The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) today announced a trio of newly promoted vice presidents: Kara Dickerson to vice president, strategic partnerships and conferences; Ellen Savage to vice president, membership programs; and Tyler Suiters to vice president, communications. All three previously held senior director titles under the same departments.
“Kara, Ellen, and Tyler each exemplify the best of CTA. They have demonstrated numerous successes with new and/or expanded duties and responsibilities, and have a history of serving as an example to their colleagues for their creativity, passion, commitment to excellence and teamwork, and embodying our core values,” said CTA president and CEO Gary Shapiro. “These promotions recognize their continued contributions to our association and our industry. It is a great pleasure and honor to work with such exceptional individuals.”
Dickerson oversees keynotes and conference programs for CES, the world’s largest innovation event, and CES Asia, as well as programming for all of CTA’s standalone conferences and events. She is a 15-year veteran of CTA, joining the association as a manager in the membership department before being named senior director, conferences and strategic relationships in 2009. Previously, Dickerson served as director of communications for the National Burglar & Fire Alarm Association where she was a spokesperson and editor of the association’s monthly publication. Prior to that, she served as special assistant to the senior policy advisor at MCI Communications Corporation. Dickerson began her professional career in the Communications Department of the Office of the vice president of the United States where she helped organize press events and set up interviews for the vice president. Dickerson is a graduate of the University of Delaware where she received a bachelor of arts degree in mass communications with a concentration in public relations. She received the Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) designation earlier this year.
Savage joined CTA in 2006 as a senior manager of member programs, and was promoted to director in 2011, and then senior director of the department in 2013. In her new capacity, Savage will continue to supervise all of CTA’s membership programs as well as the association’s membership recruitment and retention efforts. Prior to joining CTA, Savage served as senior manager, sales support with Covad Communications where she helped manage a portfolio of accounts responsible for billing $30 million annually and helped launch new product offerings with Covad’s customers. Savage previously served as manager of association services for the Association of Local Telecommunications Services and worked in development and recruitment for a number of educational institutions including Georgetown University and Marywood University. Savage earned her bachelor of arts in mass communications from Bloomsburg University. She is a Project Management Institute certified project manager and became a Certified Association Executive (CAE) in 2016.
Suiters directs CTA’s strategic communications efforts related to public policy, thought leadership, and product category promotions. He arrived at CTA with extensive experience in broadcast journalism and strategic communications, most recently serving as vice president, international affairs with Edelman Worldwide prior to joining CTA as senior director, communications in 2013. Suiters was the chief correspondent and anchor for energyNow!, a nationally broadcast TV program covering world energy policy on the Bloomberg network, and served as a freelance national correspondent for CBS Newspath in Washington, DC, after working as main anchor for KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City, OK, where he was a Murrow Award winner and an Emmy nominee. Previously, he served as an anchor and reporter for several network affiliates across the United States. He received his bachelor of arts in journalism from Washington & Lee University, graduating cum laude.
