Executive Board

Serving the Southern Region of IABC.

Our Vision

We share the vision to see professional communication at the heart of every organization.

With more than 250 years of experience and expertise in communication, marketing and public relations across diverse fields ranging from energy to government, finance, education, healthcare, manufacturing and human services, we’ve produced award-winning work for agencies, corporations, small businesses and nonprofits.

But we don’t stop there. We’ve also served on local IABC chapter boards leading them to thrive with proven strategies that effectively lead, sustain and grow chapters.

Executive Board

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Chair

Jordan Nagel, MBA, (IABC Houston) is a communications professional with more than 20 years of experience in developing and implementing communication strategies with an emphasis on employee engagement and executive communication. Jordan spent 15 years working for bp and now owns her own company, Crop Circle Consulting, LLC, which is focused on communication, engagement, and culture transformation. She continues to work with bp and other energy companies to redefine company culture and enable the delivery of their sustainability ambitions.

Jordan earned her Bachelor and Master of Business Administration from the University of North Texas. She was recently elected to the Board of Innovators for the Global Energy Transition Organization where she acts as a thought leader for workplace culture. Jordan served several board roles for the Houston Chapter and the Southern Region of IABC and has received Bronze, Silver, and Gold Quill awards for her work with bp.

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Vice Chair

Linda Wesley, CMP, (IABC Central Oklahoma) is passionate about helping small businesses and nonprofits better tell their story through strategic communications plans and consistent content and messaging. Prior to starting StoryPath Communications in 2014, she held positions with a corporate relocation firm, a K-12 school district, and a public health state agency. Her experience includes communications strategy, website content development, print publications, writing, editing, social media, and internal communications. She has served on IABC boards in Central Oklahoma (Secretary, VP of Membership, President and Past President) and in St. Louis (Bronze Quill Chair).

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Immediate Past Chair

John Harris (IABC Austin) is a communication strategist and business writer. He was named IABC Region Leader of the Year for his service as Southern Region chair in 2021-22. Earlier he was VP of Region Development and Vice Chair for the Southern Region, and was president of IABC Houston and IABC Austin. He has worked in public relations since 1991, in both the public and private sectors and the agency and corporate sides of the business. In his last full-time role, he was a senior VP at Houston First Corporation, working 10 years in corporate communications and public affairs. Houston First operates the city’s convention and entertainment facilities and promotes Houston as a tourism destination. John has counseled or written for the City of Houston, Austin Energy, the Houston Firefighters’ Relief & Retirement Fund, the Lower Colorado River Authority, Compaq, Novo Nordisk and Centura Health, among others. For Houston’s Joint Hurricane Housing Task Force, he served on a team that helped move several thousand families evacuating from...

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VP Administration

Stacey Dickson (Kansas City IABC) is an experienced marketing communications strategist with diverse achievements and proven success at increasing awareness, driving revenue, and meeting organizational goals. She is the Product Marketing Manager for TouchNet, a Global Payments Company, where she promotes the software company’s products and features to clients and prospect. Stacey's outstanding innovation, cross organization teamwork, and leadership, along with her commitment to company values, placed her in the top 2.5% of performers and earned her the 2022 Global Payments Circle of Excellence award. She served on the KC IABC board for over a decade—twice as president—and is currently co-chair of the Master’s special interest group. A regular judge for communications awards competitions, she has also earned many awards herself, including KC IABC Volunteer of the Year in 2020 and 2013. Prior Southern Region service includes Chapter Liaison and two years as the Speaker Director for the connect2comms Conference. Stacey received her...

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VP Finance

David MacDonald, MA, (IABC NC Triangle) has more than three decades of professional communications experience. Currently senior internal communications strategist at First Citizens Bank in Raleigh, North Carolina, Dave began his career as a reporter and editor at the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record in Virginia. He went on to serve as Assistant Director of Communications with the North Carolina Bar Association, Director of Communications with UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library Science, and Manager of Corporate Communications with Martin Marietta. A Massachusetts native, Dave earned his bachelor’s degree in English at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and his master’s degree in Journalism/Public Relations at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications. A member of the NC Triangle IABC chapter since 2009, Dave’s leadership roles have included Chapter VP of Finance, Chapter President and Past President, and Southern Region Chapter Services Director, VP of Leadership Development, Vice...

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VP Communication

Shelley Nelson, MBA, (IABC Phoenix) brings more than 15 years of professional experience in strategic marketing planning, community involvement, and marketing communications for nonprofits, small businesses, and Fortune 500 companies. Her passion lies in Nonprofit Marketing, Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility—seeing people experience a brighter future than they may have imagined and corporations embrace their role as good corporate citizens. Shelley loves creating marketing and communications plans that bring new and established audiences closer to the organization’s mission. She uses the power of storytelling to drive awareness and response as well as boost donations, move products, and sell-out events. In her free time, Shelley enjoys gardening, decorating, and swimming. She has previously held an Adjunct Faculty role at Arizona Christian University. She serves as the VP of Finance for the IABC Phoenix Chapter and previously served as the IABC Southern Region Secretary/VP, Administration.

