DMA Leadership Team

Lawrence M. Kimmel, CEO, Direct Marketing Association – a recognized thought-leader in the marketing and advertising arenas for over a decade who joined DMA in August 2010.  He led one of the world’s largest direct/interactive agency networks to 10 years of unprecedented success.  He has turned around numerous operations, built several companies from scratch and attracted business from a myriad of Fortune 500 companies.  He has been frequently acknowledged and awarded by the marketing press and his peers.  Larry has keynoted events around the globe and is an outspoken advocate for the direct marketing community.

Larry is passionate about direct marketing and has been quoted as saying, “This is an exciting time to be in marketing, yet it is also a period that demands far more innovation, collaboration and education.  As such, it will be rewarding to ensure that DMA members get every competitive advantage, and that the broader marketing community and consumers are well served by the critical activities of DMA.”

He adds, “Now that virtually all of marketing has become or is becoming ‘Direct’, it is exhilarating to work with the countless thought-leaders at DMA as we help lead the way for the next generation of even more effective, efficient marketing methodologies.”

From 2000 to 2008, he served as the Chairman and CEO of Grey Direct Global Network, where he was responsible for up to 49 offices in 42 countries.  He brought the company record-breaking results virtually every year he led the firm, successfully serving many of the world’s leading companies.  Prior to that position, he served as President of the agency’s flagship office.

Before Grey, Larry spent seven years in senior management at Draft Worldwide.  He was also the founder and President of Unimark, a direct marketing, promotion, and advertising agency.

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Linda A. Woolley is executive vice president of Washington Operations for the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing tools and techniques. DMA today represents nearly 2,500 companies in the US and 48 other nations, including a majority of the Fortune 100 companies.

In this role, Woolley is responsible for strategically managing DMA’s global advocacy, legislative, and political efforts, as well as DMA’s Nonprofit Federation, Internet Alliance, and Mail Moves America coalition. Through Woolley’s leadership, DMA was a founding member of the Digital Advertising Alliance, a self-regulatory program that provides notice and choice to consumers about online behavioral advertising.

Prior to joining DMA, Woolley was the founding principal of LegisLaw, a publishing and government relations consulting firm. Clients included Fortune 500 companies and trade associations from a wide range of industries, including transportation, manufacturing, chemicals, healthcare, energy, building materials, banking, and defense.

Woolley directed Washington operations for ITT Industries, and lobbied for ITT Corporation. She also managed the environment section of the US Chamber of Commerce and worked on Capitol Hill. Woolley holds a B.A. from Hamilton College and a Juris Doctorate from American University.

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Terri L. Bartlett is the president of the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF). In this role, Bartlett oversees all aspects of the Foundation, which works to attract, educate, and place top college students by continuously improving the teaching of world-class direct/interactive marketing, thereby expanding and enriching the talent pool of trained, market-ready multichannel direct marketers.

Prior to joining DMEF in August 2006, Bartlett was the executive director and founder of the Toy Industry Foundation (TIF). There, she established core national initiatives, including The Toy Bank, the first industry-wide program of its kind, which delivered more than five million new toys to America’s disadvantaged and at-risk children; The Power of Play program, a curriculum-based grassroots effort to ensure play opportunities for homeless children; and the National Play & Learning Initiative, a partnership with children's museums, serving children and their families in the nation’s neediest neighborhoods.

From 1996 to 2003, Bartlett served as vice president of communications at the Toy Industry Association, pioneering proactive communications activities on behalf of the American toy industry.

Bartlett previously served as vice president for Robert Marston and Associates, Inc., where she created and managed consumer marketing communications programs for The Dial Corporation and environmental awards programs. She has also held public relations positions at The Rowland Company and Ruder-Finn.

Bartlett holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising/communications from Texas Tech University, and a Foundation Fundraising & Administration certificate from New York University.

