Allison Werder is the Assistant Dean of Marketing & Communications and Chief Marketing Officer at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member, teaching an undergraduate course in Brand Strategy each semester.

Before joining Isenberg, Allison built a multifaceted career in media, working with major national brands in New York City, including People and Money at Time Inc., as well as Condé Nast/Advance Media. She later served as President of MassLive Media, where she helped lead the organization’s growth into the largest news and information website in New England.

Allison is deeply engaged in the Western Massachusetts entrepreneurship ecosystem. She co-founded WIT: Women Innovators and Trailblazers, a funding and mentoring organization supporting women-led startups and served as a founding board member of Valley Venture Mentors, the region’s startup accelerator and a partner of Isenberg’s Berthiaume Center on the Collegiate Summer Venture Program. As an angel investor, she has advised and backed multiple early-stage startups across the region.

Earlier in her career, Allison held roles in corporate finance, transportation planning, and political consulting. She has run for public office and served on numerous regional boards and charitable organizations.

A native of Western Pennsylvania, Allison earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Georgetown University. She lives in Longmeadow, Massachusetts with her husband, two teenagers, a German shepherd, and a cat. On weekends, she can often be found trail running, skiing, or golfing—enthusiastically, if not always skillfully.