VALERIE BENNETT
Communications Director / Marketing Manager / Sustainability Strategist /Technical Writer /
Web Content Manager / Corporate Social Responsibility Officer
CORE COMPETENCIES
Corporate Communicator – Media relations: press releases, pitch letters, marketing collateral. Awards nominations, sales presentations, and investor relations. Wrote Interface’s first online sustainability report. Advanced Interface, Inc. from #64 to #16 in three years on Top 100 Corporate Citizens List. Expert translator of technical documents into marketing pieces for diverse audiences.
Proposal Writer - 15+ award winning proposals for global, national and regional sustainability & technology awards between 2003 and 2007.
Web Content Manager – Content manager for corporate and nonprofit web sites. Copywriter for banner ads, print ads and e-mail blasts.
Project Manager – Project lead for corporate web site launches. Moved e-commerce site from B2B to B2C.
Course Developer/Presenter – wrote a CEU-approved online training course and coordinated panel discussions and trade publication articles for national and international conferences.
Clifton StrengthsFinder™ Signature Strengths: Harmony, Communication, Responsibility, Empathy, Arranger
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (ABJ): Public Relations/Speech Communication
The University of Georgia
Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication
Associate of Arts
Young Harris College
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Marketing Manager – E-Commerce
Bentley Prince Street, Inc., City of Industry, California – 2007-2008
A wholly owned subsidiary of Interface, Inc.
Home based marketing manager in Georgia reporting into California-based team. Wrote business plan and implemented marketing strategy and
budget for an e-commerce site. Business development, public relations, advertising, customer relations and project management of cross-functional\
internal team that included marketing, communications, information systems, and customer service. Managed vendor contracts and negotiations.
Director of Communications
Interface, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia – 2004-2007
Global commercial interiors company with annual sales of $1 billion.
Internal and external communications. Founding member of the Global Sustainability Council and Global PR Task Force. Direct report to Senior
Officer. Communicated the company’s environmental promise to internal and external stakeholders through print and online media. Liaison to
investor analysts. Content development and content management for two corporate web sites. Developed, wrote & edited the company’s first
internal sustainability newsletter; distributed to 5,500 associates worldwide in three different languages.
Director of Communications
Interface Research Corporation, Kennesaw, Georgia – 2001-2004
A wholly owned subsidiary of Interface, Inc.
Internal and external communications for the research and development division of Interface, Inc., reporting directly to the President of R&D.
Communicated the company’s environmental promise to internal and external stakeholders through print and online media. Liaison to investor
analysts. Wrote award winning nominations for national and regional recognition programs. Content development and content management for two
corporate web sites. Launched the first sustainability web site and online sustainability report. Recognized by CERES/ACCA for excellence in
sustainability reporting. Researched and created Interface’s first Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) report.
Executive Director/Marketing Coordinator
Envirosense Consortium, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia – 1995-2007
A nonprofit association sponsored by Interface, Inc.
Managed daily operations for a 501(c)(6) business association with annual budget of $150,000. Organizational mission was to provide proactive
solutions and online resources for improved indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Co-authored a CEU-approved course entitled “Fundamentals of
Indoor Air Quality” for architects, engineers, interior designers, facility managers and other building professionals. Achieved third party course
certification from American Institute of Architects (AIA), International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) and American Society of Interior
Designers (ASID). Regular contributor to industry publications on topics pertaining to IEQ and green building design. Wrote and
developed speaker panel presentations featuring Envirosense members for global and national trade conferences. Position included all elements of
marketing communications, member relations, membership sales and nonprofit operations. Promoted to Executive Director January 1998.
Marketing Communications
Manheim Auctions, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia - 1993-1995
A division of Cox Enterprises, Inc.
Resource Development/Public Relations Director
Girls Incorporated of Cobb County, Marietta, Georgia – 1990-1993
A United Way Agency
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Member, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) – 1999-2007
Technical Advisory Committee Member (Indoor Environmental Quality) – USGBC’s LEED™ Green Building Rating System. 2000-2002; LEED 2.0, LEED 3.0 and LEED-Commercial Interiors
Charter Member and Inaugural Board Member – USGBC’s Atlanta Regional Chapter
President (2 terms) - American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) - Marietta Charter Chapter
Publicity Chair, Membership Chair & Education Committee – Marietta Charter Chapter - ABWA
AWARDS RECEIVED
Marietta Charter Chapter ABWA Women of the Year – 1993
Girls Incorporated National Communications Award in Media Placements – 1991
Girls Incorporated National Communications Award in Promotional Items – 1991
VOLUNTEER/CIVIC ACTIVITIES
Volunteer coordinator and publicity chair for two Interface, Inc. community involvement projects; Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and MUST Ministries; MUST Ministries Cherokee Summer Lunch Program; Children’s Ministry Volunteer Teacher – 6 years; Drama Ministry; Neighborhood Soccer League volunteer – 2 years; Curriculum Development and Parent Volunteer Coordinator for 6-week Math Mornings program; Spelling Bee Coach.