Jennifer Norris serves as President-Elect for the Cleveland AMA executive board. She is a Kent State University alum with a B.A. in advertising and a minor in marketing. After graduating from college, she started her professional career in the automobile industry as a dealership salesperson. Jennifer learned everything she possibly could about the vehicles she sold, taking home technical manuals to study at night and reading books on how to be a more effective salesperson. Her favorite sales book is “The Psychology of Selling” by Brian Tracy. She learned to become an expert at finding out her customer’s needs and providing helpful service.
Jennifer was eventually promoted as a sales manager and then into the finance department before leaving to work in the auto aftermarket. Her dealership experience saw her overseeing the emergence of E-commerce which led to a transition as a Digital Only salesperson at iHeartmedia in Cleveland where she became a Digital Sales Director. Her proudest moment was taking the Cleveland market to #1 Digital Market of the year. She is currently the Chief Marketing Officer at Firefighters Community Credit Union, among the fastest growing credit unions in Northeast Ohio.
What is your position within the AMA?
For the past three years, I’ve served as Secretary of the Cleveland Chapter of the AMA. Prior to that I served on the Communications Committee. This year, I’m honored to take on my new role as President-Elect!
Why did you join the AMA?
I was looking to get involved with a local organization that would not only provide me with networking opportunities, but would also be a resource for marketing education and offered local events. The Cleveland AMA was all that and more! So I’ve been a member since 2011.
What do you love about volunteering?
Besides the enjoyment of feeling like I’m contributing, I truly enjoy belonging to an organization where I can make a difference in my community. Our AMA Chapter has an amazing board and we really do care about the quality of our events. We try to always pick trendy, up and coming businesses that are interesting to our members and help to highlight what’s hot in CLE! That makes me feel connected and proud and excited to help out.
What are your hobbies?
When I’m not working I’m usually assisting with my 12-year-old daughter’s Girl Scout troop or school activities. When I do have time, I enjoy traveling, I LOVE to cook (don’t ask me to bake anything though!), playing soccer, and going on motorcycle rides with my husband.
What are three interesting facts about you?
- I’m told my eyes are very unusual because they’re green but have a ring of brown around my pupils. My eye doctor always gets pretty excited over this.
- I don’t know if I could survive without my Vitamix.
- I’m the only girl out of 13 grandchildren (on my dad’s side of the family). This gave me a “thicker skin” and helped peak my interest in anything with a motor and ultimately led to a successful career in the automotive industry prior to coming back to my roots in marketing.
If you could be one character in Mad Men (or any other television show) who would it be? Joan Harris- she’s beautiful, sexy, and smart.
What are your career and/or personal ambitions?
I want to make a difference in a positive way no matter what it is that I’m involved with. Whether it’s helping clients success with winning marketing campaigns, creating new, out-the-box advertising that gets people excited about the financial products or services we offer at FFCCU, or being able to truly see my daughter becoming a confident and successful young adult. I enjoy and look for ways in which I can grow, impact things in a positive way and learn. That’s why I also love volunteering for the Cleveland AMA!