The Founder Panel: Marketing on Your Own Terms

Event Overview

Learn what it really takes to launch, grow, and thrive as a marketing founder.

Event Details

🗓️ Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2025

⏰ Time: 5:30 - 7:00 PM MST

💻 Location: Fate Brewing Company - 1312 N Scottsdale Rd Scottsdale, AZ 85257

Description:

Join us for an inspiring in-person panel and networking mixer featuring seasoned marketing pros who’ve taken the leap into entrepreneurship. You’ll hear real talk on what it’s like to build a business from scratch - from picking your niche to pricing your services to pitching with confidence.

Moderated by Meredith Dennis, AMA Phoenix President and Founder of Compression Marketing, the panel includes:

• Stephanie Conner – Active Voice Communications
• Lisa Nolan – Nolan Maddox Marketing
• Park Howell – The Business of Story
• Lisa Urias - Urias Communications

Come for the insights. Stay for the networking! Admission also includes light refreshments.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS:

Meredith Dennis is a talented marketing strategist with nearly 20 years experience growing B2B organizations in regulated sectors like education, healthcare, financial services, and nonprofit. In addition to her Marketing and Journalism degrees, she holds industry leading certifications from the American Marketing Association, Digital Marketing Institute, and Product Marketing Alliance. Meredith has worked with prominent brands including Allstate, Citi, Capital One, Geico, Pfizer, and Abbvie as well as national nonprofits like the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Meredith is the Founder and CEO of Compression Marketing and serves as a Fractional Marketing Executive, public speaker, and business coach.

Lisa Nolan is a marketing professional whose career has spanned over forty years and crosses multiple industries and sectors. Lisa has served in corporate marketing management roles and worked with broadcast media organizations in promotional management, eventually founding and co-owning a successful full service marketing firm in New Mexico. Lisa's client portfolio has been broad and diverse ranging from economic development and high tech/semi-conductor to commercial development, residential real estate, mortgage banking, cultural arts, restaurant, life care and more.After 12 years in New Mexico, Lisa returned back to Arizona and re-established her firm, Nolan Maddox Marketing, serving as principal and consultant where she has worked primarily with arts and cultural organizations, as well as showing her deep commitment to community through her work with Scottsdale Leadership, where she is both a graduate and currently serves on the board of directors.

Stephanie Conner is the owner of Active Voice Communications, which recently celebrated its 16th anniversary. Stephanie and her team specialize in content strategy and copywriting in a wide variety of industries. With over 20 years of experience in content marketing, Stephanie has earned numerous industry awards recognizing her creativity and impact in copywriting and strategy, including a 2023 Women in Content Marketing Award for Freelance Excellence. Additionally, Stephanie has served as an associate faculty member at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, her alma mater. And for three years, she served on the board of the Phoenix chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, where she led community involvement programming and member communications.

Park Howell is known as The World’s Most Industrious Storyteller having grown purpose-driven brands by as much as 600 percent. He is an EMMY Award-Winning, 35+ year veteran of the advertising industry and hosts the popular weekly Business of Story podcast, authored Brand Bewitchery, and co-authored The Narrative Gym for Business. Park recently launched the StoryCycle Genie™ to help business leaders craft a lucrative brand story strategy in minutes, not months. He is sought after internationally to help executives excel through the stories they tell.

After 15 years in corporate international marketing & communications, Lisa Urias founded Urias Communications in 2006, an agency focused on reaching the diverse markets of the U.S. Southwest. Lisa played a pivotal role in shaping the agency’s mission and guiding its success, which today is recognized as one of the most respected in the region. In 2021, Lisa named Jason Coochwytewa as CEO of the agency and remains Founder and President. Since that time, she has assumed significant roles, including Director of the Arizona Office of Tourism and Chief Community Engagement Officer at the Arizona Community Foundation. She has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Phoenix Business Journal's Most Admired CEOs and the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year. Lisa also serves on numerous boards, including the National Bank of Arizona, the ASU Foundation, the Morrison Institute and the Desert Botanical Garden.

Host or Publisher AMA Phoenix