About GCCC

Brad Whitworth, ABC, SCMP®, IABC Fellow, is senior internal communications manager at Hitachi Vantara. Before that, Brad led communication programs at HP, Cisco, PeopleSoft, Micro Focus and AAA. He holds undergraduate degrees in journalism and speech from the University of Missouri and an MBA from Santa Clara University. Brad is a past chairman of the IABC’s international executive board and a past president of two local chapters. He is one of the authors of The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication.

Sia is a multi-award-winning strategic communication leader who believes in the power of connection, the spirit of change, and embracing adventure. She’s a certified strategic communication management professional, a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, and Immediate Past President of the Victorian chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). She’s consulted to some of the world’s largest organisations, delivering creative communication strategies that drive understanding, impact and performance. She’s a past board director at IABC Asia-Pacific and in 2020 she was named IABC’s Chapter Leader of the Year.

Kimberly George is the Vice President, Communications and Corporate Citizenship for Alex Lee, Inc. in Hickory, North Carolina.  She began her role in communications almost 10 years ago after working in many areas of the Alex Lee business which includes retail grocery and wholesale distribution.  She is an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC), a Master in Business Administration (MBA) and a certified Strategic Communication Management Professional.  She served as an exam writer and reviewer for the first Communication Management Professional (CMP®) exam. Kimberly joined IABC in 2008 and is currently serving on the IABC Charlotte Chapter board.

Melissa Arulappan has spent over three decades in challenging and exciting communication roles in the corporate and consultancy sector in India. She is currently India communications head of US-based healthcare services firm, IQVIA. Passionate about nurturing and developing talent, Melissa is actively involved in teaching PR and running professional development initiatives. She enjoys travelling, baking and sports. Melissa holds a post graduate degree in medical and psychiatric social work and an advanced diploma in PR.

Jo is a Partner and VP in Swyft, an Austin based B2B tech PR agency. Till 2015 he worked in Brussels for bpost (Belgian public postal operator) and at akkanto, FINN and Lewis PR (all PR agencies). His main expertise lies in corporate communications, public relations, content marketing and crisis and issue management. He is a Board Member of PRSA Austin and writes on his blog about a host of communication issues.

Dr. Jerome is Collegiate Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) where he taught international management in the Graduate School and served as a senior member of the administration for 25 years. He was involved with certification of online programs. He has published two books on international trade and several articles in publications such as the Harvard Business Review, the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, and the Journal of Commerce. Prior to service at UMUC he worked for two US Senators, a UN support group, the US International Trade Administration, the Capital Group (an international financial management company) and the Economic Strategy Institute, an economic think tank. He is a Fulbright Scholar. He earned a doctorate from the University of Geneva (Switzerland), a masters from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Medford, Massachusetts), and a bachelors from Pomona College (Claremont, California).

Mrs. Yvonne Grinam-Nicholson, an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) has been a member of the IABC for 16 years and was President of the IABC (Jamaica) Chapter in 2009. She is a former journalist and a recipient of the Press Association’s (PAJ) national award for Business/Finance in 2008 for her series of columns, “ROI of Communications” published in the Jamaica Observer. She has an MBA (University of New Orleans) and a BA and MA from the University of the West Indies, Mona.

Mark Evans is owner of On The Point Communications, which specializes in public relations, crisis communication, social media and corporate communications. He is a 25-year veteran of the public relations/strategic communications industry and advises clients on messaging, issues management, marketing/communications program development and crisis communication. He previously taught media writing at Texas A&M University and currently teaches business communication at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas State University. He holds a master's degree in science/technology communication and bachelor's degrees in biology and journalism. Mark is current past chair of the International Association of Business Communication’s Southern Region.

Benoit is Director of Global Communications and Marketing at CPCS.  Benoit is a certified SCMP and has over 10 years of experience in media relations, change management, employee communications, sales and stakeholder relations management.  Prior to joining CPCS, Benoit was reinvigorated the Royal Canadian Mint's employee communications function. Before that, he earned record-breaking media coverage for the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) by marketing studies and stories impacting Canadians.  Benoit is fluent in both English and French.

Julie Ludwig (IABC Colorado, Accredited Business Communicator, Strategic Communications Management Professional) is a Senior Marketing Manager for Baker Tilly US, a leading advisory and accounting company. She has worked both in-house and in agencies providing communications, marketing, marketing operations and knowledge management for business-to-business and professional services companies for the past 19 years. Julie graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Speech Communication from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Julie has served on the IABC Finance Committee, and boards for the Southern Region  and Colorado Chapter.