In 1989, Maribeth Roman Schmidt - at the time, a college grad named Maribeth Roman - became the agency's first hire when she was brought in to do some fancy-schmancy PR work. Back then, her office was a closet with a typewriter.
In 1990, Maribeth's husband accepted a job in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, and she spent the next five years commuting three hours each way to our Plymouth Meeting offices. You probably don't realize how many hours that comes out to. Neither did we, actually, until we did the math. Between 1990 and 1995, Maribeth commuted something like 7,830 hours total. (And that's to say nothing about what it cost her in miles and Barry Manilow eight-tracks.) But no doubt, it was worth it: Vault literally doubled in size, scope, and stature under her leadership.
Today, she's the President of Vault Communications. Note to self: upgrade company president from typewriter to MacBook and force her to evacuate broom closet, I mean, office.
Maribeth's belief is that PR is just one part - though a very important part - of a complete marketing program. For this reason, she maintains a strong connection to, and consideration for, the advertising strategies of each client. Maribeth works on instinct, leads by example, and gets "jazzed" whenever she sees an employee having a good day. A minor celebrity, Maribeth has been interviewed several times by PR Week, has brought home the "Best In Show" award at the Pepperpots (the Oscars of the Philly PR community) and is a proud Past-President of the Philadelphia chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
Maribeth graduated from Penn State in 1988 and holds a Master's in Education from Arcadia University. A West Norriton native, she currently lives in Gwynedd Valley, PA, with her state championship-winning high school football coach husband Mark (dare we call them a power couple?), as well as her daughter Erica and twins, Jack and Lindsey.