Avencia has experienced unprecedented growth in 2006 and announces the recent addition of four new employees to its team.
Rachel Cheetham-Richard, Vice President and Marketing Director, brings a wealth of marketing and business development experience to the Avencia team. Before joining Avencia, she worked at The Wilma Theater as the Director of External Relations where she managed fundraising and marketing activities for the theater. Rachel came to the Wilma from Avenue of the Arts, Inc. (AAI), where she served as the Director of Business Development and Marketing. At Avencia Rachel oversees Human Resources, product marketing strategies for Avencia products Cicero, Esphero, REX, Kaleidocade, and DecisionTree, company branding including website and graphic design and is project manager for Avencia’s work with the City of Philadelphia Department of Records’ digital photo archive project, Phillyhistory.org.
Chip Hitchens joins Avencia as Operations and Project Manager. Chip worked previously as a project manager in the financial services industry where he oversaw the implementation of critical banking processes and enhancements to their technical infrastructure. At Avencia, Chip manages federal funded research projects, including a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant recently awarded to Avencia from the Department of Education. For this project, he will oversee the implementation of Avencia product Kaleidocade, a web-based software that displays maps, charts, tables, statistics and reports for aggregated, geographic indicators, which will allow the Department of Education to analyze school demographic and performance metrics including data related to the No Child Left Behind Act. He also maintains the company’s technology systems infrastructure.
Megan Heckert, Business Development Manager, earned her M.A. in geography at Temple University, focusing much of her research on the impacts of trees and green space in urban communities. Prior to joining Avencia, she worked as program coordinator at Delaware Valley Earth Force and as a US Peace Corps volunteer in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. At Avencia, Megan’s responsibilities include grant development, professional services customer relationship management, software end-user documentation, industry article and paper writing and press relations. She is also project manager for Avencia’s product Cicero, a subscription-based web service providing information on local elected officials in areas with geographic representation.
Abby Fretz joins Avencia as Project Assistant. Abby most recently worked as a Marketing Coordinator and Event Planner for Peachtree and Ward Catering. There, she oversaw marketing and product design as well as several community-based initiatives including a cooking class for youth completing service requirements as well as a Philadelphia-wide pie-baking project with local high-schoolers celebrating Martin Luther King Day. At Avencia Abby works with the marketing and business development teams, manages the Avencia Business Metrics project, manages the Cicero elected official database and works with the Vice-President to develop product marketing strategy.
Staff head shots are available upon request.
