DETROIT — Plastics News has recently added staffers to the editorial, advertising, research, and digital & marketing departments.
In the research department, Kelley Trost joined PN on as director of research & data products on Feb. 26. Kelley most recently was at Maritz Research in Southfield, Mich., where she served as senior research consultant focused on custom studies. Her expertise includes research design, data analysis, analytic reporting, tracking the effectiveness of advertising, brand image positioning and creative preparation of results.
Her previous experience included serving as executive director and senior research manager at BNP Media. Kelley has a bachelor of arts degree in advertising from Michigan State University.
In the digital & marketing department, Pam Gillies joined PN as director of digital strategy & marketing on Feb. 18.
Most recently, Pam was director of marketing for American Laser Skincare in Farmington Hills, Mich., but most of her background is in media. Pam served as director of digital products at Digital First Media in Denver (the Denver Post) and director of marketing & product development for Detroit Media Partnership (Detroit Free Press).
Pam has a bachelor of arts degree in marketing from Wayne State University. She also is working on her master's in business administration at the University of Colorado, and her education includes a certificate in project management from Stanford University.
Also in the digital & marketing department, Amy Leal joined PN in December as email design & digital content specialist.
Amy has more than 15 years experience in the design and development fields, and her current areas of focus include responsive and mobile email development, as well as defensive design.
She most recently worked for Team Detroit, creating email campaigns for Ford Motor Co. Prior to that, she spent almost six years in Phoenix in web development and email marketing for a national dental publication.
Jessica Jordan started as Plastics News' art director, in the editorial department, on March 10. This is a new position for PN. Jessica will be primarily responsible for the design of Plastics News' weekly print issues.
Jessica has experience on the design team at daily newspapers, including stints at The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post — where she was a visual editor — and The Arizona Republic. Most recently she was senior graphic designer at The Quell Group in Troy, Mich. She has a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University.
Effective Jan. 1, Rhoda Miel was promoted to news editor. Rhoda has 29 years of reporting experience, including 13 years as PN's staff reporter in Detroit, where she has covered the automotive, mold making, design, housewares and office furniture beats.
Prior to joining PN, Rhoda reported for The Saginaw News, The Daily Telegram in Adrian, Mich., and the Cadillac Evening News. She has a bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University.
Also effective Jan. 1, Jeremy Carroll was promoted to assistant managing editor. Jeremy has more than 10 years of experience reporting and editing, with the last 2½ years at PN's parent company, Crain Communications Inc. At Plastics News, Jeremy had been covering the legislative and medical device beats. He has been, and will continue to be, PN's video editor, shooting and producing our weekly Material Insights video, plus other projects.
Jeremy previously was managing editor at Waste & Recycling News, where he was part of a team that won the 2013 Jesse H. Neal Award for best webcast. Prior to that, he was a staff writer for C&G Newspapers in Warren, Mich. and the Huron Daily Tribune in Bad Axe, Mich. He has a bachelor's degree from Adrian College.
Gayle S. Putrich rejoined Plastics News on Dec. 23 as staff reporter in Washington. Gayle was PN's staff reporter in D.C., for much of 2013, but she worked briefly as a freelance journalist. She covers the medical, legislative and regulatory beats.
Prior to joining PN, Gayle was a freelance journalist with clients including the Council on Foreign Relations, Watchdog.org, the Washington Business Journal, and trails.com. Prior to that, she served as a reporter and/or editor at Flight International/flightglobal.com UAV and Spaceflight Editor, Army Times Publishing Co., Times News Service, Marine Corps Times and Congressional Quarterly, and she interned at CNN's Washington bureau. She has a bachelor's degree from Kent State University.
Kerri Jansen started as a staff reporter in the Detroit office on Feb. 10. Kerri started as an intern at Waste & Recycling News in 2012, and WRN kept her as a full-time reporter starting in January 2013. During her stint at WRN she received an award from Detroit's Society of Professional Journalists for explanatory journalism.
Kerri has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Wayne State University. At PN, she has picked up Rhoda Miel's former beats: automotive, tooling, design, housewares and office furniture.
In the advertising department, Tony Foster joined PN in Detroit on Dec. 2 as custom content marketing manager, a new position.
Tony is a 17-year veteran at Crain, most recently as regional sales manager and ad director at AutoWeek. He also worked as a regional sales manager for Automotive News for seven years.
Tony also spent 1½ years in Crain's finance department. He has a bachelor's degree from Michigan State.
