Leadership Team
Carolyn Kent (@CarolynLKent ) is the President of Social Media Club of Columbus. By day, she manages social media and mobile marketing at Express . In her spare time, she loves to sing, run and cook. Her favorite social network is Pinterest and her mobile app of choice is Zite. She’s excited to grow SMC Columbus over the next year!
Samantha “Sam” Rufo (@srufo ) is the President of nxtConcepts, Ltd. , an interactive marketing and media company and myMarketingGuide.com . She has previously worked as the New Technology and Innovations Lead for SMC Columbus and is now our Vice President. Sam is also a published author and an active and outspoken public speaker on Interactive Marketing. She describes herself as a Marketer, Storyteller, Speaker, Web Geek, Skier, Beachcomber, Foodie, Lover of Scotch with a taste for adventure. It’s easy to see why her iPhone is her favorite social media tool.
Michael Bowers (@MichaelBowers ) is the Regional Director of the Ohio Small Business Development Center at Columbus State Community College and serves as the official SMC Columbus Treasurer. He got involved with the SMC to support the organization and continue to be a resource to small businesses seeking to figure out how to properly utilize social media for their business. Given a choice, he prefers using Twitter to communicate with his audience online. Michael’s a self proclaimed ‘obsessed runner’ and has completed 10 marathons including those in New York and Chicago.
Adam Schweigert (@aschweig ) is SMC’s Programming Chair and the Founder and President of Media Toybox , a Columbus, Ohio based digital consultancy offering content strategy, social media management, WordPress theme design and general consulting services, specializing in news and media companies but also helping out nonprofits and small to mid-sized businesses. Previously, he served as Director of Strategy for Mindset Digital, a Columbus, Ohio based firm providing customized social media training and strategic consulting to Fortune 500 companies and institutions of higher education. And before that worked in public media for 8 years heading up digital efforts at two NPR/PBS member stations (WOSU Public Media in Columbus, Ohio and Indiana Public Media in Bloomington, Indiana). He was born in Akron and lives in Clintonville.
Julie Theado (@jltheado ) serves as the Communications Chair for SMC Columbus. She is the Social Media Manager at Columbus Metropolitan Library. She is credited with implementing CML's social media strategy and presence. She also found unique ways to utilize social media to pass CML’s levy. She has spent the majority of her career working for public relations and marketing agencies. When not at work, she’s busy running after her 4-year-old son who is always covered in mud. She is also slightly addicted to Pinterest.
Craig Friedman (@CraiginColumbus ) has more than 20 years of professional broadcasting experience, from being a reporter and news anchor to producing newscasts. He has managed three television station Web sites since 2000, including WLWT-TV in Cincinnati from 2000-01 and WCMH-TV in Columbus from 2002-06. Most recently, Craig spent nearly six years managing 10TV.com and ONNtv.com, the award- winning Web sites for WBNS-TV and the Ohio News Network in Columbus. He also managed both channels’ social media strategy and mobile platform. Craig serves on the Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Board and the Olentangy Local Schools Communications Committee. He is the Membership Chair of SMC Columbus.
Ashley Plummer (@AshleyPlummer ) is a Marketing Communications Strategist for the Office of the Chief Information Officer at The Ohio State University. She serves as the New Technology and Innovations Chair of SMC Columbus. Twitter is her social network of choice and she is admittedly addicted to her iPhone. She has a background in graphic design and therefore loves all things creative. In her spare time, Ashley can be found playing volleyball, golf and a lot of softball.
Angela Vallera Hall (@AngelaVallera ) is the Past President of Social Media Club of Columbus. By day she’s a Senior Account Executive on the Public Relations team at SBC Advertising . In her role with Social Media Club of Columbus, her goal is to grow and learn all while revolutionizing the way central Ohio sees social media. Angela is a self-admitted Facebook junkie.