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Senny Boone is DMA’s Senior Vice President for Corporate & Social Responsibility. In this role, she leads the DMA’s self-regulatory programs, including the DMA’s Ethics Policy Committee, Ethics Operating & its recently established Committee on Corporate & Social Responsibility, each comprised of top marketing experts providing guidance on responsible marketing practices. She works with the leadership of the DMA to provide multichannel marketing best practices through DMA conferences, publications and other educational resources to DMA’s membership and offering world-class self-regulatory solutions and initiatives for the direct marketing community to ensure consumer choices are honored. Additionally, Boone oversees the DMA Nonprofit Federation (DMANF), an organization of nearly 400 nonprofit organizations and 90 fundraising and marketing companies.

Boone has been involved in legal, public policy and legislative work in Washington D.C. for over 17 years after receiving her Juris Doctor from Catholic University with a specialized focus on communications and First Amendment law. Boone is a member of the DC and NJ State Bars and has served on the Postal Service’s Mailers Technical Advisory Committee, Independent Sector, and the ASAE’s legal section. She graduated from Temple University’s School of Communications and Theatre with a degree in Journalism. She lives in Southern Maryland with her husband and daughter.

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Jerry Cerasale is senior vice president of government affairs for the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). In this role, Cerasale represents the multichannel marketing community’s policymaking interests on Capitol Hill and before key federal agencies, including the US Postal Service (USPS) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Cerasale began his legal and government relations career in the USPS’s legal department. He served for 12 years at the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) in a number of advisory roles, including seven years as legal advisor to PRC Chairman Janet Steiger. He then became attorney/advisor to FTC Chairman Janet Steiger. Immediately before joining DMA in 1995, Cerasale was deputy general counsel for the US House of Representatives Committee on Post Office and Civil Service.

Currently, Cerasale is secretary/treasurer of The Mailers Council’s Board of Directors. He has also been a member of FTC’s Advisory Committee on Online Access, and vice chairman of the Postal Matters Subsection of the Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section of the American Bar Association.

Cerasale holds a juris doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law, and a bachelor’s degree in government and economics from Wesleyan University. He served in the US Army from 1970 to 1972.

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Kenneth P. Ebeling serves as senior vice president of member and segment services at the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). Ebeling, who has been a valued member of the DMA team for more than 20 years, spearheads membership loyalty initiatives aimed at delivering superior customer service. This includes enhancing segmented value propositions through DMA Special Interest Councils, and creating new and innovative ways to engage members with DMA.

With his extensive expertise in membership development, Ebeling brings a deep understanding of DMA’s diverse membership base to his work. Focused on achieving a “360-degree” view of the DMA membership benefits, Ebeling provides members with a richer understanding of the many advantages DMA membership offers to representatives of the multichannelled direct marketing community.

Prior to joining DMA in 1984, Ebeling held a variety of sales and marketing positions with JBS Financial Services. He began his career as a math and economics instructor at the college preparatory level.

Ebeling holds an MBA in finance from Fordham University, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Colgate University.

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Bob Greco is vice president of finance and controller for the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), where he oversees all financial accounting and forecasting.

He brings to DMA budget and cost control expertise and provides regular business analysis, advice, and reports to management.  Prior to joining DMA in 1991, Greco served four years as a manager of budget and cost control for Enterprise Property Management Inc., a subsidiary of New Jersey Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

In that role he prepared and controlled multi-million dollar operating and facility budgets as well as controlled all capital and corporate projects and leasehold improvements.  Before Enterprise Property Management Inc. he held a number of finance positions at Sullivan & Cromwell.  He was promoted to his current position at DMA in 2008.

Greco holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and taxation from Pace University, and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from St. John’s University.

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Marie A. Adolphe is vice president of programming at the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF). In this role, Adolphe oversees DMEF’s program development and implementation, academic research, and image and promotion pertaining to the direct / interactive marketing community.

Adolphe’s interpersonal and management skills garnered from her 15-year career in human resources empower her to advance the Foundation’s mission of promoting direct / interactive marketing instruction on college campuses. Adolphe nurtures and develops relationships with professors at colleges and universities nationwide, helping facilitate the teaching of direct / interactive marketing and attracting new talent to the direct / interactive marketing profession.

