FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2025
CONTACT:
Amanda Sawney
asawney@wict.org
The WICT Network Announces 2024 Chapter Award Honorees and 2025 Incoming Chapter Presidents and Advisors
(March 20, 2025) -The WICT Network today announced both its 2024 chapter award recipients and its 2025 chapter presidents and advisors.
The WICT Network chapter awards measure important aspects of the Model Chapter Business Plan (MCBP), where chapters earn points for performance metrics that meet or exceed guidelines provided in the MCBP. The WICT Network presents the Chapter of the Year award to the top performing chapter as measured by MCBP scores in areas such as programming, marketing and communications, governance and membership. For 2024, The WICT Network: Greater Philadelphia earned the most possible points and received the Chapter of the Year award.
The WICT Network also recognized the Chapter President of the Year, The WICT Network: Heartland’s Andi Bledsoe, Sr. Manager, Corporate Communications, Cox Communications and The WICT Network: UK & Ireland’s Madalina Suceveanu, Managing Director, Mobile & Cloud, Liberty Global; and the Chapter Advisor of the Year, The WICT Network: Greater Texas’ Tara Whitehead Stotland, Global Head of Strategy & Communications, Cognizant.
“The WICT Network’s mission does not advance without the dedication and perseverance of our chapter leaders,” said Maria E. Brennan, CAE, President & CEO of The WICT Network. “Nearly 500 leaders across 24 domestic and international chapters work tirelessly to deliver high-impact programs and resources that empower their local members. Despite the increasing challenges and pushback on diversity and inclusion, they have remained steadfast. We are proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our 2024 chapter honorees and welcome our incoming chapter leaders and advisors, who will continue driving meaningful change.”
The WICT Network congratulates all its 2024 chapter honorees on receiving the following esteemed awards:
- Chapter of the Year award was presented to The WICT Network: Greater Philadelphia.
- Chapter President of the Year was presented to The WICT Network: Heartland’s Andi Bledsoe, Sr. Manager, Corporate Communications, Cox Communications and to The WICT Network: UK & Ireland’s Madalina Suceveanu, Managing Director, Mobile & Cloud, Liberty Global.
- Chapter Advisor of the Year was presented to The WICT Network: Greater Texas’ Tara Whitehead Stotland, Global Head of Strategy & Communications, Cognizant.
- Chapter Leader of the Year was presented to Shannon Andrews, Manager, Business Insights & AI Data Analytics, Cox Communications, who served as Senior Director of Inspire Awards for The WICT Network: Southeast.
- Chapter Volunteer of the Year was presented to The WICT Network: Greater Philadelphia’s Pooja Singh, Sr. Manager, Fraud Risk Management, Comcast.
- Most Improved Chapter, recognizing growth and development from the previous year, was presented to The WICT Network: Southwest.
- Community Service Award, awarded to chapters that have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to giving back to their local communities, was presented to The WICT Network: Rocky Mountain.
- Mentoring Excellence, recognizing outstanding execution and impact of a mentoring program, was presented to The WICT Network: Rocky Mountain for first place, Southern California for second place and Virginia for third place.
- Programming of the Year was presented to The WICT Network: Greater Philadelphia for first place, Greater Texas for second place and Midwest for third place.
- Innovation and Excellence, which honors a chapter that introduced impactful initiatives to enhance the member experience or serve the community, was presented to The WICT Network: UK & Ireland.
- Inspire and Others Will Follow awards, which recognizes chapters that earned 90+ points on the MCBP, were presented to The WICT Network: Carolinas, Florida, Great Lakes, Greater Chicago, Greater Philadelphia, Greater Pittsburgh, Greater Texas, Heartland, Midwest, Rocky Mountain, Southeast, Southern California, Southwest, UK & Ireland and Washington DC/Baltimore.
