speaker bios

Lauren Dixon

As Chief Executive Officer of Dixon Schwabl (DS), Lauren oversees a full-service marketing communications firm with over 70 employees and capitalized billings in excess of $130 million. She has full responsibility for agency performance, including bottom-line factors such as long-range strategic planning, company vision and culture. Lauren builds and provides day-to-day general and strategic oversight of a growing roster of more than 90 clients. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Dixon Schwabl.

Lauren’s career began at WHAM TV -13 as on-air reporter, anchor, and co-host of the nationally syndicated program PM Magazine. While at Channel 13, Lauren received national recognition with awards from the Associated Press and United Press International. Lauren followed her broadcast career at Channel 13 with a position as sales manager at WROC TV-8 in Rochester before founding Dixon Schwabl in 1987.Lauren has a bachelor of science from Kent State University, majoring in broadcast journalism. She has a minor in French, Spanish, Italian, and German.Lauren encourages philanthropic collaborations in the Rochester community. Lauren created the Horses on Parade fiberglass animal parade in Rochester, one of the most successful charitable events in area history, raising $1 million that was distributed to 116 local charities. Lauren believes in helping build a better community by encouraging tomorrow’s leaders to learn and grow their careers in Rochester. DS has a comprehensive mentoring and internship program. More than 600 Rochester area students have held internships at DS, and employees annually volunteer more than 7500 hours of community service. Lauren is a frequent local and national guest speaker on topics such as advertising, marketing, philanthropy, and company culture, speaking an average of 4 times per month.

• Selected to speak at the Great Place to Work Institute National Conference in Boston
• University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business, addressing a variety of topics to MBA students
• Selected to be the keynote speaker on advertising and marketing for the National Decorating Conference in New York City
• Selected as marketing speaker for the National Society of Fundraisers

Lauren serves on several areas boards including:
Thompson Health Foundation, 2004-present
EnCompass, 2006-present
MCC Advisory Board Capital Campaign, 2006-present
YMCA Capital Campaign Co-Chair, 2007
Ontario ARC, 2005-present
Friends of CMAC, 2008-present

Lauren volunteers her time and expertise with a variety of organizations, including:
Rochester City Ballet, Gala co-chair, 2005-2007
American Heart Association, Gala co-chair, 2007
Leukemia & Lymphoma “Light the Night” Walk, co-chair, 2006 and 2007
Camp Good Days & Special Times “International Wine Auction,” Marketing Committee, 2005-2007
Garth Fagan Season Gala, Marketing & PR Committee, 2006-2007
Hillside Workforce Scholarship Gala, Marketing & PR Committee, 2000-2006
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Gala, Marketing & PR Committee, 2000-2007
Al Sigl “Just One” Campaign, 1998-2007
JDRF, Marketing Committee, 2006-2007
Women’s Foundation of Genesee Valley, Marketing Committee, 2006-2007
Gilda’s Club, Gilda’s Gala, Marketing Committee, 2007
Bishop Sheen Housing Gala, Marketing Committee, 2004-2007
St. Mary’s School, Annual Fundraising Event, 2004-2007
DayStar, Event Planning Committee, 2007

Lauren has received many awards individually and with the agency, including:
2005-2007 – DS named one of the “Best Small Companies to Work for in America”
2005 – DS one of four area firms inducted into the Genesee Valley Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Managements (GVCSHRM) Hall of Fame. The agency joined Wegmans the YMCA of Greater Rochester; and law firm Harter, Secrest & Emery in receiving this honor.
2004 – Rochester TOP 100
2003 – Ernst & Young Communicator of the Year Award
2003 – Rochester Business Ethics Award
2003 – Inc. Magazine feature article
2002 – Rochester TOP 100
2001 – Greater Rochester Metro Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year
2000 – Athena Award – Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce
2000 – Fast Company feature story – Companies Are People Too!
1999 – Matrix Award – Promoting the advancement of Women in Communications – Women in Communications
1999 – Entrepreneurial Award – Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce
1999 – “Wow” Award – Excellence in writing and communication
1999 – Telly Award – Amerks Commercial
1998 – Arthritis Foundation Volunteer of the Year
1998 – Telly Award – Documentary of the Year
1997 – Telly Award – Documentary of the Year

Alex Bitterman

Alex Bitterman in an expert on universal design, the social responsibility of the designer, advertising, branding and identity programs (from a communication design perspective), graphic design, and place branding. Alex Bitterman is an Assistant Professor in the School of Design in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences. Prior to his move to Rochester, Alex was a member of the faculty at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University at Buffalo as a Research Assistan Professor, and simultaneously, was the Director for Information Design and Dissemination at the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA). The IDEA Center is an internationally respected, multi-million dollar research institute funded by the U.S. Department of Education.Bitterman is an expert on branding, identity, and identity systems, and much of his research focuses on the accessibility of those systems for those with physical, cognitive, cultural, or situational impairments.