Prior to joining DMEF in August 2007, Adolphe was instrumental in attracting and developing talent for a variety of organizations, and has worked with numerous schools, helping them prepare students for entrance into the workplace. She served as director of human resources at the corporate office of Bookspan, where she provided direction and support on a wide array of issues, including: talent acquisition and retention, management development, and employee relations. She began her career at the Park Central Hotel, where she worked in all areas of human resources, including recruiting, training, and labor relations.

Adolphe, a certified Senior Human Resources Professional, holds an MBA in organizational behavior from Pace University and bachelor’s degrees in both hotel administration and French literature from the University of New Hampshire.

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Ron Barnes is vice president of state affairs for the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), where he represents the Association in issues of state advocacy. Barnes joined DMA in April 2007, as part of DMA’s ongoing efforts to expand the breadth of its advocacy capabilities.

Barnes came to DMA from CTIA–The Wireless Association, where he managed the organization’s state regulatory advocacy. Earlier at CTIA, he led the implementation of Section 225 (the disability access provision of the Telecommunication Act of 1996) and worked on CTIA’s industry and consumer education efforts on wireless phone and base station health effects.

Prior to joining CTIA, Barnes was a legislative affairs specialist with Holland & Knight LLP, where he focused on legislative and regulatory activities in the telecommunications, environment, and health care sectors. Previously, he served on the staff of US Senator Lauch Faircloth (R-NC).

Barnes holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina.

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Paul A. McDonnough is vice president, conferences and events for the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), where he oversees the rich array of conference offerings, primarily all C-level forums and DMA’s Annual Conference, the global event for integrated marketing.

McDonnough came to DMA in 2004 with leadership skills from over 10 years of investment management and public affairs experience in both the public and private sector industries.  He was promoted to his current position in 2008.

Prior to DMA, McDonnough served as vice president/public-private sector development director for the Institute for International Research where he was responsible for the financial, creative, and strategic management and development of the public sector division.  Before the Institute for International Research, he worked for the Students for America Inc. Foundation, The Bank of New York, and Marriot Corp.

McDonnough holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Miami.

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Rachel Nyswander Thomas is vice president of government affairs for the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). In this role, Thomas represents the multichannel marketing community’s policymaking interests on Capitol Hill and before key federal agencies.

Thomas came to DMA from The McGraw-Hill Companies, where she served most recently as manager for privacy and government affairs. In that role, she advocated the corporation’s agenda before federal policymakers on issues relating to privacy, data security, behavioral advertising, environmental and “do not promote” legislation. She also held chief responsibility for business compliance with the corporation’s customer privacy policy, auditing worldwide operations and providing regulatory compliance consultation to a global corps of privacy officials. In previous roles at McGraw-Hill, Thomas managed the corporation's global gender equity initiative and its multiple mentoring programs, serving as an internal consultant to a grass-roots infrastructure of regional networks on four continents.

Prior to joining McGraw-Hill, Thomas served as director of programs and projects for the Women Faculty Forum (WFF) at Yale University, developing and expanding programs to promote gender equity and conducting policy research to advance WFF advocacy on issues of mentoring, diversity, faculty development and family-friendly workplace policies.

Thomas holds a BA degree in Humanities from Yale University. She earned her Certified International Privacy Professional (CIPP) certification from the International Association of Privacy Professionals in 2008.

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Karina Pena Garcia
Senior Director, Marketing

Helen Lee
Senior Director, Nonprofit Federation

Yasmin Melendez
Group Show Director

Jeanne Murphy
Director of Development, DMEF

Barbara Parker
Director, Awards Programs

Donna LoPorto
Director, National Sales for Conference & Events

Lisa Merizio Smith
Director, Segment Services

Larry Worthey
Director, Creative Services

Yory Wurmser
Director, Marketing & Media Insights

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