Our Team
We’re not Birkenstock wearing tree-huggers. We’re a lot like the Mainstream Consumer we constantly speak to and study. So, each of the bios below from our leadership team includes some insight into how we each struggle to be green – just like your target customers.
Suzanne Shelton, President and CEO
Suzanne embodies the meaning of the phrase “go-getter.” She started Shelton Group at age 23 with only $2,000 in seed money (thanks to Dad), and, since then, her personal motivation and ambition has shaped Shelton Group from a one-woman copywriting firm to the national consultancy we are today.
Suzanne is responsible for the vision and successful management of the company. She directly manages our marketing efforts, voraciously reading news items and research about the consumer mindset on energy efficiency and sustainability. She speaks at over 20 conferences a year, blogs regularly on our Web site and works directly with our research team on our proprietary studies. She also supervises the agency’s directors, supporting them in their efforts so each department excels. Drawing on her extensive knowledge of the industry, Suzanne provides unparalleled strategic insights for our clients from a bird’s-eye view.
Suzanne as a mainstream green consumer: “I am a green-leaning mainstream consumer, just like those we watch behind the focus group glass. Here’s the evidence:
- I have an elaborate recycling system set up at the top of my basement steps, right off my kitchen. I dutifully take 8 buckets of sorted recyclables to the recycling center every two weeks. But I haven’t started composting, so all my coffee grounds, table scraps, and fruit and veggie peels are going in the trash. Like most consumers, I’m frozen up by not knowing which composting system to buy. There’s a huge range of options at all different price points. I have no idea how to get it right, and I haven’t actually done much work to investigate it. It’s on that guilt-ridden to-do list in the back of my mind.
- I’m embarrassed to admit this, but even though I put in the highest seer HVAC system, dual flush toilets, a tankless water heater and extra insulation in my last house remodel (I’m on number 5), I did not buy an ENERGY STAR® refrigerator. The built-in stainless steel non-ES model was about $800-1,000 less expensive, and I was already so over budget from those other items. So ultimately… I caved.
- Lastly, I have to admit, I hate my tankless water heater and will only buy one again if I can design the space so the water heater lives right next to my shower. Now it’s in the basement and has to travel to the third floor to heat my shower. The water seems to run forever before it gets warm, and I feel guilty that all that water is going to waste every time I bathe. Plus, the darn thing was $800, and the part most consumers don’t know, including me at the time, is that you have to pay somebody another $800 to install it and run the gas lines to it. So I wound up with a $1,600 expense compared to what I think is usually like a $600–800 expense. I’m still a little miffed about that.”
Adam Kustin, Vice President, Client Consultation
Adam Kustin is a natural-born leader. Adam’s career began at Sensormatic Electronics. After spearheading the development and implementation security technology, Adam left Sensormatic and joined Sunbeam, where he ultimately became Director of Product Development of the Health Division. After leaving Sunbeam, he built his corporate marketing skills as the VP of Marketing for both Xcelerate and Hitachi Consulting. Soon after, Adam made the leap to the agency side and led a turn-around at a sports marketing company, transforming it into a niche strategy and sales development agency. Adam has served as president of Kelley Swofford Roy, an 18-person agency in Miami and Vice President, Client Services at Starmark, a 60-person agency in Fort Lauderdale. At Shelton Group, Adam heads the Client Consultation department by collaborating with clients and leading our team of client consultants to develop effective marketing tactics that grow our clients’ businesses and propel objectives forward. Specifically, he partners in the research, insight and creative process to craft incisive positioning and client marketing plans, and he runs the client consultation department so that clients are served both strategically and tactically.
Adam as a mainstream green consumer:
“My green activities revolve around ensuring that my family recycles. My wife and I work with our sons to teach them to respect the environment. For instance, they no longer need to be told to turn off the water when they brush their teeth—instead they remind me. They also know what it means to be an “energy hog”, and they understand the clear message contained in The Lorax.”
