Board Members
Theresa Bassett - President
Theresa Bassett is the CEO of a locally-based national digital marketing and sales enablement agency, business coach, and author.
Theresa grew up in a family familiar with hard work, creativity, and a get-it-done attitude. Her experience stems from a decade of sales and marketing training for Fortune 500 companies where she specialized in sales and marketing, advertising, real estate, personal development, and training.
She transferred her business development acumen and passion for professional and personal development into entrepreneurship, launching her own coaching agency and joining her husband in their marketing and advertising agency, The Diamond Group.
As an executive leader, proven sales and marketing expert, speaker, author and entrepreneur, Theresa has personally produced over $360M in sales and has successfully navigated a variety of economic cycles.
Theresa enjoys helping companies grow and amplify their unique brands, using their proven process called Momentum. At the core of her mission, she believes that what it takes for you and your organization to be 100% healthy matters, that with grace you can co-create anything you truly decide to, and that every day is a gift, an opportunity, and an awesome privilege and responsibility.
Website link: https://www.diamond-group.co/
Abram Bryan – Secretary
Heir Media is a family-owned and operated, full-service media production and creative agency. Our mission is to provide custom and creative solutions for our clients through book publishing, video production, brand design, and more. Call us today and build your brand a lasting legacy.
Website link: https://heirmedia.net/
Tony Caggiano - Treasurer
Tony Caggiano, known to many as The ADA Comply Guy, of ADA Comply Guy Inc. and the Founding Member of The NonProfit, Web Accessibility Awareness Foundation, has a long history of Philanthropy and giving back to help others in need.
Tony has been involved with various groups including the Special Olympics and the United Way over the years and having two children of his own with special needs, has heightened his awareness for the need to give back.
In 2019, having an entrepreneurial spirit and a background in the IT industry, he was building a fundraising mobile app to help local schools in NC. When this project was shelved in early 2020 due to to the covid-19 pandemic, he stumbled upon a new opportunity to fill a void to help make the Internet more Accessible for people of all abilities.
He found that the urgency was extreme because, even today, less than 2% of all websites provide any accessibility for people with disabilities. Seeing this huge need, he found his calling and started his journey to educate businesses on the importance of this new law and to help them avoid non-warranted legal issues just because they were unaware of a new regulation.
His mission has quickly became one of an advocate for both the Disabled Community and for unaware business owners helping them qualify for government funding helping to make the entire Internet Accessible to people of ALL Abilities, one website at a time.
Website link: https://ADAComplyGuy.com
Blake Baxendell – Vice President of Events
Blake Baxendell is a seasoned marketing executive with over two decades of industry experience. His career began in a technical role, where he honed his skills as a programmer for local agencies, ultimately ascending to Head Programmer.Transitioning to the strategic side, Blake excelled as a Chief Marketing Officer before founding Wahha Design.
With a proven track record in driving digital marketing success, he has rapidly established his agency as a valuable partner to its clients. In addition to leading Wahha Design, Blake offers fractional CMO services to help businesses and agencies expand their marketing impact.When not immersed in the world of marketing, Blake enjoys spending quality time with his wife and two children along with playing video games to relax.
Website link: https://wahhadesign.com/
Jack Fleming – Vice President of Social Media
North Carolina born and bred Jack Fleming grew up in Asheville, NC. From a young age Jack has had an entrepreneurial spirit. From using old road signs to gather interest during a lemonade stand, or using a bike and a backpack to deliver groceries to a neighbor's house, Jack always had ideas.
Those ideas carried over to leadership roles. While in high school, Jack achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Jack’s leadership and drive didn’t stop there. While in college, Jack started the UNCW CrossFit Club and Team, and volunteered with Young Life. Faith, health, and a continued eagerness to learn reflect how Jack lives out his life, in and out of business.Jack started Socialry Marketing LLC after graduating from UNCW.
Inspired from his time whitewater kayaking in high school and making documentary style videos, Jack wanted to combine his love of content production and entrepreneurship.
The name Socialry was conceived during an entrepreneurship project his junior year of college. By combining the words Chivalry and Social, Jack wanted his business name to reflect those words, offering kind and courteous social media services to businesses. Socialry offers social media management services.
Since establishment in January of 2020, Socialry has helped startups to medium sized companies. Schools, gyms, mechanics, non-profits, realtors, coaches, store owners, and others have worked with Socialry to boost brand awareness, build trust, and drive sales.
Website link:https://wahhadesign.com/
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Derek Schmidt – Vice President of Membership
Derek Schmidt is the Founder of SWELL Systems, Inc., a SaaS company based in Wilmington, NCn and DesignLoud, Inc., a digital marketing and web design agency.
Since 2011, DesignLoud has worked with hundreds of brands, including notable names like the Atlanta Falcons, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Allstate, through expert website conversations, marketing, and business strategies. Under Derek’s leadership, DesignLoud has consistently grown its revenue each year and bootstrapped the company to a 7-figure agency.
Alongside his wife, Kirsten Lovan, Derek also owns “Occasions… Just Write,” a beloved stationery and gift shop in downtown Wilmington. Derek is a recognized industry expert, frequently speaking at conferences, appearing on podcasts, and volunteering with organizations such as UNCW Center For Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Cape Fear Community College Small Business Center.
He also hosts the Entrepreneur Bootcamp Podcast, where he fosters a community of small business owners and fellow marketing professionals.
Website link: https://designloud.com/
