who

Macdara MacColl is a cyber pioneer who has spent the last eight years finding the perfect harmony between work and family. maccoll.communication design is an integral part of that balance.

She brings to the business a wealth of professional experience. Macdara spent four years at iVillage, where she spearheaded iVillage's interactive community development. As Vice President of Member Services and Marketing, she developed and implemented iVillage's member initiatives, including member acquisition and retention and network service development. She guided iVillage's work in relationship marketing with its members, marrying traditional marketing with the new opportunities presented by online community. She also built Parent Soup's website and served as managing director of the brand. Under her leadership, Parent Soup received many awards, including the Yahoo Internet Life 5-Start award. She developed and launched several of iVillage's interactive tools, such as personal home pages.

Macdara frequently speaks about online marketing, business development and community programming. In 1997, Macdara was asked to speak at the White House as part of the Clinton administration's announcement of its e-commerce policy paper. She shared the podium with President Clinton, Vice President Albert Gore and then IBM CEO Louis Gerstner.

Vinton Cerf invited her to serve on MCI's Safe Surfing Workshop series, and she served on the Markle Foundation's Email For All advisory panel. She has been a featured expert in many articles, including in Fast Company, Washington Technology and The New York Times.

Macdara consulted with The Basex Group, serving as senior analyst in charge of community programming. In this capacity, she conducted industry-leading research in the area of virtual community building and its impact on business.

She also served as Marketing Director for R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT. In addition to e-marketing initiatives, Macdara oversaw traditional marketing efforts and developed new products for Connecticut's premier independent bookseller.

She contributes her time and energy to the Connecticut Shoreline community, building pro-bono websites for organizations such as the Madison Democratic Town Committee, the Madison Newcomers Club and other not-for-profits.