RR&A Team

Robert E. Russell, Jr.
Founder and President
Mr. Russell founded Robert Russell & Associates in 1976, a marketing and financial services and consulting firm devoted to strengthening non-profit organizations and small businesses, particularly those devoted to Free Market principles. The firm has worked with over three hundred organizations around the world, and received awards and recognition particularly for specialized market research, marketing, strategy development, and fundraising programs and campaigns. He was named Counselor to the President at The Heritage Foundation in 1983 and since that time has provided strategic marketing and financial direction and services to the organization. He is a popular speaker and seminar leader in marketing, financing, and institutional and small business growth strategies. A graduate of Wabash College, he pursued graduate studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Following service in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps, Russell began his marketing career with Armstrong Cork Company. He later gained institutional experience as a member of the corporate team which built the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, prior to launching RR&A. He has served on the Boards of The Heartland Institute, Philadelphia Society, Friends of Marva Collins Foundation, National Association of Wabash Men, Mayors Commission of Geneva (IL), National Results Council, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, and Associates of Hillsdale College. Russell resides in Geneva, IL. He and his wife, Ruth Ellen, have two children and three grandchildren.

Joe E. Clark
Senior Advisor
His business career spanned three decades with the Monsanto Company, headquartered in St. Louis. At Monsanto, Joe had responsibility for the well being of over 13,000 employees as Director of Human Resources and advanced to Vice President of Human Resources and Administration of The NutraSweet Company, Deerfield, IL, a Monsanto Division. Upon retirement, Joe led the Illinois Family Institute and a four state region for Marketplace Chaplains, USA. Joe's involvement in school boards, charities, churches, public policy organizations, and coalitions focuses on bettering our society and helping those least able to help themselves. With a B.S. in Economics and M.B.A in Finance from Texas Tech University, Joe also has Certificates in Fund Raising Management from Indiana University and Northwestern's Kellogg School. He served as a U.S. Army Captain in the Special Forces Reserves. Joe and his wife Cheryl have one son, Travis.

Ann C. Fitzgerald
Senior Associate
Ann has twenty years of experience in sales, management, fundraising, publishing, and marketing. She has directly supervised large, multi-function teams as well as small groups specializing in these areas. She was a key catalyst in launching the original Townhall.com site for The Heritage Foundation in the mid-1990's and subsequently went on to become their Director of Development. Ms. Fitzgerald is currently president of A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates, a national consulting firm providing business solutions for charities and other non-profit organizations. Its principal goal is to help client organizations achieve their vision by developing strategies to increase income and effectiveness. Ms. Fitzgerald is a graduate of The Catholic University of America. She started her career at BNA Software, a division of the publishing company the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. Later she joined the parent company and worked in both sales and marketing roles. Ms. Fitzgerald regularly writes and speaks on fundraising, systems management, proposal writing, donor relations, and prospect research.

Ryan Green
Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Ryan has developed the unique methods, systems, and technology that mark the high accuracy and focus of RR&A's market studies. His skills run a wide gamut of software and hardware integration. Additionally, he serves as liaison to clients on behalf of market study formulation and results. Ryan's other contributions are in management, finance, and graphics. An Information Technology Management major at DeVry University, he was formerly with Commonwealth Edison Company prior to joining RR&A in 2001.

Susan Jackson Keig
Associate
An internationally recognized graphic designer, Susan was an art director and designer for leading graphic firms and publishers before undertaking her independent practice. Mrs. Keig also taught at the University of Kentucky and the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. She has designed exhibits which are housed across the United States, including the J.B. Speed Art Museum in Louisville and the American Institute of Graphic Arts in New York. Among more than 160 awards in national and international competition, she has received the Medal for Outstanding Distinction in Graphic Arts from the Philadelphia Art Directors Club. Cited as one of twelve outstanding women in graphic arts by Champion Papers, Susan was listed in the original editions of Twenty-Seven Chicago Designers. She graduated from the University of Kentucky, and has done advanced study at Northwestern University.

Kristen K. Larson
Director of Administration
Kristen represents RR&A in communications, marketing, and special events in addition to her management and administrative responsibilities. It is not unusual to find Kristen on temporary assignments with clients, extending their marketing, communications, development, and special events staffs on special projects. A Ball State University alumna, Kristen served on the administration of the University of Illinois-Chicago and with Comcast, Inc. prior to joining the RR&A team.

John B. Sieg
Senior Associate
John is a general management professional with broad leadership, consulting and teaching experience, proven results in marketing and business strategy, and a successful manager of change, with effective and innovative skills in communications, team building, and systematic problem solving. John spent 30 years with Ford Motor Company. After retiring from Ford in 1999 as a senior marketing executive, he served as Vice President, Marketing and Communication for Cambridge Industries, Inc. Since 2000, John has also served Brook Furniture Rental, Inc. as its Interim Chief Marketing Officer, and taught as an Adjunct Professor of Marketing for Lawrence Technological University and Oakland University. In 2003, John also became Strategic Marketing Adviser for The Heritage Foundation. John holds several degrees including an MBA in Marketing from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management where he graduated with distinction as an Austin Scholar. He also earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern as well as an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan.

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