2025 Chapter Presidents
- Carolinas – Jamie Welch, Director, Strategy & Process Activation, Spectrum Reach
- Europe – Annemarie Koelman, VP, Partner Service Management, Liberty Global
- Florida – Sadie Molinet, Account Director, SLED, Summit Broadband
- Great Lakes – Darralyn Griffin, Finance Supervisor, Comcast
- Greater Chicago – Shanta Averhart, Manager, Vendor Management, Comcast
- Greater Ohio – Heather McElfresh, Manager, Business Planning, Charter Communications
- Greater Philadelphia – Michele Corsini, Executive Director, Product & Strategy, Comcast
- Greater Pittsburgh – Danielle Iorio, Sr. Director, Construction, Comcast
- Greater Texas – Mandy Schultz, Sr. Manager, Human Resources, Comcast
- Heartland – Jessica Pedigo, Marketing Manager, Cox Communications
- Latin America – Adriana Franco, Strategic Partnership Development Manager – TV Platforms, Google
- Midwest – Kate Moore, Sr. Manager, Engineering, Charter Communications
- New England – Dina Baraiolo, VP, Finance, The Walt Disney Company
- New York – Liz Spaulding, VP, Business Development, BritBox
- Northern California – Rachel Gorini, Project Manager 3, West Division, Comcast
- Pacific Northwest – Crystal Daily, Sales Manager, Effectv
- Rocky Mountain – Missy Wood, Operational Transformation Strategist
- Southeast – Cindy Hughes, Director, Reliability Assurance Platforms, Cox Communications
- Southern California – Valerie Spiller, Sr. VP, Production Finance, A+E Networks and Lindsay Nesmith, Head of Music, JEL Music Group Inc
- Southwest – Crystal Hill, WorkForce Management Supervisor, Cox Communications
- UK & Ireland – Anne Nguyen, Managing Director, Strategy, Liberty Global
- Virginia – Jennifer Gilman, Director, Sales Operations, Cox Communications
- Washington DC/Baltimore – To Be Announced
2025 Chapter Advisors
- Carolinas – Christine Rodocker, VP Distribution & Consumer Marketing, INSP, Jonica Hartman, VP, Strategic Product Planning & Execution, Spectrum Reach and Sandy Howe, Technology Executive, S. Howe & Associates
- Europe – Ritchy Drost, Chief Financial Officer, VodafoneZiggo
- Florida – Marva Johnson, Group VP, State Government Affairs – South Region, Charter Communications
- Great Lakes – Maria Holmes, Retired
- Greater Chicago – Cathy Traczek and Debra Piscola, VP, Government Affairs, Comcast
- Greater Philadelphia – Mike Crisafulli, Chief Information Officer, Comcast
- Greater Pittsburgh – Erica Dean, Regional HR Vice President, Comcast Cable
- Greater Texas – Juli Blanda, VP, Midwest Division, Cable One
- Heartland – Anne Harris, Sr. Director, Marketing, Cox Media
- Latin America – Fernanda Merodio, Director, Business Development – LATAM, Netflix
- Midwest – Sydney Smith, Marketing Manager, TDS Telecom
- New England – Sara Dionne, Chief Learning Office, Comcast
- New York – Meeka Bondy, Sr. Counsel, Perkins Coie LLP
- Northern California – Tracye Mingo, RVP, Technical Operations – California Region, Comcast
- Pacific Northwest – Abbie O’Dell, Sr. Director, Learning Services: Field Operations, Charter Communications
- Rocky Mountain – Joan Marwitz, Adjunct Professor, University of Denver and Keely Buchanan, Founder, Colorado Educational Consulting
- Southeast – Sheri McGaughy, Founder, McGaughy Law
- Southern California – Holly Henderson, SVP, Sales & Business Development, NCTI
- Southwest – Monica Cole Evans, Sr. Manager, Technical Project Management, Cox Communications and Shawn Duncan, VP, SWR Field Ops, Cox Communications
- UK & Ireland – Francesca Armstrong-Smith, Events Director, Little Feet Events Ltd
- Virginia – Toni Stubbs, VP, Technology, Engineering & Operations, Cox Communications
- Washington DC/Baltimore – Karen Greenfield, SVP, Inclusive Content & Engagement, National Geographic
About The WICT Network – Advancing Women in Media, Entertainment & Technology
The WICT Network is a global organization dedicated to developing leaders who drive transformation across our industry. We achieve this through world-class professional development, original research and a dynamic B2B network that empowers our members. The WICT Network highlights the data that shows the strong business case for gender diversity, demonstrating how organizations with diverse workforces achieve higher profitability, greater employee engagement and faster rates of innovation and problem-solving. With nearly 10,000 members across 24 chapters worldwide, The WICT Network is the largest and longest-standing professional association dedicated to advancing and empowering the workforce. Charter Communications, Comcast NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Discovery are The WICT Network’s Strategic Touchstone Partners. To learn more about the organization and our research, visit www.wict.org and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn (@WICTHQ).
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