About Erica
Erica Hughes is an award-winning marketing and advertising professional with a breadth of experience working for Fortune 500 companies. With a love of connecting brands with consumers, Erica has managed marketing strategies for iconic brands such as Chick-fil-A, Chevrolet, Reddi-wip and Slim Jim, just to name a few.
Currently, Hughes serves as the Director of Multicultural Marketing at Ally. In her role she is responsible for leading the vision and strategy for multicultural marketing. In addition, Hughes leads the organization’s efforts to increase awareness and consideration amongst diverse consumers segments.
Before joining Ally, Hughes lead digital & social media strategy at Chick-fil-A. While there, she was a key member in the marketing organization creating a vision for the internal marketing tech-stack. Prior to joining Chick-fil-A, Erica worked at Conagra Brands from 2012-2018. While at Conagra Brands, Erica took on a lead role in transitioning the organization from a traditional marketing company to a forward-thinking digital marketing innovator. In March 2017, Erica’s team at Conagra Brands was recognized by AdExchanger as a Top Ten Programmatic Advertiser.
Erica Hughes is a native of Flint, MI and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Michigan State University. In addition, she obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Northern Illinois University.
About Merri Jo
Merri Jo Bales is vice president and strategic director of University Communications at MSU. In this role, Bales directs a strategic, coordinated and proactive approach to communications and public relations, overseeing the work of two teams, Marketing, Public Relations and Digital Strategy, and Media and Public Information.
Bales recently completed a 27-year career with Consumers Energy where she ultimately was responsible for establishing, expanding and aligning the strategy function and for executive communication. Prior to joining Consumers Energy, Merri Jo was executive director of the Michigan Sesquicentennial, the commemoration of Michigan’s 150th anniversary of statehood.
During her career, Bales has gained extensive experience in public relations, internal communication, media relations and crisis communication, as well as strategic planning and major program development.
A 1977 graduate of MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Bales is among the college’s Distinguished Alumni and has served on the executive board for the MSU International Alumni Association and the ComArtSci alumni board.
