AAF – Ad Industry Diversity Key To Boosting Profits.

At a time when leading advertisers and agencies are hoping greater diversity will boost revenue, the AAF’s Most Promising Minority Students program links corporations with the best and brightest minority talent. On February 14, 2003 at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, the AAF Mosaic Center on Multiculturalism will recognize this year’s top honorees at the annual “Building Bridges for Our Future” awards luncheon.

Now in its seventh year, the Most Promising Minority Students program is continuing to provide a means to build a multicultural advertising workforce. Twenty-five finalists travel to Madison Avenue to dialogue and interview with executives from leading agencies, advertisers and media companies. These graduating college seniors represent colleges in 23 states (see full list attached).

“Through this program, top companies have immediate access to the sharpest young talent,” said AAF President and CEO Wally Snyder. “These future leaders are primed to make a significant impact on the ever-evolving world of advertising.”

Randy Melville, vice president-multiculturalism & strategic initiatives, Pepsi-Cola North America, is this year’s presiding luncheon co-chair. Jill Manee, vice president & publisher, The Ad Age Group, and Kimberly Tapscott, manager of advertising and promotions, American Airlines, are luncheon co-chairs. Pepsi Cola Company is the principal underwriter and American Airlines is the official airline. Other sponsors include (to date) ABC Television Network, Advertising Age, BBDO, Campbell-Ewald, Carat North America/Carat USA, Cleveland Advertising Association Education Foundation, Foote, Cone & Belding New York, Ford Motor Company, Johnson & Johnson, Knight-Ridder, Leo Burnett USA, Meredith Corporation, The New York Times Company, Ogilvy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi, Turner Broadcasting Sales, Verizon Communications and Young & Rubicam New York.

As the “Unifying Voice for Advertising,” the American Advertising Federation (AAF), headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a Western Region office in Newport Beach, Calif., is the trade association that represents 50,000 professionals in the advertising industry. AAF’s 130 corporate members are advertisers, agencies and media companies that comprise the nation’s leading brands and corporations. AAF has a national network of 210 ad clubs and connects the industry with an academic base through its 210 college chapters.

AAF’s Most Promising Minority Students 2003 Finalists

Student, School, Hometown

Rachel Kenyata Armour, Wilberforce University, Lansing, MI
Al-Sharik Barksdale, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, NC
Chauncie E. Burton, Howard University, Pittsburgh, PA
H. Miguel Camacho, University of Oklahoma, Midwest City, OK
LeRone “Ron” Cohen, University of South Carolina, Aiken, SC
Michelle C. Cordes, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Kailue, HI
Gloria Elena Garcia Enloe, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, MO
Jamelle LaShawn Esaw, University of Maryland at College Park, Leesburg, VA
Eunice Fung, Johnson and Wales University, Monroe, NJ
John Jaramillo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, IL
Brandon Taylor Johnson, University of Kentucky, Louisville, KY
Leah Kim, University of Virginia, Fairfax, VA
Juan Loredo, San Jose State University, Stockton, CA
Roshni A. Marfatia, Ohio University, Cincinnati, OH
Van Nguyen, Louisiana State University, Abbeville, LA
Geoffrey Quan, University of California at Berkley, El Corrito, CA
Melissa Marie Quiles, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Pleasant Prarie, WI
Victoria Y. Rovirosa, University of Georgia, Miami, FL
Juan Saucedo, University of Florida, Apopka, FL
Nicole Seals, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Wheaton, IL
Christine Shin, Wellesley College, Waltham, MA
Andrew S. Tu, Iowa State University, Omaha, NE
Elizabeth Varela, University of Nebraska-Kearney, Indianola, IA
Alexandria Jennee Weems, University of Georgia, Riverdale, GA
Tashonda Wesley, Southern Methodist University, Diana, TX

For more information at http://www.aaf.org