications Award, which recognizes exceptional skill, enthusiasm and commitment to the field of business communications.  Gelfand is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), a member of PRSA’s Counselor’s Academy and a charter member of the American Association of Advertising Agencies’ Client Public Relations Committee.

Other officers elected to the IABC-LI Board were:

• Vice President, Brand Advocate – Ann Middleman, Principal ADM Marketing & Research Consulting
• Vice President, Membership – Mary Feder, Director, College Relations and Publications, Suffolk County Community College
• Treasurer – Deborah Kendric, Director of Communications, State Bank of LI

Board directors include:

• Roger Drake – Chief Communications Officer, Morton’s Restaurant Group, Inc.
• Karen Ferraro – Principal Consultant, AKLYN & CO.
• Laura Hauser – Director of Marketing, Moritt Hock Hamroff & Horowitz LLP
• Marisa Rice – Account Manager, PR Newswire
• Gordon Tepper – Senior Communications Specialist, Marcum LLP
• Wendy Tullo – Snr. Manager, Executive Communications, Avaya
• Susan Vassallo – Manager, Public and Investor Relations, Henry Schein Inc.

“I am privileged to serve on the IABC-LI Board of Directors with such an outstanding group of communications professionals,” Gelfand said.  “We are looking forward to a dynamic program in 2009-10, and welcome communicators from every corner of the Long Island business community to join us.”

About IABC-LI
IABC-LI (www.iabc-li.com) is an organization of communications professionals dedicated to the education and professional development of its members and of the profession. The organization connects Long Island’s business communicators with each other, the region’s business community, and an international network of 16,000 professional members in 60 countries. IABC-LI offers a diverse and engaging program of speakers, panels, and events to illuminate the challenges facing today’s communications professionals and tomorrow’s practitioners. Monthly luncheon presentations provide new insights into the rapidly evolving world of traditional marketing and social media communication, from building effective communications programs to personal career development.

For more information about programs and membership, visit www.iabc-li.com.