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VP Chapter Services

South was elected to the South Carolina IABC Board in 2014, attended the IABC National Leadership Institute, and served as president in 2018. She served as a chapter liaison for IABC’s Southern Region in 2021 and was elected in 2022 to the regional board as vice president of chapter services. South is president of the Alison South Marketing Group with offices in South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and South Florida. The full-service agency has won international, regional and statewide awards for its work. As a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, South was a reporter, editor and photographer at the Columbia Missourian newspaper and later assumed an editorial position at Bobbin International, publisher of the textile industry’s management magazine, published in English and Spanish. She went on to become the assistant director of media relations and spokesperson for the University of South Carolina.

After finishing her master’s degree in public administration at USC, specializing in health care, South became the director of public relations and...

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VP Membership - Interim

Mark Evans, MS, SCMP, (IABC Austin) is the owner of On The Point Communications, LLC, which specializes in public relations, crisis communication, social media, and corporate communications. Mark is a more than 25-year veteran of the public relations/strategic communications industry and advises clients on a wide variety of topics, including messaging, issues management, marketing/communications program development, and digital/social media strategy. He also teaches business communications at Texas State University, and previously taught media writing at Texas A&M University. He holds a master’s degree in science & technology journalism and bachelor’s degrees in biology and journalism from Texas A&M. Mark is a longtime member of the IABC. He has served as an appointed member of the IABC Academy Committee, which oversees all education and certification programs for the international association. He is a past president of the Austin chapter and co-chaired the IABC Southern Region Conference that was held there in October 2014. He...

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VP Leadership Development

Stacey Dickson (Kansas City IABC) is an experienced marketing communications strategist with diverse achievements and proven success at increasing awareness, driving revenue, and meeting organizational goals. She is the Product Marketing Manager for TouchNet, a Global Payments Company, where she promotes the software company’s products and features to clients and prospect. Stacey's outstanding innovation, cross organization teamwork, and leadership, along with her commitment to company values, placed her in the top 2.5% of performers and earned her the 2022 Global Payments Circle of Excellence award. She served on the KC IABC board for over a decade—twice as president—and is currently co-chair of the Master’s special interest group. A regular judge for communications awards competitions, she has also earned many awards herself, including KC IABC Volunteer of the Year in 2020 and 2013. Prior Southern Region service includes Chapter Liaison and two years as the Speaker Director for the connect2comms Conference. Stacey received her...

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VP Conference

Mary Hardin Francis (IABC Houston) is President of Hardin-Francis Enterprises, LLC, an integrated, creative, strategic marketing communication agency that has been the recipient of multiple Bronze and Silver Quill Awards. Working with a large number of clients in various industries for more than 25 years, the firm specializes in branding, web design and development, internet marketing, advertising, and project management. Mary was a partner at Eventions, an event-planning company, and Director of Media Relations for the Houston Public Library System prior to founding Hardin-Francis. She also taught in the Visual Communications Department at Lone Star College and provides marketing communications services to charitable organizations in Houston. Mary has been involved with the Southern Region since she created the website for Align ’09, the regional conference held in Houston. Since then, she’s supported the region as Conference Director and Silver Quill Awards Director multiple times and recently served as Southern Region Chair. She...

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VP Conference

Alison Shuman, CPCU, ARe, ARM, AINS, AIS (IABC South Carolina) is a corporate communications coordinator II for Farm Bureau Insurance, a leading provider of auto, home, and life insurance in South Carolina. Prior to joining Farm Bureau Insurance in 2007, Shuman was the scholastic press manager for the South Carolina Scholastic Press Association (SCSPA) and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association. She was also the assistant director of the Carolina Journalism Institute. Alison is an active member of the IABC South Carolina chapter, AAF of the Midlands, and the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter Society of South Carolina (CPCU/SC). She has held numerous board positions including president with IABC/SC and CPCU/SC and currently serves as a member-at-large with IABC/SC and a director with CPCU/SC. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in advertising and a minor in retail from the University of South Carolina. During college, Alison participated in the third-place national J. Carroll Bateman Competition Team known as Palmetto Solutions and the...

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VP Awards

Bailey Crafton (IABC South Carolina) is the Branding and Creative Supervisor for Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Columbia, South Carolina. Her current role at Nelson Mullins includes managing the creative and branding team, strategizing, and creative development for the 930+ attorney law firm headquartered in Columbia, with over 30 locations across the nation. Bailey is an active member of IABC/SC and joined the board in 2017 as secretary. She served as president in 2020 and currently serves as the VP of Membership. She was awarded the IABC Southern Region Rising Star award in 2021. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina in journalism and mass communications, majoring in visual communications and minoring in photography. Bailey’s experience includes work with design, illustration, professional photography, videography, and specialized branding design. She enjoys spending time freelance designing with local South Carolina businesses and individuals. When she isn’t working, she is painting, sewing,...

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We look forward to meeting you

  • At the Southern Region, we create community for more than 900 members, hundreds of chapter leaders and 21 local chapters.
  • Please reach out with questions, successes and challenges. We would love to hear from you.

Contact Jordan Nagel, Chair