featured on "A Closer Look" with Crystal Carter
American Marketing Association (AMA)
Where Strategy Meets Success
2025/2026 Theme: Level Up: Experiential Marketing
ETSU’s AMA chapter provides students with insights into what a career in the field of marketing looks like with relevant speakers, events, and spaces to meet with like-minded peers. Professional development and networking opportunities are our main focus to grow dedicated professionals who work, teach, and study in the field of marketing. AMA equips students with the necessary resources to help shape the industry.
WHY AMA? The AMA stands as the leading professional organization for marketing practitioners. More than just complementing classroom learning, the real-world business experience provided by the organization offers students invaluable insights. This experience comes from implementing strategies, collaborating with business clients, and engaging in the professional development opportunities available exclusively to AMA students. Over 70% of our membership were recognized on the Dean's List last year.
AMA membership extends beyond your graduation date. Student members are offered the extension of a one year professional AMA membership at a free or discounted rate.
Our chapter was recognized in April 2024 as outstanding in TWO categories for AMA: Professional Development and Chapter Planning. This confirms our focus of preparing students to enter the global workforce and compete with peers.
In March of 2023, our chapter won third place in the Wall Street Journal International Case Competition! We also won an award for Excellence in Chapter Planning.
In 2021, ETSU recognized the AMA chapter during the Summit Awards with the "One To Watch" award and the national organization recognized the ETSU chapter for Excellence in Outstanding Chapter Planning and Membership.
Fall 2025 Events
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August
Eboard meeting - fall planning
August 20 - 23 PREVIEW TABLING
August 24- 30: Welcome Week
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September
September 9: Open House Room 334 3-4 PM
September 16: LinkedIn Workshop
September 23: Fundraiser
September 30: Marketing Week Event: Speaker Panel - Downtown Erwin, TN small business owners discussing post Hurricane Helene marketing needs to drive traffic back to Erwin Main Street businesses. Come learn how YOU can help!
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October
October 3: Taylor Swift Life of A Showgirl Album Drop listening party location TBD
October 7: Officer Meeting
October 14- Happy Fall Break!
October 18: Pack bags for Guatemala children at Central Baptist Community and Social Impact
October 21: Mary Ellen Miller, CEO of Marketing Mel, Personal Branding workshop
October 28: Open Chapter Meeting to discuss ideas, upcoming plans, conference attendance, and more!
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November
November 4: Guest Speaker TBD
November 6-8: Appalachian StartUp Mountain Summit
November 11: Veteran's Day Holiday
November 18: AMA Fundraiser, TBD
November 25 - Happy Thanksgiving Week!
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December
December 5: Wrapping for Others, Coalition for Kids, Community and Social Impact
Meet Our Officers
Emma Ayala
President
Emma came to ETSU from Volunteer High School. Originally a finance major, Emma took advantage of the many Marketing opportunities offered to her by AMA and ended her first year as the newly elected chapter President, and 4 paid internships. Emma recently got a featured business spotlight in Forbes magazine for Founder's Forge and Appalachia. Emma is so excited to share her knowledge and experiences to help other students grow and find their passion.
Jaidyn Goode
VP of Community Engagement and Social Impact
Jaidyn is a senior marketing major who loves community engagement and social impact. Jaidyn has worked with the STRIVE veteran entrepreneurs program for the past 3 years. Jaidyn is also currently interning for Marketing Mel, a local PR firm. She is delighted to lead the AMA Community and Social Impact efforts this year and leave a mark on this community before graduation.
Ipin Akintola
VP of Recruiting
Ipin was one of 5 National AMA Diversity Leadership award ($4000) winners in 2025! Ipin is not only very involved in AMA, but also Speech & Debate, a resident advisor and community manager on campus. She is a Media and Communications major and currently serving as the VP of Recruiting for AMA.
ShelC' Black
VP of Communications
ShelC' is a senior Media and Communication student and serves as the VP of Communications for AMA. She has a passion for designing and creating media content, print media, and and is currently the marketing intern for the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce! ShelC' joined AMA as a sophomore to become more involved on campus and to build a strong portfolio of accomplishments before graduation.
Paige Reynolds
VP of Membership
Paige is a junior marketing major who loves people. She leads in every student organization she is part of. Paige is passionate about helping others around her achieve their goals.
Timothy Preshong
VP of Finance
Timothy is a sophomore, currently pursuing a double major in Finance & Accounting. He is passionate about helping others achieve financial success and is excited to apply and expand his financial experience as the Treasurer for AMA. Timothy is active on campus and participates in several organizations, including the Students of Finance Association, Baptist Collegiate Ministry, Economics Club, Buccaneer Investment Fund, Entrepreneurs Club, and the Young Professionals on Campus. Timothy seeks to apply this broad exposure to promote collaboration and growth within the ETSU AMA.
Lucas Vaughn
Cloudwise AI Student Agency Director
Lucas joined AMA in his junior year and quickly became involved in leadership of the
chapter. Lucas attended the ICC in his first year, and competed in three national
competitions. Lucas will be leading our new Cloudwise Student AI agency this fall,
after interning with Cloudwise during the summer. Lucas will lead the agency as its
first year director building a legacy for future AMA members in generations to come.
Amber Hunt
Cloudwise Agency Team Lead
VP of Social Media
Amber was a transfer student who learned of AMA in her junior year. After joining the AMA case study team, Amber found her place with AMA. She was integral in the final design and creation of the 2024 Case Study submission. In her final year, Amber is leading a team of students in our new Cloudwise AI agency working on paid marketing projects for the regional business community.
Megan Brady
Cloudwise Agency Team Lead
Asst VP of Social Media
Megan is a senior marketing major who joined AMA in Spring of 2025. Megan was one of the students in the inagural AI Marketing class through Cloudwise Acacemy and one of the first interns to complete training in Summer of 2025. Megan and the social media team are doing big things not only for AMA, but the regional business community in East TN.
Caleb Anderson
Asst VP of Social Media
Caleb is a senior Marketing major with a concentration in Fashion Merchandising. His dream is to rule the fashion world from NYC one day. Caleb is also a Cloudwise intern, ETSU cheerleader, member of Kappa Sig, and social media influencer for brands like Bubbl'R, Callie Rose, and Hollister. Caleb regularly boasts over 100K views across his platforms every month!
Joe McKenna
CEO of Cloudwise Academy:
Community Engaged Learning Partner
Joe McKenna, CEO of Cloudwise Academy and Founder of CrushingIt.AI, has partnered with ETSU AMA to advance the learning and application of AI in marketing across the region. His mission is to hire and train top talent, retain them in our community, and equip them with cutting-edge technology and AI tools to help elevate local businesses. Our first group of 6 interns in summer and fall of 2025 have already begun to make big impacts with local businesses and non profits.
Click here to learn more about AMA Nationals and Collegiate Membership
