CURRENT OFFICERS

Select any photo to learn more or contact the officer. Also, if you would like to serve on our leadership board, please contact Dr. Yazdanparast.

Atefeh Yazdanparast, Chair

Dr. Atefeh Yazdanparast is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Clark University School of Management. She earned her Ph.D. in Marketing with a minor in Business Anthropology from the University of North Texas (2012). She also holds a Master of Science in Marketing and a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Engineering.

Atefeh studies social psychology of consumer decision making. Her research focuses on sensory marketing and the interplay of consumers and digital technology. Her work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Advertising, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Management, and Psychology & Marketing.

Atefeh is a recipient of the Master Scholar Award from Marketing Management Association, the Excellence in Teaching Award from the National Society of Leadership and Success, and Teacher of the Year Award from the University of Evansville. She is a member of the editorial review board for Journal of Advertising, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, International Journal of Bank Marketing, and Journal of Global Marketing and serves as the Chair of the Marketing for Higher Education Special Interest Group for American Marketing Association.

Mathew Joseph, Vice Chair

Dr. Mathew Joseph is the Emil C.E. Jurica Distinguished Professor of Marketing at the Greehey School of Business, St. Mary's University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Waikato in New Zealand (1995). He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree and a Bachelor of General Studies from Southeast Missouri State University.

He is the author of a number of articles in the areas of cross-cultural marketing, service quality, marketing strategy, health care marketing, electronic marketing, service technology, international advertising and promotion, marketing to Asia and Latin American and marketing education.

Brian Taillon, Vice Chair of Membership Insights & Analytics

Dr. Brian Taillon is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the East Carolina University College of Business. He earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration (Marketing) from New Mexico State University (2017). He also holds an M.B.A. in Strategic Marketing from The University of Akron (2008) and a B.S.B.A. in Marketing Management from Youngstown State University (2005).

Brian’s research interests include marketing communications, consumer responses to mental imagery, digital and social media marketing, health behaviors, and social issues as they relate to marketing. His research has been published in journals such as the Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, and Journal of Marketing Management, among others.

Brian teaches Marketing Strategy in the Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of Membership Insights and Analytics for the American Marketing Association (AMA) Higher Education Special Interest Group (Higher Ed SIG).

Brian worked in the hospitality industry as a general manager for a full-service resort hotel. He also taught a variety of marketing courses as an assistant lecturer at The University of Akron.

Jacqueline Eastman, Vice Chair of Research

Jacqueline K. Eastman (Ph.D, Florida State University) is the Alico Eminent Scholar in Marketing at Florida Gulf Coast University and serves as Co-Editor for the Journal of Consumer Behaviour. Her higher education leadership experience includes serving as Honors Coordinator, Course Lead for the WebMBA Program and chairing/assisting on several dissertation committees at Georgia Southern University along with serving as MBA Director at Valdosta State University. Her interests are in consumer behavior (luxury and sustainability), marketing strategy, and social media. She has published over 85 peer-reviewed articles in Marketing in journals including Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, International Marketing Review, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Journal of Marketing Education, and Journal of Supply Chain Management among others. Her research has been cited over 7700 times per Google Scholar.

Aqilah Jahari, Vice Chair of International Relations

Dr. Aqilah Jahari is a lecturer in Marketing at Monash University. Prior to joining the faculty at Monash University, she was a lecturer in Marketing at Sunway University. She earned her Ph.D. from Monash University in 2018 and graduated from her alma mater with First Class Honours for her undergraduate studies.

Aqilah’s primary research interests lie in tourism marketing and consumer behaviour, with a specific focus on understanding the social psychology of consumers’ decision-making process. Committed to multi-disciplinary research, her passion for research is driven by drawing on theoretical lens from psychology and sociology disciplines to explore a phenomenon. Her research has been published in international conferences (e.g. AMA, SMA, EMAC), book chapters and refereed journals (e.g. Tourism Management, Tourism Recreation Research). In 2015, she was awarded a competitive research grant from Sumitomo Foundation to spearhead a research project on Muslim-friendly tourism.

Aqilah teaches Marketing Theory and Practice and Marketing Research Methods at Monash University. Her previous teaching portfolio also includes Applied Research Project and Advertising and Communication.

