Allison Werder

Allison Werder is Assistant Dean of Marketing & Communications and Chief Marketing Officer of the Isenberg School of Management at UMass.  Prior to joining Isenberg, Allison worked primarily with media companies in New York City, including People and Money Magazines at Time Inc. and Conde Nast/Advance Media.  Most recently she was the President of MassLive Media which runs Western Massachusetts’ largest news and information website, and is the third largest news website in New England.  

Allison is also very active with the Pioneer Valley’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, having cofounded WIT: Women Innovators and Trailblazers, a funding and mentoring organization supporting women-led startups. She served as a founding board member for Valley Venture Mentors, the startup accelerator that partners with Isenberg’s Berthiaume Center on the Collegiate Summer Venture Program.  She also is an active angel investor and has invested in several early-stage start-ups across the region and is a member of two Angel Funds: River Valley Investors and the Alchemy Fund. 

Prior to Isenberg and her media career, Allison spent time in corporate finance, transportation planning and political consulting.  She’s run for political office and has been involved in numerous regional boards and charities.  She’s a Western Pennsylvania native with a bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame and an MBA from Georgetown.  

Allison currently lives in Longmeadow, MA with her husband, two children, German shepherd and cat.  On weekends she can usually be found trail running, skiing or golfing (badly).