Martha Carrigan is the CEO of Big Shoes Network, Inc. (BSN). Her fun roles: strategic marketing, business development, supporting the creative community. Less fun roles: operations and finance (but loves to check off those boxes). She is an often-requested presenter at colleges, universities and professional groups on creative, employment and career-related topics. The best part of her work? Helping connect great creative talent with opportunities in Midwest companies and coaching others on the “Next Steps” of their professional and personal pursuits.

Prior to BSN, Martha served in a variety of marketing and business development roles in education, non-profit, and IT organizations. She developed, delivered and sold training curriculum, and generated multimillion-dollar business partnerships with ManpowerGroup, selling software and business services to local, national and international clients including IBM, Honeywell, Shell Oil and more. She has a BA in Communication from UW-Milwaukee, a Certificate in Integrated Marketing from DePaul University and is certified as a Professional Resume Writer (CPRW).

Martha serves on non-profit boards and as an advisory board member including: AIGA Wisconsin, Madison College, Marquette University Business Marketing program, USO Wisconsin, WCTC and is an alumni ambassador for DePaul University and UW-Milwaukee.

Ann believes trust, relationships and people are an organization’s most important business assets. As Director of Public Relations, Ann offers 25+ years experience in communications and government relations. She describes herself in broad terms as a relationship-builder, referring to her extensive work in media relations, internal communications, community relations and international public affairs. As a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, Ann has led outreach and engagement teams at the Pentagon and managed complex issues around the world. She is also familiar with the inner workings of higher education institutions; Ann taught PR, journalism and communications in the University of Wisconsin system for more than 20 years, and earned a PhD from Marquette University.

A lifelong learner, Ann is Accredited in Public Relations and Certified in Crisis Communication. In her free time, she mentors young professionals and volunteers for various professional communication and military service organizations. Ann enjoys high-intensity workouts, like running intervals on the steps on Milwaukee’s lakefront. For relaxation, she spends time with her family and practices hot yoga.

As Marketing Advisor, Eric works closely with clients to develop collaborative relationships that focus on developing smart, strategic solutions to meet communication and business goals.

After beginning his career in the world of ad agencies, Eric has played many roles over the years, including writer, creator and problem solver. With more than eight years of experience in developing and overseeing integrated marketing campaigns, Eric has worked for a variety of clients, including large healthcare brands, higher education, tourism, nonprofit and more.

A long-time believer in the power of design and the effect it can have on all individuals, Eric serves as the Design for Good co-chair for AIGA WI where he helps plan and coordinate events that bring the design community together to impact social change. You can often find Eric running around Milwaukee’s east side enjoying the local food scene or out and about with friends and family making the most of this great city he calls home.

As the Communications Associate, Justyce is the right hand to the Kane Team’s Marketing and PR advisors. Justyce plays a critical role in coordinating projects and assuring alignment between team members. She provides structure within the team, helping them to gather and convey information between clients, strategists, creative team members, vendors and others. Justyce thrives on strategy and bringing organization to plans and key players.

Justyce brings with her a variety of corporate and agency entry level experience from industries such as legal, governmental, property management, to community event planning.

Before beginning her career, Justyce studied Organizational Corporate Communications and Marketing at Northern Illinois University. There she wore many hats in a variety of professional and social organizations such as Vice President of Public Relations (Pi Sigma Epsilon), Vice President of Programming and Education (Alpha Phi), Marketing Director (Collegiate Sales Advisory Board) and more

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New to Milwaukee, you can find Justyce exploring the city, volunteering, staying active or traveling to Illinois to see family and old friends.

Jordan Barker is an Account Coordinator at BrandMuscle Inc. in the Chicago office. She started working for BrandMuscle in August after a fellow UW-Whitewater grad had mentioned an opening at the company. Jordan's daily tasks consist of ad hoc design projects, template uploads, various client service roles, and other miscellaneous tasks for the company. 

At BrandMuscle Jordan not only works on marketing material for her clients. But she also helps out with planning events and work functions. From planning events like the "Brandy's" to helping out with bi-weekly meetings and "Wind Downs." BrandMuscle is always planning a fun activity for their employees to enjoy. Jordan also participates in the volunteer activities at BrandMuscle, most recently she went to an animal shelter and helped create toys and blanket for the animals along with helping donate and pick out gifts for families in Chicago around Christmas time.  

Before beginning her full time employment at BrandMuscle Jordan graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She graduated with a double communications major with two emphases in public relations and advertising. She also was a part of the Whitewater Advertising Association being the social media coordinator and the treasurer, along with other organizations on campus.

Valerie Anderson is an Assistant Account Executive at Mortenson Kim Raidious (MKR). She joined the team after a summer internship led to a full-time gig. On a day to day basis, Valerie manages projects, social media content, ad campaigns, and other agency tasks for the clients she works with.

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Agency life at MKR has its fair share of fun and games (AKA "company culture"). From hosting Wednesday treat days in the office, attending black-tie gala events, to coordinating the summer "Yacht Rock" company party, Valerie is always looking forward to the next agency adventure. 

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Prior to joining MKR, Valerie attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, graduating with a degree in journalism with an emphasis in advertising. While at UW-Whitewater, she was both the vice president and president of Whitewater Advertising Association. As part of the student organization, she planned weekly meetings, worked on advertising projects for local businesses and helped to coordinate Commvergence.

Leah G. Peterson graduated from The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in May of 2018. She studied Public Relations, and Advertising.

Throughout high school and college she worked at Festival Foods in La Crosse, Fort Atkinson and Janesville. She also got to travel across the state and build new stores. She was promoted to the pricing department her sophomore year of college. Last May, when she graduated, she accepted her first full time job working as a manager in the pricing department.

On Memorial Day, Leah volunteered to start doing the PR for Representative Oldenburg’s assembly campaign. Almost every moment she wasn’t at her full time job, she was working on the campaign.

During the course of the campaign she told Representative Oldenburg that she wanted to work for him at the Capitol if he got elected. Today Leah works at the Wisconsin State Capitol every day as Representative Oldenburg’s Legislative Assistant.

Christine Dunbeck is a Content Marketing Manager at Passage Technology. In this position, she manages content marketing strategy and plans, including coordinating with other teams. She designs and presents content in appealing, intuitive ways for a variety of audiences. She writes, directs production of content, and collects content for portals, websites, and internal use. She tracks metrics and indicators for data-driven decision-making and course alterations.

Prior to Passage Technology, Christine was a Managing Editor/Communication and Public Relations Coordinator for the Wisconsin Dental Association. Some of her roles included securing advertising across multiple print and digital channels, leading public relations for a 2-day dental care event, handling media relations, writing press releases, media alerts, talking points, website content, social media posts, and producing a print journal.

Christine also serves on the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Southeastern Wisconsin board.