Ashley Hass, Vice Chair of Membership

Ashley Hass is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Portland. She holds a PhD in Business Administration (Marketing) from Texas Tech University, a Master of Business Administration from St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Polk State College, Winter Haven, Florida.

Her research interests include the intersection of digital marketing, online communities, and consumer behavior. Her research has been published in journals such as the Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Consumer Marketing, and Marketing Education Review, among others.

Ashley teaches Digital Marketing and Consumer Behavior at Texas Tech University. Prior to academia, she worked as a director of operations for a collegiate volleyball team and youth volleyball club. Additionally, she worked for a small business resource center in San Antonio, Texas where she launched their social innovation lab.

Ashley currently serves as the Vice Chair of Communications for the American Marketing Association (AMA) Higher Education Special Interest Group (Higher Ed SIG).

Divya Ramachandran, Vice Chair of Marketing & Communications

Divya is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Manitoba, Canada. She earned her Ph.D. in Business Administration (Marketing) from Georgia State University. She also holds a Master of Science in Marketing Research from Michigan State University, and an MBA in Marketing from S. P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai, India. Prior to academia, she worked in sales and marketing, marketing research, and strategy in telecom, media, and banking sectors. Her research interests include the new-age technology – marketing interface, digital media, customer experience, and customer engagement. Her research has been published in journals such as the International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Retailing, and Journal of Business Research.

Divya currently serves as the Vice Chair – Marketing and Communications of the American Marketing Association (AMA) Higher Education Special Interest Group (HigherEd SIG). She has previously served as the Assistant Vice Chair of Online Engagement, Chair-Elect, and Chair of AMA Doctoral Student Special Interest Group (DocSIG).

Varsha Jain, Vice Chair of International Relations

Varsha Jain is a professor of marketing and co-chairperson doctoral program and research at the MICA, India. She is an associate editor at the journal of consumer behavior, an editorial board member at the journal of advertising research and journal of business research, and co-track chairperson, advertising, academy of marketing science, the annual conference, 2023. She has authored over 100+ publications, including multiple papers in A* and A journals. Prof. Jain is the recipient of more than 22 national and international awards and gold medals in scholarship. In her research career, she is visiting guest at Emory Business School, Atlanta, USA, visiting scholar at Greenwich University, London, and The Medill School, Northwestern University, USA.

Louis Zmich, Vice Chair of Public Relations and Content Creation

Louis is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Tampa. His research interests comprise three broad categories (1) Social Media & the Influencer–Sponsor Selling Relationship, (2) Salesperson Influence Tactics & the Behavioral Change Associated with Digital Media, and (3) the Personal Selling & the Salesperson–Customer Dyadic Relationship.

His research is published in Industrial Marketing Management, The Journal of Marketing Education, and The Journal of Selling. He also routinely volunteers as a guest editor for Business Horizons and The Journal of Strategic Marketing. Additionally, his collaborative research has been recognized for best paper by The American Marketing Association Marketing for Higher Education special interest group.

Along with his academic career, he volunteers and supports local farmers markets, dog rescues, and use his marketing consulting company to advance the digital presence for small local businesses

Kevin Giang Barrera, Vice Chair of Special Events

Kevin P. Giang Barrera is a doctoral student of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University (GSU). He also holds a Master of Science in Marketing from Georgia State University, a Master of Business Administration degree from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV, Brazil), and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the Universidad Nacional Experimental del Tachira (UNET, Venezuela).

His research interests focus on the impact of technology in marketing, digital and social media marketing, innovation, and customer experience. His incipient work on the implications of the metaverse for marketing research and practice has been published in the Journal of Business Research.

Brittany Beck, Vice Chair At-Large

Brittany is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Appalachian State University. She is a doctoral candidate in Business Administration (Marketing) from Louisiana Tech University. She holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Louisiana Tech University. Her research considers how digital technologies shape consumer habits and influence well-being. Her primary courses are Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and Digital Analytics.

Brittany currently serves as At-Large for the American Marketing Association (AMA) Higher Education Special Interest Group (HigherEd SIG) as well as Chair for the American Marketing Association (AMA) Doctoral Student Special Interest Group (DocSIG).