Gretchen W. Stokes is a veteran business development and marketer who has extensive trade association experience dedicated to leading change and driving organizational excellence. At SMC Business Councils, Stokes will perform the lead role for membership acquisition and growth and create new opportunities to ensure that SMC Business Councils remains the leader in providing Pennsylvania small businesses with the services and products needed to ensure their growth. She will report to Tom Henschke, SMC Business Councils president.

Before her tenure at SMC Business Councils, Stokes was internal sales director at Leed’s, responsible for the strategic and operational objectives of a global team responsible for $180 million in sales. She has been trade show business unit director and held other positions at the Society of Automotive and Aerospace Engineers International, where she developed the strategic direction for the organization’s 25 international technical trade shows; business development manager for the Air & Waste Management Association; and most recently was a project consultant for Medrad Inc., where she applied Six Sigma methodology to marketing and sales initiatives.

She earned a B.A. in communications from the Pennsylvania State University.