Board of Directors
2011-2012
Aline Zimmer
President
 Aline is currently Marketing Manager in the Business Market Group at Sprint. She has extensive experience in the publishing and telecomm industries, having managed many initiatives from professional book clubs to new product launches to direct marketing in both the consumer and business-to-business arenas. Aline has been with Sprint, and in Kansas City, for over eight years, having relocated from New Jersey.
Asked what she enjoys about the Kansas City chapter of the AMA, Aline states, “I've made some great friends and met loads of wonderful people. This organization is friendly, active, and puts on monthly programs that are highly regarded and well attended. The more you put into an organization, the more you get out of it, and the experience just keeps getting better.”
Her interests and accomplishments include competing in triathlons and in the KC Corporate Challenge, skiing, raising two boys with her husband, and travel. She utilizes social media in marketing and education and is a supporter of local and national organizations dealing with ecology, sustainability, hunger, and serving the needy. She has an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a BA in English from Middlebury College in Vermont, as well as a Certificate in Direct Marketing from NYU.
Manon Eilts
President Elect
 Manon joined the United States Tennis Association as Director of Marketing Communications in January of 2004 to direct the overall sales, marketing and communications strategies in a five state area including the promotion and development of membership for the national governing body of tennis. Prior to working for the USTA, Manon was the Marketing Director for Starlight Theatre and Promotions Manager for Barkley. Prior to moving to Kansas City in 1998, Manon was the Sales Promotions Director for the Fox Television affiliate in San Antonio, KABB-TV.
A Professional Member of the American Marketing Association for more than 20 years, Manon earned an M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications from the University of Kansas and a B.A. in Mass Communications from the University of South Dakota.
Manon lives in Overland Park with her husband Randy, the Director of Public Relations for Glynn Devins Advertising and Marketing and their two daughters.
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Mary K. Florence
Vice President Interactive Media/Treasurer
 Mary is a respected expert in Human Factors and Usability Engineering, focusing on total strategic implementation of user interfaces to maximize user experience and corporate goals. She has worked with AT&T, IBM, Daystar Software and iStructural.
Degrees: MBA Marketing, University Wisconsin at Madison; Master’s Certification in Project Management and MS Human Factors and Applied Psychology, Stevens Institute of Technology, NJ; BSBA Marketing, University of Missouri at Columbia.
Mary is an active member of AMA and has served the Kansas City AMA chapter in numerous positions. During her term as President, AMA-KC received the national award for Special Programs. She also serves on the Park Hill School District Technology Committee and is a People-To-People International Officer sponsor. In addition to professional interest in utilizing social media in marketing and education, her other interests include investing, traveling, and sailing.
Kathe Rusnak
Vice President Programming
 Kathe is the Director of Marketing and Sales for Ken-A-Vision, a leading designer and manufacturer of document cameras, microscopes and software for the global educational market.
As Vice President of Programming, Kathe’s main role will be organizing the Annual Seminar, the major event of the year. In her fourth year as a Board Member, she will also mentor/train new Board members on the monthly luncheons and networking events. Her goal is to deliver exceptional programming that educates, connects and empowers the professional development of marketers in the Kansas City region.
After completing her BA in Advertising and Public Relations at Kansas State University, she attended Justus Liebig University on a scholarship in Giessen, Germany. Student status soon led to professional marketing and sales positions at Nike and Adidas at the European and Global levels. After years of living in Germany and The Netherlands, her passions still include traveling, photography and staying connected with family and friends around the world.
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Kaila Schmidt
Vice President Volunteers
 Kaila Schmidt is with Sprint Nextel Corporation leading national marketing programs and market launches for Sprint’s 4G WiMAX service. She has expertise in creating strategic and innovative marketing programs deployed through direct and indirect sales channels. Kaila has over twenty years of telecommunication's industry experience and has served in a variety of leadership roles including sales, marketing and human resources.
Kaila is also active in her profession and community by participating on two not -for profit Boards. She has served on the board for the American Marketing Association Kansas City Chapter since 2005 and is currently the Vice President of Volunteers. Kaila is also actively involved in her community and was nominated to be part of the Weatherby Lake Improvement Company. This Board manages the lake and 19 common access areas. She leads a team of volunteers focused on protecting the quality of the lake water.
