Celebrating SMPS Oregon's 2024/25 Outgoing Board Members

As another program year comes to a close, we're taking a moment to celebrate our outgoing board members and reflect on their service and accomplishments. Learn more about Angie Cole, Kate Kearney, Katrina Tran, and Lisa Heath and their board tenure, below, including a Q&A from Kate and Lisa.

Angie Cole

Having served in many board roles over the years (including SMPS Oregon Chapter President), Angie most recently served as the SMPS Oregon Chapter’s Director at Large for the past two program years. During this time, she leveraged her deep knowledge of the chapter and her experience in the marketing profession to be a strategic advisor. Angie will not be too far away as she is currently serving as the Programs Committee Chair and the SMPS PRC Conference Chair representing Oregon.

Kate Kearny

After serving the SMPS Board in an executive leadership role for the past three years as SMPS Oregon President-elect, President, and Immediate Past President, Kate is taking a well-deserved break from SMPS Oregon Board leadership. Kate represented our chapter during a particularly important year, as Portland hosted PRC in 2024. Her thoughtful leadership supported our chapter to find success financially and programmatically. Read more about Kate's tenure in her Q&A below.

Q: What do you believe was the most impactful thing that you did during your tenure as president?
A: When I served as Chapter President from 2023 to 2024, the two most impactful things, from my perspective, that I achieved were furthering our commitment to equity and inclusion and organizing and selling out our Chapter event for the 2024 SMPS Pacific Regional Conference.

Q: As your board term comes to a close, what is your next move with SMPS/ your career?
A: For a three-year board commitment, it went by quicker than I expected! I will be taking a break from active volunteering with SMPS Oregon, but I will continue to support the chapter through event attendance and social opportunities with my network of SMPS friends and colleagues. I look forward to seeing the next board of directors' vision for the chapter. 

Q: Did you learn anything during your board term? If so, what?
A: Patience is a virtue. And you are not alone in this. Lean into your support system. Managing a volunteer-run board of directors is a rewarding experience. It was challenging at times, but collaborating with some of our industry's top marketers made it worthwhile.  

Katrina Tran

Katrina brought a depth of experience to her role as Director of Education, having served as a committee volunteer (including a four-year chair position) and facilitating a roundtable. During her tenure as Director of Education, Katrina prioritized the accessibility of SMPS Oregon’s professional development and education programs. She will be taking a break from board leadership for the time being, but will not be a stranger to our chapter community.

Lisa Heath

The SMPS Oregon Board of Directors was privileged to leverage the perspective and know-how of Lisa Heath as Board Secretary for the past two years. Although this was Lisa’s first board role for SMPS Oregon, she brought years of board leadership experience from her time with the SMPS Alaska Chapter. The board is still going to benefit from Lisa’s expertise in the coming years as she is leading an ad-hoc committee tasked with updating our chapter’s bylaws in 2026. Read more about Lisa's tenure in her Q&A below.

Q: What do you believe was the most impactful thing that you did during your tenure as secretary?
A: Making sure we had an accurate record of events. While the secretary is a small role, it is important to have the chapter information accessible.

Q: As your board term comes to a close, what is your next move with SMPS/ your career?
A: I plan to stay involved in SMPS, because I know how valuable the organization is for education, career growth, and advocacy. This next year, I will be leading our efforts to update the SMPS Oregon Chapter bylaws.

Q: Did you learn anything during your board term? If so, what?
A: I find the more involved with any organization you can be, the more you get out of it. I really appreciate the relationships I made with fellow board members and other chapter members. 

Thank you for your board leadership, Angie, Kate, Katrina, and Lisa!