Elizabeth Novotny
Co-President

Elizabeth Novotny is a senior at Saint Mary’s majoring in communication. She is Co-President of SMC AMA this year and for the 2010-2011 academic year she served as the Executive Vice President and VP of Advertising, Promotion & PR. Originally from Colorado, Elizabeth has interned at NBC Universal Television Publicity and Stage Two Consulting in San Francisco. Elizabeth’s goal is to help bring awareness to SMC and the surrounding community about the benefits of AMA membership and continue to strengthen SMC AMA’s presence and membership.

Matthew King 
Co-President

Matt is a Senior at Saint Mary’s College, majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. This is Matt’s first year as President after serving the previous year as Vice President of Programs & External Relations.  Before returning to academics, Matt brings over 12 years of professional experience in Information Technology Management to the board, working with highly acclaimed industrial design and creative firms including Frog Design, Fuse Project, Organic Online and Sega of America. While pursuing his higher education, Matt maintains his technology support consultancy, RightClick Technology Solutions, and enjoys swimming, running, skiing, traveling and playing guitar in his spare time.

Ally Short
Executive Vice President, External Relations & PR

Ally Short is fourth-year student at Saint Mary's College, pursuing a double concentration in Marketing and Financial Services. Ally comes to Moraga from San Francisco, a mere 45-minute drive away. Prior to her appointment as Vice President/ VP of External Relations and PR, Ally served as the Event Coordinator on the SMCAMA. In her spare time, Ally enjoys activity exploring her community, traveling to her favorite coffee shop, listening to music, and spending time with family and friends.

Jessie Fischer
Vice President of Programs

Jessica Fischer is a junior at Saint Mary’s College majoring in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and a minor in Communications. Jessie joined the SMCAMA Executive Board in the spring of 2011 as the Vice President of Membership. For the 2011-2012 academic year she is serving as the Vice President of Programs. Jessie’s main focus is to create interesting and educational events for members. She has chosen speakers with professional backgrounds and excellent experience from a variety of industries to engage in the events.In addition, Jessie has experience with a number of different marketing internships within different businesses and is excited to create lasting relationships for SMCAMA.

Erik Strand
Vice President of Membership

Erik Johan Strand is a member of the class of 2013 studying Business Administration at Saint Mary's College. Filling the role of Vice President of Membership, he intends spread awareness about the AMA in the hopes of educating potential members of the benefits and opportunities that come with it. Erik has an extensive interest in all things business related including marketing, international business, and accounting. He is also an active member in various clubs on campus, including Business Club, SMC Rotaract, and the Student Alumni Association. In his free time, Erik enjoys playing sports, reading books, acting, and making videos.

Thomas Vo
Vice President of Advertising & Promotions

Thomas Vo is a senior at Saint Mary's double majoring in Economics and Marketing, with a minor in creative writing. For the 2011-2012 academic year he is serving as the Vice President of Advertising and Promotion. He hopes to expand involvement and interest in SMC AMA. While pursuing his degree, Thomas also works as a photographer for College Communications and Interns at Techtel Corporation, a Marketing consulting firm. His outside interests include music, cooking, tennis, psychology and philosophy.

Scott Karas
Vice President of Finance

Scott is currently a senior at Saint Mary’s majoring in Business with an Honors Concentration in Financial Services. This year he will be serving as the VP of Finance for the SMC chapter of the American Marketing Association, and is also the President of the SEBA Student Advisory Board. He is looking forward to helping bring more awareness about the SMCAMA and the many benefits that come with being a member of a student run chapter of a national organization for professionals. Scott has also been in the SMC Honors Program since freshmen year, and in his free time enjoys playing sports of all kinds. After college he hopes to pursue a career in economics, or financial services.

Bianca Padilla 
Vice President of AMA Awards & Community Service

Bianca is a Senior at Saint Mary’s College, majoring in Communications with a minor in Sociology. This is Bianca’s first year on the board of AMA, but brings a lot of experience with event planning and community service. For the past two years Bianca has been involved in CILSA (Catholic Institution of Lasallian Social Action) working at a non-profit transitional home for single mothers and their children where she was the volunteer and children’s club coordinator assistant. She now recently is the volunteer coordinator for a nationwide organization called Jumpstart and also works on the marketing team for Red Bull.  Bianca’s main interests are childhood education and marketing and she hopes she can do something that relates to both in the future.