Kaila has an MBA from Mid America Nazarene University and a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from Avila University. She is married and has two children. In her spare time she enjoys water activities, snow skiing, mountain hiking, and volunteering at the kid's school.
Emily Esparza
Vice President Membership
 Emily is Marketing Strategist for Zillner in Lenexa. With a focus on senior consumer marketing, she is responsible developing and executing the Zillner marketing plan including managing vendor partnerships and social media/web interaction. She is also responsible for managing new business development efforts at Zillner. Emily has been with Zillner for five years.
Emily enjoys running, playing Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit, and spending time with family. She has an MS from the University of Kansas and a BS from Kansas State University.
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Jerrod Mitchell
Vice President Collegiate
 Jerrod works at Hallmark Cards Inc. as a Product Manager. He commercializes new business opportunities and develops products for Hallmark’s humor product line, Shoebox. Jerrod has a MBA from Baker University and a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance and Marketing from the University of Kansas.
As the Collegiate Director, Jerrod hopes to get more collegiate students involved with the great programs that the AMA-KC Chapter has to offer. He feels strongly about the power of networking and plans to inspire students to take full advantage of the opportunities that the AMA provides to network with the great marketing professionals in Kansas City as well as across the nation.
Outside of work and the AMA, Jerrod manages a local DJ group and helps promote the Kansas City music scene by organizing concerts and other events around the city. In his spare time, he enjoys meeting new people and discovering everything Kansas City has to offer.
Wayne Willis
Director Marketing Communications
 Wayne has worked as a marketing professional over the past ten years in a number of diverse areas, including loyalty & retention, channel strategy, product, and retail marketing. His specialties include customer service, digital signage systems, and project management. Wayne is also a volunteer with willis+willis (@pluswillis), an organization which raises awareness and funding for Parkinson's research.
A member of the AMA-KC since 2006, Wayne initiated the AMA-KC’s LinkedIn group in 2008. His volunteer work with the board of directors and other chapter members led him to seek out additional opportunities within the AMA. As the Director of Marketing Communications, Wayne manages all of the chapter’s member communications, including newsletters, event flyers, and the group’s social media presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Wayne has earned an undergraduate degree in Communications Studies from the University of Kansas and masters degrees from Webster University in Media Communication, Marketing, and Business Administration. In his free time Wayne enjoys playing guitar, tennis, and spending time with his wife, daughter, and two dogs.
Vince Vandehaar
Director Special Interest Groups
 Vince Vandehaar is the owner of VVV Research & Development, Inc. which provides professional business consulting services to help organizations with business strategy, research and deployment.
Vince started his business on 6/1/09 after working for Saint Luke’s Health System of Kansas City for 16 years, during which time the organization was awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. His department at St. Luke’s was cited by Baldrige examiners as “best practice” in the area of customer satisfaction, market research and evaluation efforts.
Currently Vince is a part-time adjunct marketing professor at Webster University and Rockhurst University – Helzberg School of Business. He is a Malcolm Baldrige coach and a professional focus group moderator and teaches graduate level classes in Marketing, Marketing Research, Consumer Behavior, Marketing Management, Statistics and Marketing & Health Capstone classes. In addition to his role on the Board of AMA-KC, Vince is actively involved in the national Society for Healthcare Marketing and Planning and the KC Employee Benefit Professional Association, MO HC Executives.
Brian Buckler, Ph.D.
Secretary
 Brian has taught at Avila University since 1996 and is currently Professor of Marketing. His teaching and research interests include marketing strategy, marketing research, and consumer behavior. He teaches at both the undergraduate and MBA levels.
Brian‘s involvement with the AMA-KC is extensive, having served two terms as President, a variety of Director and VP roles, and mentoring/training new Board members. He just finished a long stint as VP of Strategic Initiatives where he was responsible for developing win-win relationships with area companies and organizing the Annual Seminar.
His education includes a B.S. and MBA degrees in Marketing from Missouri State University and a Ph.D. in Marketing/Psychology from the University of Texas – Arlington.
Cynthia Edmunds
Executive Director
American Marketing Association
Kansas City Chapter
P.O. Box 23768, Shawnee Mission,
KS 66283-0768
E-Contact: staff@ama-kc.org
Voice/FAX: (913) 681-6252
Cynthia is the first point of contact for those interested in or new to the Kansas City chapter of the AMA. She manages the office and its multitude of duties and is our interface with the National AMA.
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