As a child Mai Tran always enjoyed sketching and problem solving; two skills that assists her in owning her own design business Mai Noel Creative. Mai views design as providing visual solutions for the success of her clients. As a principal of Mai Noel Creative, she designs and coordinates a diverse range of marketing and print media pieces for national and south Florida companies.

Mai is proud to serve as the president of Ad2. In addition to getting more involved with the advertising community, Ad2 has introduced her to the most creative and passionate professional leaders on a local and national level.  She also serves as an advisory board member for Tampa Graphic Design Meet-up Group and is active with the Tampa InDesign User’s Group and the American Advertising Federation.

Mai is originally from Wichita, Kansas and holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree emphasis on graphic design and computer graphics from Friends University. When Mai is not creating, she enjoys yoga, vegetarian cooking, snorkeling and attends local art events.

As the president of Dynamic Creations, a Tampa Bay-based design and marketing company with a focus on Internet technologies, Vinny Tafuro has experience in both the planning and implementation of Internet technologies, and the skills and techniques required for then marketing those projects online as well as using traditional media.

Tafuro has shown a strong commitment to working to further the missions of both National Ad 2 and the American Advertising Federation on local, district and national levels. He currently serves as vice chair for the National Ad 2 board of advisors president of Ad 2 Tampa Bay and is a member of the the Create Magazine Advisory Board. He is also involved in volunteering for other community charities.

Jessica McDonald graduated from The University of South Florida in 2003 earning a B.A. in Advertising. While at USF, Jessica interned with Fahlgren-Benito Advertising and worked on the VISIT FLORIDA account, sparking an interest in travel marketing and advertising. Upon graduation from USF, Jessica conducted freelance marketing consulting work for local small businesses in the Tampa Bay area. In 2004, Jessica began working for the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, the official tourism marketing organization of Hillsborough County. In Jessica's role as marketing assistant she worked with the bureau's advertising, marketing, promotions and public relations team to promote tourism in Hillsborough County.

In 2005, Jessica was promoted to oversee all media promotions & interactive marketing for the Tampa Bay CVB. In 2007, Jessica was again promoted to Marketing Promotions Manager in order to grow the Tampa Bay CVB's media promotions efforts across the US and abroad.

Jessica is currently obtaining her Master's degree in Media Studies from the University of South Florida. She is also the Communications Director of Ad 2 Tampa Bay and the host of Ad2's monthly internet show, AdCast. In addition, Jessica is a member of EMERGE Tampa, the Promotion Marketing Association and the American Advertising Federation.
Jessica's hobbies include mountain biking, traveling, photography and canoeing.

Holly Clark currently works as Art Director for award-winning design firm, Phil Wilson Design. PWD creates a variety of web, interactive, print and environmental designs for clients such as Herman Miller, Steelcase, Spectrum Cubic, Turnstone, Johnson Controls, Metropolis, J.W. Messner, and Williams Group. PWD focuses on building engagement between consumers and brands by enabling their clients to communicate effectively with their audiences, from 
consumers to internal corporate employees.

As Art Director, Holly coordinates with offices located in both Florida and Michigan. She has a vast knowledge in the fields of branding and identity design, as well as marketing and advertising. Her multi-disciplinary experience creates engaging and highly-resolved communication solutions that increase her client’s market visibility, and ultimately a company’s return on their investment. Her role in the creative process is varied, as she works directly with the client in managing account and client needs throughout the entire creative process.  She develops quotes, concepts artwork and graphic direction, communicates appropriate feedback, as well as provides polished final deliverables. Although, Holly may handle many small single projects, often her work is a campaign or event with many deliverables spanning multiple mediums.

Holly holds a BAA degree from Central Michigan University’s College of Communication and Fine Arts, as well as a post-graduate credential from The Polishing Center; a Grand Rapids, MI based portfolio and creative development center. She continues to immerse herself in design-related organizations such as AD2 Tampa Bay where she holds 
positions as Creative Director and Adcast Chair, as well as membership in the InDesign User’s Group, and Tampa’s Graphic Design Meet-Up. In her free time, Holly designs and produces high-end couture wedding and event invitation 
stationery packages for a line that she is launching in Fall 2007.

With over 8 years of product marketing, product management, product development, website management, and collateral development experience, Jeff brings a wide variety of skills to every project.  He’s led teams that have been successful change agents for a diverse group of industries ranging from professional sports franchises and technology start-ups to the residential home lending and marketing consulting industries.