Nancy Bucket

Nancy a professional fine art appraiser in Rochester, NY. She is the former owner/curator of the Oxford Gallery in the Park Ave. business district of Rochester. She is also a volunteer at the Memorial Art Gallery and the Cancer Center of Strong Health.

Lomax “Cue” Campbell *

Lomax is the Founder, President and CEO of The Third Eye Network, “Integrated Marketing Communications Association,” comprised of TEN Marketing & Management Solutions (TENMMS), Third Eye Photography, and Forté Graphics" since 2003.
A Rochester native, Lomax earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, with a major in Graphic Media Marketing and a concentration in Mandarin Chinese, from the E. Philip Saunders
College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 2007. He also holds an Associate of Science degree in business administration from Monroe Community College. Lomax was accepted into the 2008 class of Leadership Rochester, a year-long program charged with identifying and developing emerging and existing leaders who represent and serve the Greater Rochester Community. He currently serves as the Vice President of Membership for the Toasted Sage club of Toastmasters International as well as Communications Chair of True Networking Thursdays. While attending RIT, Lomax belonged to the following organizations and chapters: American Marketing Association, Students in Free Enterprise, Chinese Student Scholar Association, and the Saunders College of Business’ Lowenthal Service Group. Lomax has volunteered as a student teacher and mentor at the Rochester City School District's School of Business, Finance and Entrepreneurship at Edison, and the city's School Without Walls. He is a former board member of the Monroe County Youth Bureau (2001–2002), and Action for a Better Community (1998–2001) where he was ambassador for both organizations’ youth initiatives. Finally, Lomax is a past recipient of Rochester's Young Citizen of the Year (1998, 2000) and Do the Right Thing (2001) awards. For more information visit: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lomaxcampbell

Jason Capello *

Jason Capello graduated from RIT in the spring of 2004 with a BFA in Graphic Design. He began working for ChaseDesign in June of the same year. As a retail graphic designer, Jason has contributed to in-store design work for major retailers including Wal-Mart, Target, Mejier, and Kroger. Since the time he began working for Chase, Jason’s job responsibilities have diversified from fabricating retail design solutions to include more multi-disciplinary roles such as project manager and packaging designer. Jason’s recent projects have involved work for major brands such as Energizer, Olay, Pantene, CoverGirl, Logitech, Burrberry, Valentino, IAMS, Millstone, and Intuit. Jason’s design work with Chase has spanned across a wide variety of successful projects, including a complete redesign of Energizer’s in-store merchandising, a fresh look for beauty departments at many major retailers, collaborative work on streamlining the perfume counters in fine retailers, and a progressive look at the packaging design for major Energizer products including headlights and battery chargers.

Tim Downs *

Executive Creative Director, Martino Flyn
As the Executive Creative Director at Martino Flynn—a full-service advertising, public relations, and digital media marketing communications firm—Tim oversees an award-winning creative team with both strategic and creative direction.He has over 20 years of agency experience, and has worked on a variety of local and national accounts. Including: Eastman Kodak, NEC, Xerox, High Falls Brewery, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Canandaigua National Bank and CooperVision. Tim graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA in Fine and Applied Arts in 1983.

Julia Garver

Garver graduated from University of Rochester with a BA degree. She then earned a Juris Doctor degree from SUNY Buffalo Law School. For the next 14 years she practiced corporate law with the firm of Woods Oviatt Gilman in Rochester, NY becoming the first female partner of the firm. Her spouse’s transfer to Los Angeles prompted a return to school for a Certificate in Visual Communications from UCLA. After returning to Rochester in 2001 Garver spent two years working as a graphic artist at Windsor Street Design Associates. She now works part-time as a lawyer for Merzbach Law Office and occasionally takes on freelance design projects.

Rich Getsloff *

President-CEO / Principal
• BFA 1976 Rochester Institute of Technology. Industrial/Environmental Design
• NCIDQ Certified, 10/89 (Certification No. #8106)
• FC Design Associates, Inc., Rochester, New York. (1976-1981 & 1982-1985) Director of Design & Production.
• Joan Hilliers & Co., Buffalo, New York. (1981-1982) Director of Design.
• Hafner Associates, Rochester, New York. (1985-1988) Director of Operations/Design.
• Getsloff Design Group, Inc., Rochester, New York. (1988- Present) President/CEO.

