Welcome to the Alphabet Bash! The Charlotte AMA invites you to join us for a night of networking, fun and a panel discussion from area agency leaders on the state of creativity and collaboration in 2023. Join local professionals in the communications, marketing, public relations and design industries as we network, collaborate and enjoy learning from each other while raising funds for the Dottie Rose foundation. Ticket price will support the funding of classes and scholarship to help girls learn how to code.

Program includes in person networking, fireside chat with local agency leaders and a mixology class for VIP attendees.

Program Topic: “The State of Creativity and Collaboration in 2023”

A conversation with John Mader, Executive Director of Wray Ward, Melanie Pearl, Managing Director of Valtech (formerly Union Co) and Jaime Cardenas, CEO of AC&M

Creativity is the thread that connects all of us. The rise of the digital age has opened up new possibilities for creativity, customer experience, communication and collaboration. Join us as leaders from several local agencies discuss the following topics:

• The importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. The boundaries between different fields of knowledge are becoming increasingly blurred.

• How do creativity and a data driven world intersect to create omni-channel campaigns?

• The power of cultural diversity and how it’s more essential and important than ever.

• Balancing the demands of technology with the importance of creativity and collaboration.

This event is presented by AMA Charlotte in collaboration with CWIT (Carolinas Women in Technology), Charlotte PRSA, IABC and PDMA.

Our Moderator and Speakers:

Moderator: Dianne Chase, President of IABC and Senior Vice President, C4CS

An accomplished media, journalism and public relations professional with profound expertise in various communication disciplines, most notably crisis communication, Dianne is also an experienced issue and reputation management consultant, media trainer, presenter, and writer.

Melanie Pearl, VP of North America & Managing Director, Valtech (formerly Union)With over 15 years of experience in the digital marketing space and nine of those at Union, Melanie was an integral part of defining how we offer Client Services at the agency. Now, as the Managing Director of the Charlotte office and VP of North America at Union, she applies global learnings to our business while ensuring our culture and quality of work continues to shine through.

Jaime Cardenas, Co-Founder, CEO AC&M Group

Jaime is a Mechanical Engineer from ITESM in Mexico turned marketer. Founded AC&M Group in 2004 as an MBA class project at Wake Forest University. He is passionate about finding actionable insights in complex data. He has been leveraging insights-driven creative and traditional, digital and social media to efficiently reach multicultural audiences for over a decade. Under his leadership, AC&M Group has become one of the top cultural marketing agencies in the U.S. helping clients understand and leverage the complexities and diversity of multicultural audiences, which include some of the largest, fastest-growing and most trend-setting consumer segments in the U.S.

John Mader, Vice President and Executive Director, Connections, Wray Ward

As vice president, Connections executive director at Wray Ward, John is responsible for leading the strategic direction of the agency’s Connections group, which consists of teams across Marketing Communications Strategy, Public Relations, Content Marketing, Social Media, Marketing Automation, Integrated Media Strategy, Performance Media and Search, and Analytics and Performance. John has spent his career studying how audiences consume information across diverse mediums and how brands can build enduring relationships with customers, drive sales, and influence thinking and behavior across the customer journey.