Marketing and Communications Staff

Contact Us

Phone: 615.343.7570

Fax: 615.322.2667

 

Meet the Team

Yvonne Martin-Kidd

Chief Marketing Officer
615.322.8787

MBA—University of Southern California
BS—Arizona State University

Yvonne joined the staff of the Owen Graduate School of Management in 2003 and oversees all marketing and communications programs for the school. Since arriving at Owen, she has brought the school's various marketing initiatives into a centralized, coordinated effort and spearheaded a comprehensive branding and identity campaign encompassing all advertising, print and electronic marketing materials, including the Owen web site. After earning her MBA at the University of Southern California, Yvonne began her career with Lawry's Foods, a division of the Thomas J. Lipton Company, serving as consumer promotion manager and later as product manager on established and new products. While at The Walt Disney Company, her work on strategic alliances for the Disney Channel with McDonald's, Kodak, Procter & Gamble, Mott's and the Children's Miracle Network earned her recognition as a "young promotional star” by Adweek. Yvonne also worked as marketing director for NationsBank, a predecessor to Bank of America; TCS/Aspect Communications, a B2B telecommunications software firm; and Progeny Marketing, the direct-response marketing arm of Cendant, Inc. She shares her experience, expertise and her personal passion for marketing’s ability to “move the needle” with Owen students, both inside and outside the classroom.

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Mary Shelato

Associate Director
615.322.3382

MBA—Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management
BS—Auburn University

Mary joined Owen’s Marketing and Communications team in 2012 after graduating from the Vanderbilt MBA program. She leads the marketing for the Young Professionals Programs which include Accelerator®—Vanderbilt Summer Business Institute, MS Finance, Masters of Accountancy (MAcc) and MAcc Valuation. She began her career as a pre-calculus teacher, and later made the switch to marketing. Prior to Owen she was working as a buyer for the nations largest distributor of art supplies and handling accounts such as Sharpie, General Pencil and Princeton Brushes. In her spare time she enjoys baking, walking with her dog Briggs, and spending time with her husband, who she met during Owen orientation and exploring Nashville eateries.

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Carlos Ruiz

Web Communications Manager
615.322.3723

MS—Middle Tennessee State University
BA—Berklee College of Music

During the eight-year period between getting his bachelor's degree in music and beginning his graduate studies in media communication, Carlos worked in the recording industry for Mercury/Polygram and then in the publishing industry for Stereophile Magazine, where he began doing print design. Website design followed, and he spent a year running his own business—working on projects for clients such as Emma and United Methodist Publishing—before joining Owen in 2006. In addition to his work, his passions are music and his family.

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Ryan Underwood

Business Editor
615.322.3469
 
BA—Vanderbilt University

Ryan joined Owen's Marketing and Communications Department as Business Editor in 2010. Previously, he served as Government and Politics Editor at The Tennessean, following earlier stints as Assistant Business Editor and as a Reporter covering Nashville's music industry. A 1996 graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he served as editor of the student newspaper, Ryan worked as a staff writer at Fast Company magazine in New York and Boston before returning to Nashville in 2005. Ryan enjoys reading, cooking, eating and getting beaten in tennis by the oldest of his three remarkable children.

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