A former Air Force pilot, prior to joining Referential, Jerry worked at Fogdog Sports, an eCommerce online sporting goods company. From there he settled into the telecommunications industry, landing at Portal Software, then spending 13 years in Oracle’s communications industry group, and finally in the advocacy program at 8x8. Jerry views his past roles – such as Production Analyst, Curriculum Developer and Technical Instructor – as invaluable experiences that have all helped prepare him for his career in customer advocacy where he is now in his 16th year.

If you were to rewind the clock on Ryan Quackenbush (pictured right), you’d find him jumping off stages at rock concerts and singing loudly in equally loud bands. Go back a bit further, and you’ll find a young – Keanu Reeves-looking – man aspiring to write the next great American novel while studying beatniks and black mountain poets and earning a degree in literature and creative writing from an Upstate New York (NY) college. Fast forward to today, and you’ll find an established Advocacy Consultant with a track record of success in the high-tech industry and experience that he draws on to guide his clients to success.

Sara has seven years of experience working with customer advocacy programs and has been a full-time consultant with Referential since 2017. His favorite part of the job for clients is recruiting new customers into their programs. He enjoys being able to identify and leverage clients’ happiest customers, and then help them share their success with the rest of the business community.

Lillian had just two words to say when giving a brief description of her position at Referential – “fabulous job”. She’s extremely passionate about what she does, and anybody could tell that from the way she speaks about it. Lillian explained how she loves being able to work with customers and being able to share their success stories, which she says are tremendously powerful. She feels this incredible satisfaction in being able to enable her customers to feel proud of their success and help showcase their achievements. Lillian’s previous years of work prior Referential included building a number of advocacy programs from scratch. What attracted her to Referential is the strong, collaborative, and unique team. She feels she’s continuously learning and growing as an individual: Having the opportunity to try things she’s never done before, and is delighted at how much she’s enjoying it all.

Barbara has a wide variety of skills and talents that she’s amassed throughout her career and determined that her strengths are best utilized as a Senior Advocacy Consultant at Referential. Her experience in a range of business functions, as well as collaborating across various departments, makes her a valuable advisor; offering unique perspectives to aid others. She enjoys being a matchmaker for her clients: Connecting their customers with each other and ensuring they receive invitations to the activities they’ve flagged as of interest. Her ability to multitask enables her to juggle all her responsibilities, which particularly comes in handy since no two days at Referential are ever alike!

Living in Maine along with her husband, two sons, and dog – Jennifer Doyon manages to be an active Advocacy Consultant for Referential. She enjoys being able to work with multiple clients, and she especially appreciates that in her role as a consultant she can focus on her work without the distraction of corporate politics. Jennifer mentioned how people love being able to talk about what they do, and that Referential helps find them the platforms to do so: She facilitates customer interaction to help them promote the products they use. She loves meeting customer advocates at events and interviews: Being able to hear about their experiences and to learn about their industry keeps her job interesting and informative.

Working from the UK, Lynn Watts has been an Advocate Consultant with Referential for 20-years! She also assists Referential’s creative team when needed, as she has a background as a graphic designer. One of Lynn’s strongest suits is being able to talk to anyone, whether it be an executive or a sales rep or a technician. She thinks of herself as a matchmaker of the business world; working hard to find the best fitting advocates to speak to each prospect. One of her favorite aspects about work is it’s always interesting; every day is different.

Over the years working in corporate America, Regina Dawkins has gained a strong work ethic of professionalism, energy, and excitement, and she has accrued very valuable knowledge having worked in multiple business functions ranging from marketing, to HR, to finance. Almost six years ago, she came to Referential because it serves as the advocacy marketing extension she was looking for.

Regina finds the Advocacy Consultant role incredibly fulfilling because of the way it plays a strategic part in sale cycles. She finds satisfaction in running advocacy programs, and particularly enjoys request fulfillment: Matching prospects with experienced buyers, having them connect, and assisting account owners to win deals. She feels she’s constantly learning and the job delivers plenty of variety.

Alex Feber is truly a one-of-a-kind employee at Referential. He is the Communications Manager that encompasses both the video production and graphics design functions. Somehow, he manages these two jobs and is exceptionally successful in them, regularly receiving kudos for the pieces he produces. He describes himself as friendly and humorous but hardworking – which most find difficult to juggle at the same time. I’m sure his co-workers can agree and are thankful for the skills and comedy he offers. Alex didn’t forget to express his gratitude to the team and for his job. He appreciates his peers who can tag along with his sense of humor and his job that provides a creative outlet for him.