July 17, 2019 – The Marketing Research Education Foundation (MREF) is pleased to announce that it has hired Andra Davidson as executive director, effective immediately. Andra is a strategic marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience utilizing communications to tell stories and enhance brand impact. Most recently, she was the vice president of marketing & events at JEWISHcolorado, which raises approximately $8M/year to support the Jewish community in Colorado and abroad. Her career has focused on work with non-profits, many in the education sector, and she is excited to bring her expertise to MREF.
In her role as executive director, Andra will work closely with the board of directors to increase awareness of the foundation’s work, grow its network of supporters, and ultimately offer educational opportunities to more children around the world.
Since 2015, MREF has provided more than $125,000 in grants to nonprofits in the United States and Haiti, each of which is uniquely committed to improving access to education in its local community. MREF is committed to mobilizing the marketing research community to take action to provide children everywhere with better access to education. To that end, the foundation raises and grants money to organizations around the country, hosts volunteer service days, and has organized several fund-raising awareness-building trips to Haiti to visit one of its grant recipients, The Joseph School. Participants on this trip have cited it as life-changing, and nearly every participant is now an active donor of MREF.
“Our industry has already shown that we can come together to make a difference – and now we have someone on board who will help increase awareness of our efforts so we can scope of our work and our impact,” said Steve Schlesinger, Chair of the Board of MREF.
Companies in the marketing research industry are invited to contact Andra Davidson to learn more about sponsorships, service days and additional opportunities to get involved in the foundation. She can be reached at Andra@MRGivesBack.org, or via phone, 903.484.MREF.