Mr. Getsloff began his career after graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1976 designing corporate trade shows, corporate and retail environments. Working with the FC Design Associates, Richard participated on an array of project for national organizations, both in this country and abroad, from NYC and New Orleans to Europe, South America and the Pacific Rim. In 1981, he joined the firm of Joan Hilliers & Co. of Buffalo, NY, a firm that specialized in healthcare and institutional contracts. While at the firm Mr. Getsloff was Design Director with a staff of 6. While there his team participated on a series of healthcare projects- a 250 bed facility in Detroit, Mich. and a 150 bed facility, St. John’s, in a suburb of Buffalo, NY. He also directed the renovation of the library at St. Lawrence University. Mr. Getsloff went on in 1985 to be Design Director at the premier design firm in the Rochester area with a staff of 26 participating in designing high quality corporate, institutional and hospitality environments. In 1988, Richard formed The Getsloff Design Group, Inc. a firm offering design, consulting, specifications and project management on a contract fee basis. The firm has been responsible for the design of over 2 million square feet of contract commercial design and planning in the Western New York markets as well as working with Fortune 500 companies in the National arena.

Ken Huth*

Professionally shooting in Rochester since 1987, Ken is a 1988 Rochester Institute of Technology graduate. He earned a BA with honors in Professional Photographic Illustration.One of Ken's earliest clients was the Associated Press, which provided great news experience. His work appeared throughout the country including direct assignments for the top papers in the US.Currently, Ken shoots for print, presentations and the web: newsletters, brochures, annual reports, digital web and multimedia projects. Clients hire him for their most critical shoots, like a presidential visit or the 2-day Meryl Streep visit for the George Eastman House. Ken specializes in theatre photography, with over 15 seasons at the largest NY regional theatre outside of NYC, Geva Theatre Center. Ken also shoots extensively for colleges like RIT and the University of Rochester. His work appears often in medical publications for the URMC/Strong Hospital and is a key component of their web page. HuthPhoto.com, designed by Ken, includes areas for learning photo techniques, tips on buying cameras, and more. Ken's Shoot Notes blog chronicles interesting shoots at Rochester events, and Ken's podcasts have been listed as 'New and Notable' on the Apple iTunes store.. http://www.huthphoto.com/

Michael Lohr

After holding several different positions in several departments, Michael is currently a Design Team Leader for the Advertising department of Wegmans. During his sixteen years with the company, he has had opportunities to design and art direct an exciting variety of advertising and promotional work for the popular food retailer.

Michael G. Lomb *

President, Creative Director, Founder & Sole Owner MG Lomb Advertising, a full service advertising agency operating in Rochester New York, since 1995. Spark Design Group is a division of MG Lomb Advertising. Michael is a 1992 graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology's Fine and Applied Arts program, with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design, and a 1988 recipient of RIT's Art and Design Scholarship. Choosing RIT over four alternative scholarships from competing colleges, Michael decided to continue a family tradition at RIT. The Lomb family is directly descended from RIT's cofounder, and Bausch & Lomb cofounder, Henry Lomb. An experienced and highly skilled design professional Michael, aided by his firm's staff, advises the agency’s clients on: advertising, marketing, creative media development, media placement, multimedia, Web design, and technical graphics. As Creative Director for the agency, he is personally involved with a majority of the client work produced. Michael contributes 20 years of design experience to MG Lomb Advertising. He prides himself on his ability to produce “top-notch,” results-oriented, professional marketing & advertising campaigns and brand identities; his experience with both business and art contribute to the agency’s success.

Listed below are some of Michael Lomb’s more noteworthy accomplishments: 2007:
Rochester Business Journal, Focus on China
2007: International Ad Award, China
2003 - 2004: RIT EMBA Capstone Project, Recipient
2003: Rochester Business Journal, New Technology Developed
2001: Rochester Business Journal, International Account Acquired
September 7th, 2003. The Rochester Business Journal (RBJ) featured Spark Design Group with an article covering its expansion into international markets
2000: Business Strategies Magazine, Client Relationship Management
1996: International Recognition, CorelDRAW’s World Design Competition
1994: Named Vice President, Sales & Marketing Gardner Design Associates
Lomb left the company in 1995, after turning down a partnership offer to found and open the offices of Spark Graphics which later became MG Lomb Advertising, Inc.
1988: "Best of Show,” Fine Art Exhibition

Fine Art is a passion for Michael G. Lomb, and he confidently asserts that, “There is little difference between the philosophy behind great art, and great advertising. If an agency does not have great artists on-board, its efforts will never be fully recognized.” Living these words, Lomb himself is an accomplished artist, winning "Best of Show" honors out of 1,200 competing entries for an acrylic painting he produced in 1988 entitled, “Breakfast.” The work can be seen in MG Lomb Advertising’s lobby, or at: www.MGLomb.com/art.

