Mary Hecht-Kissell

Mary Hecht-Kissell has an extensive work experience spanning over several industries. Mary began their career at Verizon in 1990, where they worked in the Executive Development Program as a Marketing/PR Manager until 1996. Mary then joined the public relations agency, Rockett Burkhead & Winslow, as an Account Supervisor for the Technical PR Team. In 1997, Mary joined Cisco Systems as a PR Manager, handling PR for their east coast headquarters and Interworks Business Division. Mary worked there until 1999. From 2002 to 2012, Mary worked as a Public Relations/Marketing Consultant at PR Strategies. In 2005, they joined Exinda Networks as the Director of Global PR, a position they held until 2008. Mary also served as the Vice President of Marketing (Volunteer) at the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) NC Triangle Chapter from 2009 to 2011. From 2012 to 2015, they worked at TearScience, Inc. as the Communications & Events Manager and later as the Senior Marketing Manager. Mary then joined MEF in 2015, where they worked as the Senior Manager of Marketing Programs & Member Support until 2018. Currently, Mary is at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBiotech) as the Vice President of Corporate Communications, a role they have held since January 2022.

Mary Hecht-Kissell obtained their B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1988. Mary then pursued an MBA in Marketing from The George Washington University School of Business, graduating in 1995. In 2014, they acquired a certification in Google Analytics from the American Graphics Institute and in 2015, they completed a course in Google AdWords for Businesses from Certified Staffing Solutions. Mary also obtained a Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Institute in 2017. Mary continued to enhance their skills with additional certifications, including Advanced Google Analytics and Google Analytics for Beginners from Google Analytics Academy in 2017, Hootsuite Certified in Social Media Marketing from Hootsuite Media Inc. in 2016, and Inbound Certification from HubSpot in 2016.