Staffs of smaller and mid-size associations must often feel like they have entered the Olympic decathlon. Assigned to handle 10 very different tasks, they probably excel at a few, are O.K. at a few more and survive the rest.

Expecting a small staff to perform like Olympic decathletes just isn't realistic. Or necessary. Our management team brings together decades of association, membership, finance, marketing and technology expertise.

With Virtual, instead of a person or small staff struggling to cover everything, you get a skilled team of specialists, managed by seasoned professionals and supported by the most advanced tools and technologies for managing association business operations and performance.

As our clients would tell you, going "Virtual" is frequently a more cost-effective approach to operations management, even in cases where an association has used a traditional staffing model for decades.

Bruce launched Virtual in 1999 after a decade of building and running an award-winning public relations firm. He has provided leadership and counsel to associations in technology and other industry sectors and has worked with founders to launch more than a dozen industry associations from scratch. Under his leadership, Virtual's client programs have garnered more than 35 national and international awards for management, marketing and communications excellence. Before launching his PR firm, Bruce worked for global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller and managed corporate public relations for Lotus Development Corp. He has a bachelor's degree from Colby College and a master's degree with distinction from Boston University.

Andy oversees Virtual's client teams, service quality and management practices. He has more than 15 years of experience working with associations, non-profits and political organizations and has run a wide range of organizations from small startups to multi-million dollar organizations, with members spread throughout the globe. With Virtual for the past five years, he previously served as Vice President and CIO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association. He is a graduate of Harvard College and received his master's in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Matt Bourn has 15 years of experience in information systems and process architecture. Working in both small and large team environments, he has developed and reengineered enterprise-level systems in the distribution, resource management, and financial sectors. Matt obtained his Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration and Information Systems from California State University Fresno.

Paula Berger brings a rare combination of communications skill and technical acumen to Virtual's client programs. She has 25 years of experience in communication, specializing in information design and delivery for online and print media. From 1982 to 2001, she ran Solutions, a technical communication consultancy she co-founded. Her clients ranged from Fortune 500 companies to small high-tech startups, and her staff consisted of up to 55 communication professionals working all over the world. Paula majored in Planetary Physics at MIT. She is a Fellow and Immediate Past President of the Society for Technical Communication

Janice is responsible for overseeing all aspects of membership operations, managing Virtual people and processes and ensuring conformance with industry best practices and service quality. Janice joined Virtual in 2000, following a decade of program management experience. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame, where she was a member of the 1987 NCAA Championship fencing team and a two-time NCAA All American.

Ruth has two decades of technology sector public and industry analyst relations experience. She has worked for technology companies and PR firms and before joining Virtual ran her own PR practice for more than a decade. Ruth has worked with C-level executives to establish brand recognition, increase sales leads, generate positive media coverage, and build customer references. Corporate clients have included EMC, Forrester Research, HP, Imprivata, Juniper Networks, Lotus Development and Sun Microsystems. Ruth holds a bachelor’s degree summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Boston College.

Patti started working with Bruce in 1999 helping to identify and launch dozens of industry associations. Today, Patti continues to develop relationships with consortia in their formidable stages and helps to outline and project the best possible solutions for their start-up needs. Previous to her work with Virtual, Patti was Director of Business Development for the Delahaye Group, now MediaLink, an international communications measurement company. Before moving to New England, she worked in NYC for Saatchi & Saatchi, Chiat/Day and Levine, Huntley, Schmidt and Beaver. Patti is a graduate of Emerson College.

Suzanne has more than a dozen years of marketing, advertising, event, project management, and membership relations experience in several industries, including medical, information and consumer technology sectors. Before joining Virtual, Suzanne was responsible for member relations for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Massachusetts.

Terry oversees all client financial operations, including budgeting, AR and AP management and work with outside auditors. She has more than 20 years of finance, accounting and management experience for a broad range of organizations, from startups to multi-billion-dollar multinational corporations. She has worked extensively with independent accounting firms, including both the nation's largest and smaller, more specialized firms, and has a thorough knowledge of GAAP. Previously, Terry managed a multi-geographic staff of 60-plus and an annual budget of more than $6 million. She attended Northeastern University, majoring in accounting.

Clare provides day to day operational oversight of several clients, provides leadership to internal teams, and counsels clients to foster their growth. She has ten years of association experience, including serving as director of membership for a health care trade association where she gained valuable experience in all aspects of association management. Clare also has political and governmental experience, having served as a Congressional Aide for several years. She earned a bachelor's degree from Fordham University.

Martha oversees operations for the nearly 100 live conferences, special events, meetings and Web and audio conferences our clients hold each year. Before joining Virtual, she was an event manager with Reebok International, where she managed a wide variety of high-profile meetings, news conferences, expositions and other events. She has a strong background with trade associations, having previously been responsible for meeting planning and communications for a Washington, DC-based association. Martha is a graduate of Colby College.