Young Professionals Mentor Series
Sign up now to be hosted by one of our carefully selected professional mentors with a lunch and learn. To find our more information please contact Brittany Gilbert at Brittany@jeffersonchamber.org or (504) 835-3880.
November Mentors:
Betsie Gambel
CEO/President - Gambel Communications
One of the most respected public relations professionals in the Greater New Orleans area, Betsie Gambel has deep experience in all aspects of PR including media, community and government relations; special events; crisis communication; and issue management. Incorporating public relations strategies into marketing and branding campaigns is one of her strengths. She is a “networker extraordinaire” - her passion is putting people and ideas together.
A native of New Orleans, she received her Sociology degree from Sweet Briar College and has done graduate work in education and marketing at Tulane University, Loyola University and the University of New Orleans. Betsie is on the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute Board, the Jefferson Chamber Board, the Jefferson Economic Development Corporate advisory board, the Archbishop’s PR Council, and the New Orleans Convention and Visitors’ Bureau’s PR Council. She was president of the Junior League of New Orleans and has served on the boards of the International Association of Business Communicators; Louisiana Children’s Museum; Academy of the Sacred Heart; the Archbishop’s Strategic Planning Committee for Education; University of New Orleans College of Liberal Arts; Louisiana Nature and Science Center; Friends of City Park; YWCA; and Girl Scout Council of SE Louisiana, for which she was a National Council delegate. She has chaired and worked on countless fundraisers in the city, including establishing significant partnerships with corporations.
Interested in politics, she is a founding member of Jefferson Twenty-five, a political organization of women in Jefferson Parish, and she co-founded and produced “Politics with a Punch,” a monthly New Orleans’ takeoff of “Politically Incorrect.” She is a graduate of the Institute of Politics and the University of New Orleans Government Leadership Institute. She is also a 2012 graduate of the Goldman Sachs10,000 Small Businesses Program and the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute.
In 2013, Betsie was the first person in Louisiana to be inducted into the Southern Public Relations Federation Hall of Fame and was named the United States Small Business Administration Woman Champion of the Year for Region VI of the United States (Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and New Mexico). She also was named a Woman of the Year by New Orleans CityBusiness, a top Woman Achiever by New Orleans Magazine and one of the “Beaus and Belles” for the American Cancer Society. Additionally, Betsie was selected to be the very first queen of the Joan of Arc parade in New Orleans because of her commitment to mentoring young women professionals.
A member of the Public Relations Association of Louisiana, the International Association of Business Communicators and the Press Club of New Orleans, Betsie is the recipient of numerous communications awards. These include the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Educational Press, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Public Relations Association of LA (PRAL), Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF), Press Club and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). She was recognized as a Young Leadership Council Role Model, St. Elizabeth’s Volunteer Activist, a YWCA Role Model and was honored by the Cancer Crusaders. She enjoys speaking to communication classes and business meetings, and has spoken at national conferences, including one presented by the Wall Street Journal.
She has been profiled in New Orleans Magazine, the Times Picayune, New Orleans CityBusiness and Junior League Lagniappe, to name a few, and is a contributing blogger for The Huffington Post.
Betsie is the proud mother of two grown sons, Gregory who lives in Philadelphia and Meric who lives in Greenville, South Carolina, and she has identical twin grandsons, Collin and William, and a newborn granddaughter, Emily. In her spare time, she loves to travel, bicycle and work out. Betsie treasures her network of friends and her community involvement, and lives life to the fullest, never wanting to miss a beat.
Chuck Mutz
Account Executive - TW Telecom
Chuck Mutz has been an Account Executive at tw telecom for the past 5 years and in the telecommunications industry since 1997. He has extensive experience in Outside Sales, Team Leadership and Business to Business Networking. During his tenure in the communications industry he has been awarded President’s Council Status at Sprint Nextel for four years in a row, and Summit of Leaders with tw telecom in 2012, and is on pace to achieve the same for 2014.
In his personal life, he volunteers his time as a Live Auctioneer and Emcee for several non-profit groups such as the American Cancer Society, the Special Olympics and the George Rodrigue Foundation for the Arts. He is also a Student Instructor and 1st Senior Black belt at Premiere Taekwondo. In his spare time, he enjoys Scuba and Skydiving, Water Sports, Snow Skiing, working with Habitat and “Do It Yourself” home improvement projects with his newly wed bride, Jennifer Roe.
His keys to success is working Smart, Doing the “Right Thing” for his customers and thinking outside the box when dealing with complex issues – but most importantly – keeping a Positive Mental Attitude at all times.
McKenzie CoCo
CEO/President - FSC Interactive
McKenzie Coco is the founder of FSC Interactive and specializes in helping companies increase the effectiveness of their marketing investment with revenue generating recommendations for interactive optimization. With fifteen years combined experience in New Orleans, Seattle and San Diego, McKenzie has worked with a variety of clients in multiple industries including hospitality, financial services, law, education, telecommunications and publishing. McKenzie is a graduate of Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing Communications. She has served as a member of board for the New Orleans Chapter of the American Marketing Association and New Orleans Ad Club and was an EO Accelerator from 2008 – 2010. She is currently a NextGen Council member for GNO, Inc and is one of 2013 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses. McKenzie was honored as one of the Junior Achievement Rising Stars in 2010 and was named in Gambit Weekly’s 40 Under 40 in 2012
Robbin Hardee
Vice President - Metairie Bank
I am a native of New Orleans, Louisiana where I started my banking career back in 1982. In my 20’s I won 1st place in the Louisiana speech contest, where I traveled to Chicago and won 5th place in the national contest. This experience encouraged me to use my speaking abilities to teach in a seminar styled forum which I still do today. I have volunteered as a speaker for Neighborhood Housing services 1st time home buyers’ training program. I am a Parent Facilitator for Tulane Hospital Hemophilia Treatment Center’s PEP (Parents empowering Parents) program. Other speaking engagements include: Leadership Jefferson’s Class of 2011 on the topic of “Diversity in the World of Disability”, Develop Her (a Christian Women’s Professional Networking Group) on the topic of “Understanding Your Unique World View” and panel member for the 2013 LBA Banker’s Conference in Baton Rouge.
I have worked in the banking industry for 32 years. I started my banking career as a teller and advanced in my field to Vice President / Retail Banking. I have served on the following boards: National Hemophilia Foundation, The Institute of Financial Education, Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and Metairie Road Business Ass. Currently I serve on the MRBA board as an associate board member, treasurer for the board of Celebration Toastmasters International and as an Ambassador for the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce. I am a graduate of the Leadership Jefferson class of 2008, LBA Leadership class of 2010 and LSU Graduate School of Banking class of 2014.
Date and Time
Tuesday Nov 4, 2014
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM CST
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location
You will recieve the location of your lunch once you register for it. All four mentors will have different locations for their lunches.
Fees/Admission
Free to Young Professionals.