Lee Ann Head, Vice President, Research
After a long career in the unpredictable world of bank marketing, it’s pretty safe to say that Lee Ann Head is prepared for anything. For over 11 years, Lee Ann successfully analyzed enough quantitative and qualitative findings to prepare her for a position as Shelton Group’s Vice President, Research. Everyday Lee Ann makes sense of all primary and secondary projects with her strategic input and incisive direction. Lee Ann is the one responsible for the valuable surveys, focus groups and analyses that really take us inside the consumer’s head. Growing up in the Atlanta area, Lee Ann received her Bachelor’s in Communications from the Shorter College, graduating Summa Cum Laude. After graduating, she pursued her education further and received an M.M.C. from U.G.A. in Advertising, a Certification in Qualitative Analysis from the Burke Institute, completed AMA Applied Research Methods Courses in Advanced Segmentation, and finished Conjoint Analysis and Discrete Choices Techniques. Today, Lee Ann oversees all of our primary and secondary research projects to provide strategic input for incisive marketing and communications direction. She also designs and conducts quantitative surveys for our clients using a variety of techniques in addition to performing interviews and focus groups for qualitative analysis.
Lee Ann as a mainstream green consumer:
“I would say I'm environmentally responsible. I turn off the lights, keep the thermostat set at 68 in the winter, switched to CFLs and recycle plastics, glass and cardboard. However, we recently had to replace our HVAC system and the higher efficiency unit cost $3,000 more. If we had planned to live in our home another ten years, I would have done it. But we most likely aren't, so I bought the cheaper system. I just couldn't make the ROI work. I worry about CO2 emissions, but I also have to worry about making financially sound decisions for my family.”
Larry Washington, Vice President, Creative
From insurance to fried chicken, Larry Washington has worked on it all and has the awards to prove it. You may have seen some of his groundbreaking work in Print, Communication Arts, Archive, Creativity, Adweek and AdCritic. Hailing from Virginia, Larry received a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management from Freed-Hardeman University (which he will tell you he only uses when breaking strikes). Larry attributes learning all he needed to know from Portfolio Center where he received his Art Direction degree. Larry has thrived in advertising for more than 14 years, working at various ad agencies from New England to Knoxville. As Shelton Group’s Vice President, Creative, Larry leads creative brainstorms and oversees copywriters, graphic designers, art directors and a stable of freelancers during creative development. Larry also communicates strategies in-house and to clients. According to Larry, “I don’t really build ad campaigns. I start bandwagons. If you look behind you and see the bandwagon filling up, it’s time to get off and start a new one.”
Larry as a mainstream green consumer:
“I’m just like most other folks. I’m not that mega-green guy, I know that the things I do affect my world and my wallet. That’s why I love marketing energy efficiency and sustainability to the average consumer—because I am right there. I recycle, but I like the heat turned up in the winter. I want to insulate my house, but I don’t feel like I can afford it yet. I do know that screaming “GO GREEN!” to the average consumer will cause the opposite effect that you really want. To change the thinking and behavior of the mainstream consumer, you’d better be able to speak his or her language.”
Karen Barnes, Director of Insight
After growing up in North Carolina, Karen got her Bachelor’s in English Literature from Hollins College in Roanoke, VA and her Master’s in Journalism and Public Affairs from American University in Washington D.C. To feed her passion for politics, she interned with ABC News correspondent Ann Compton at the White House in January 1990. Since then she’s done it all: copywriting, account direction, strategic planning, producer for radio, video, TV and even quoted printing. Karen is a veteran of several agencies including Mullen, Woodbine, and Wildfire, and has worked across numerous categories including healthcare, banking, food and beverage, telecom, home improvement, and many others. Her experience as a jack-of-all-trades gave her deep intuition and knowledge about the role of the consumer. As Director of Insight for Shelton Group, Karen is our voice of the consumer. She knows them inside and out—what they love and hate, what they say they do versus what they actually do, what they believe in, what they fear and ultimately what motivates them to action. Awards include: Effie Award for marketing effectiveness, The One Show, Print, Graphis and National Addy awards.
Karen as a mainstream green consumer:
“I purchase blocks of renewable energy from my local utility and try to keep my thermostat colder than I would like in the winter. My biggest green sin is still driving an SUV. But I telecommute 3 days a week to help offset that carbon footprint. I also shred my bills, and collect shredded paper from my friends, family and former agencies, and give it to the North Carolina Zoo where it goes to the monkeys who make their beds out of the shredded paper. Then it gets recycled. I call this ‘Monkey Love”.