Currently Jeff is an Account Manager for MediaLab, servicing the marketing needs of national homebuilders.  Previously, Jeff worked on unique projects with the Glasure Group, including a 10-city, nationwide Texas Hold ‘em tour for online gaming client and a feasibility study to determine the viability of a high-speed ferry service for the Tampa Bay market.  Prior to joining the Glasure Group, Jeff worked for Switch and Data where he led the rebranding of the evolving Internet infrastructure company and developed presentations that yielded over $160M in capital funding.  Before that, Jeff was with HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. and led the successful expansion into the Tampa Bay area, with HomeBanc becoming a Top 25 Local Mortgage Company within the first year.   Jeff also served as the Assistant Director of Photography for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during their inaugural season and has had numerous photographs published nationwide.

Jeff is originally from the Chicago-land area. He holds a B.A. in Business Management, with Minors in Economics and International Business from Eckerd College.

Jeff volunteers at the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, and is a Manatee Research volunteer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.  When time allows, Jeff enjoys photography- above and below the water, mountain biking, kayaking, and tinkering with the latest in technology.

Robin Adkins owns Relations PR & Marketing where she handles public relations, marketing and special events for small to medium-sized companies. This includes everything from press releases to marketing strategies, e-mail marketing, design work, and product launches.

Fatin Jacob currently works as the Assistant Marketing Communications Manager for OneSimpleLoan, a national award-winning student loan consulting firm, headquartered locally, that specializes in student loan consolidation. As part of the OneSimpleLoan marketing department, Fatin helps spearhead all marketing communication and advertising efforts, both strategically and creatively. Her pursuit for excellence in her field of work is a result of a passion for art, creativity, advertising and marketing that was instilled in her as a young girl who was once taping up hand-drawn ads in her dad’s store. 
 
Her passion for advertising and pursuit for excellence has earned Fatin a place in the American Advertising Federations Alpha Delta Sigma Honorary Society and ADDY® Awards on the local, district and national level.
 
Fatin studied Advertising and holds a B.A. degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications through West Virginia University.
 
In her free time Fatin enjoys drawing, painting, photography and listening to her diverse collection of music from all around the world.

You could say her business has gone to the dogs and she wouldn’t be insulted.  That’s because Summer Taylor’s dogs are her inspiration and the face of her company, Good Dog/Bad Dog Creative Design, Inc., a graphic and web design firm (http://www.gdbddesign.com).

When Summer decided to start her own business in 2004, she knew that completing any design job would be a walk in the park compared to dealing with the antics of German Shepherd Raley, her “Good Dog,” and Lab/Boxer Mix Marshall, her “Bad Dog.”

Though Marshall and Raley know her as their creative canine controller, everyone else knows Summer as their great graphics guru.  As head of Good Dog/Bad Dog Creative Design, Summer designs web sites, brochures, business cards, logos, presentations, display graphics, invitations, newsletters and a variety of other marketing pieces. 

In addition to owning her own business, Summer is proud to serve as the Web Chair for the Ad 2 Tampa Bay Chapter. Her involvement in Ad 2 Tampa Bay has not only allowed Summer to keep her web design skills in check, but has also played a big part in meeting many talented young professionals and business contacts throughout the area.

Summer is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina and holds a B.S. in Marketing from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. When Summer isn’t working like a dog, she enjoys relaxing at the beach, photography, and cheering for her favorite sports team, the Carolina Tarheels.

With many years of sales experience under her belt, Ellie Hirsch now resides as Business Development Executive of Thought Equity Motion where she develops new client relationships for top accounts throughout the East Coast.  Thought Equity Motion is the world's largest supplier of online motion content licensing and professional representation services to the agency, entertainment, and corporate production industries.
 
With her busy schedule, Ellie has managed to stay loyal to Ad 2 Tampa Bay and acts as Co-Job Chair for our organization.  She loves to swim, eat, cook and spend time with her family.

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In 2005, a graphic designer marketing himself as "The Carl" was sold and shipped to SPARK of Tampa. Since that day, he hasn't stopped adding product features.

Web designer. Copywriter. Artist. Blogger. Internet TV host. And still a national award-winning graphic designer.

Carl now serves officially as SPARK's copywriter, handling everything from technical writing to lifestyle branding, headlines to story lines, and anything else that needs a writer's touch. Still an avid designer, Carl works inside and out of the agency to exhibit his graphic artistry, and maintains a leadership role in Tampa Graphic Design Meetup group. Meanwhile, Ad 2 has seen Carl grow into an on-screen personality as a co-host of AdCast, their monthly internet show for young professionals in Tampa Bay.

In his spare time, Carl is a seasoned bowler, a lover of art and music, and a dedicated supporter of all things Detroit and Michigan State.

For more on The Carl, see The Carl (http://www.thecarl.com) and The Carl Blogs (http://www.thecarl.com/blogs).