Elizabeth Lyons*

Owner: More Fire Glass Studio
Educator: Rochester City Schools. East High School
Elizabeth Lyons is a sculptor and designer who works in glass and a range of other materials. Her work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States. Her sculptural work is represented by Ricco/Maresca Gallery in New York City. Included among the numerous awards she has received is the prestigious Anonymous Was a Woman Foundation award in 2005. In addition, Elizabeth is the founder and director of More Fire Glass Studio in Rochester, NY. Since 1998, More Fire Glass Studio has provided a glass making facility for artists to produce their work as well as glass education programs for the community. Elizabeth currently resides in Rochester, New York where she was born, having returned after living for ten years in New York City. Elizabethh is an RIT alumna. http://www.morefireglass.com/

Nan Miller

President and owner of the Nan Miller Gallery, located in Rochester, NY, Nan Miller has succeeded in the art gallery business for over 37 years. A graduate of Cazenovia College and Philadelphia College of Textile & Science, she majored in fabric design and minored in printmaking. Miller’s art career began in Rochester, where she focused on the artistic medium etching and participated in local and regional art shows. Her introduction into the gallery business was by chance – a friend asked her to assist in setting up and selling for a local art charity event. Following this event, Miller realized that she had a talent for selecting, displaying and selling other people’s artwork – this was the beginning of Miller’s gallery career. Over the last 20 years, Miller has expanded her efforts into publishing, promoting, and distributing artists throughout the world. “My art experience and education have enabled me to assist artists in expanding their creativity to reach their artistic goals, said Miller. “To help guide an artist’s career and watch his or her art develop to achieve success is one of my greatest joys.” http://www.nanmillergallery.com/

Doug Manchee

Doug Manchee is the program chairperson of the Advertising Photography program in the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences at RIT and has been a full-time faculty member since 1997. He received his Bachelor and Masters degrees from San Francisco State University. Doug has run commercial photography studios in both San Francisco and Rochester and is also active as an exhibiting artist.

Erin O'Dell *

Born and raised in Canandaigua, NY, Erin graduated from Canandaigua Academy in 2001. She then went on to FLCC where she received her AAS in Graphic Art and Advertising Technology in 2003. From there she transferred into the Graphic Media program at RIT. Erin received her BS from RIT in 2006. Throughout high school and college Erin worked part time in the child care department at the Canandaigua YMCA. After completing her coursework at RIT Erin was hired at Colorcentric, where she is a project manager, she integrates new customers into the workflow, and does any necessary design work.

Katie Resch

Katie Resch, Client Services, Agency.com in New York City.
Graduated 2003 Syracuse University, Newhouse School of Public Communications, BS in Advertising Management, minor in Information Science and Technology. Client Services, Agency.com Digital Full Service (marketing and light web development) Jan 2005 – Present. Primary Brands: World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, E*TRADE Financial, Choice Hotels International, Del Monte Pet Foods. Media Planner, Carat. Traditional Media (mainly print, TV and Outdoor, some radio and local newspaper) June 2003 – Jan 2005. Primary brands: Bank One, Schick Intuition and Quattro Razors.

Michael Rogers

Michael Rogers is a Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology’s School For American Crafts Glass Program in New York where he has taught for the past 6 years. Previously he spent 11 years in Nagoya, Japan where he was head of Aichi University’s Glass Department. He maintains a private studio outside Honeoye Falls, New York and exhibits extensively nationally and internationally.

Jen Seiser *

I graduated from RIT in May of 2007 with a degree in graphic design and a minor in marketing. I began working with two entrepreneurs in Pittsford to begin a concept for a new restaurant. As the director of marketing and design I have had the opportunity to develop the brand from the ground level and design all materials to support it. The concept is more than a healthy dining venue with an in-house recording studio to shoot live cooking videos, hold cooking contests, and teach cooking classes. I have also helped to create, execute and market our art gallery, charity night, catering service, live jazz music, and the largest “green” wine bar in the country. I have promoted the restaurant though local advertising and community trade shows. I also do freelance design work and marketing consulting for new businesses.

* RIT Alumni