Recognizing the Best and Brightest Email Marketers
The ANA Email Excellence Center Awards recognize top individuals within the email marketing industry through two prestigious awards:
Stefan Pollard Email Marketer of the Year Award
Celebrating those working at brand-side or marketing companies who lead in community-driven innovation and thought leadership.
Email Marketer Thought Leader of the Year Award
Honoring professionals at marketing service providers, agencies, consultants, freelancers, technology providers, data companies, or other third-party services who demonstrate email marketing excellence.
Learn More About the ANA Email Excellence Center
The ANA Email Excellence Center helps you and your company use email more effectively to grow, engage, and retain your customer base.
Stefan Pollard Email Marketer of the Year Award
Established in honor of Stefan Pollard, a highly respected and beloved member of the email marketing community who suddenly passed away in 2010, this award honors a brand-side marketer who demonstrates the qualities and high professional standards that Pollard exemplified during his lifetime.
Congratulations to the 2024 Stefan Pollard Email Marketer of the Year, Corrina Cohen, CRM and marketing automation manager at NBCUniversal.
Ms. Cohen plays a key role in implementing marketing initiatives for major sporting events like the Olympics and Super Bowl. Previously, she drove innovative strategies at Caleres, crafted campaigns for brands like Nike and Expedia at ExactTarget (including producing the first email marketing music video), and spent a decade consulting on best practices in email and digital marketing.
Previous Stefan Pollard Email Marketer of the Year Winners
- 2023: Kelly Haggard, Synchrony
- 2022: Tracy Smith, Cicso
- 2021: Scott Cohen, Purple
- 2020: Sandra Cordero, Torrid
- 2019: Kait Creamer, Scaled Agile, Inc.
- 2018: Alice Li, Shutterstock
- 2017: Genevieve Longtin, Sharecare
- 2016: Jeanne Jones, Alaska Airlines
- 2015: Alessandra Souers, JibJab
- 2014: Zack Notes, UncommonGoods
- 2013: Sal Tripi, Publishers Clearing House
- 2012: Meg Reynolds, REI
- 2011: Loren McDonald, IBM Marketing Cloud
Email Marketer Thought Leader of the Year Award
This highly coveted award is given to a vendor-side marketer who exemplifies the best and brightest in the email marketing industry, embodying thought leadership, service, innovation, vision, and influence.
Congratulations to the 2024 Email Marketer Thought Leader of the Year, Karen Talavera, founder and principal of Synchronicity Marketing.
A key figure in the industry, Ms. Talavera has significantly influenced e-commerce revenue growth and email marketing performance across various sectors, including DTC, financial services, travel, health care, retail, and technology. She also serves as co-chair of the ANA Email Excellence Center, enhancing the field through her leadership and expertise.
Previous Email Marketer Thought Leader of the Year Winners
- 2023: Ryan Phelan, RPEOrigin
- 2022: Dela Quist, Alchemy Worx
- 2021: Kath Pay, Holistic Email Marketing
- 2020: Simms Jenkins, BrightWave
- 2019: Matthew Vernhout, 250ok
- 2018: Chad White, Litmus
- 2017: David Daniels, The Relevancy Group
- 2016: David Baker, Cordial
- 2015: Justine Jordan, Litmus
- 2014: Dennis Dayman, Return Path
Email Excellence Center Awards Subcommittee
Co-Chair
Jose Cebrian
Merkle
Co-Chair
Ryan Phelan
RPE Origin
Scott Cohen
InboxArmy
Heather Curcio
AARP
Brad Gurley
MessageGears
Guilda Hilaire
Salesforce
Kath Pay
Holistic Email Marketing
Gretchen Scheiman
Alchemy Worx
Tracy Smith
Ascend Marketing
Tink Taylor
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