Myrthe Naparstek, President and Managing Director
Joanne M. Grychowski, Director, Strategic Projects
Christopher Jensen, Director, Information Technology
Santi Vitayaudom, Director, Creative Development
James Paul Valancius, Legal Counsel and Accounting Advisor

Janet Hamilton, Senior Meetings Manager and Prescribed Dining®
Jenna Joerger, Meetings Registrar
Brooke Kortanek, Meetings Registrar

Myrthe uses her expertise and years of experience to assist our clients in developing, managing, and staging meetings and events, as well as liaising with the advisors. She is the primary contact for our clients and directs all new business.

Myrthe has over 25 years of experience in medical communications, nationally and internationally. Myrthe has broad experience in the pharmaceutical industry, in convention/meetings management and as a manager of medical education. She directed Convention/Meetings Management for both Bayer and Abbott Laboratories. Myrthe’s expertise also includes working with major medical schools in the US on the development and staging of CME programs. Although not an accredited CME Provider herself, Myrthe has worked on numerous CME programs (within different disease areas) with CME departments throughout the US, and has, over the past 20 years, established an excellent relationship with them.

Myrthe is a consultant and member of MATEP (Midwest AIDS Training and Education Partnership) and consultant to both the NAAETC (National Association of AIDS Education and Training Centers) and The Global Partnership for AIDS Provider Education. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Mental Health Association from 1998-2001.

Myrthe’s formal education includes a business degree from Zurich, Switzerland, in Public Relations and Advertising. Myrthe also attended the University of Michigan and SUNY at Buffalo, NY, and holds both an MA (humanities) and an MEd degree.

Joanne works directly with our clients on various aspects of program development, management, and progress reporting. She is responsible for leading the efforts of the MedEd-Link team in logistical planning, audience generation, client satisfaction, and management of onsite activities.

Joanne has over 10 years of experience leading marketing programs and operational efforts for various Technology, Medical, and Financial Clients as an Independent Marketing and Business Strategy Consultant (2000 to 2005). She also served as Director of Marketing at Anobi Technology (1996 to 2000). Joanne joined out team full-time as a Strategic Project Director in 2005. Today, Joanne is an integral part of the MedEd-Link team, directing project focus to deliver effective results efficiently, on time and within budget.

Joanne graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a dual degree in finance and marketing. She also holds an entrepreneurial certification focused on the operational needs of emerging businesses and new product development strategy.

Chris develops and maintains the technology infrastructure MedEd-Link uses to produce and manage meetings. He also oversees report generation, mailing fulfillment, web application development, server management and database operations. Chris works closely with our clients to customize web and database applications to fulfill their particular requirements.

Chris has worked with MedEd-Link since December of 2004. He has been developing data management applications and technology infrastructure for 8 years.

Santi supervises the creative development of all print and web design and oversees audio visual and media technology management during events. Multimedia support and design for our on-line registration and meetings information site will also be provided by Santi in his capacity as Art Director of MedEd-Link.

Santi has 10 years experience working in the media technologies arena. Having received a B.A in Interactive Multimedia and Marketing from Columbia College in Chicago, he has a broad education and strong work experience in Graphic and Web Design, Sound Production, Video and Film Production, and Writing. The breadth and depth of his skills enable him to manage and facilitate a great variety of creative and technical projects.

James is primarily responsible for compliance by Med-Ed Link Inc. with FDA and IRS rules and regulations and corporate client compliance guidelines. James is additionally responsible for the review of all Professional Services Agreements entered into with various physicians and the confidential and secure retention of all such documents.

James graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1984. Prior thereto, he earned his undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Illinois in 1981 and passed his CPA examination that summer. After graduating from law school in 1984, James served as an associate at two major Chicago law firms before starting his own legal, tax and accounting practice in 1990.

Janet leads the MedEd-Link, Inc. Prescribed Dinning® Program, an exclusive service offered by MedEd-Link that pairs our network of unique dining venues with client dinner programs, guaranteeing full compliance with all pharmaceutical regulations.

Janet has been involved in the hospitality and restaurant business for over 6 years with a focus on catering to pharmaceutical clients. She has undergone extensive compliance training and is knowledgeable on all compliance issues and current trends in the food and beverage industry.

Janet holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Marketing from Colombia College in Chicago. She continues to pursue her interest in the culinary arts as a participant in extensive restaurant tours throughout Italy, Germany, France, and the Middle East.

Jenna works directly with our hotel partners to ensure that all rooming blocks are managed correctly and that attendees receive appropriate and comfortable accommodations. Jenna is a valued member of our team and has a unique understanding of the specialized needs of our clients’ target market.

Brooke orchestrates logistical initiatives for client programs and acts as a liaison with third-party vendors. Brooke has been an integral part of the MedEd-Link, Inc. team focusing on the particular needs of the pharmaceutical and medical communities.

Our onsite meetings and events are always managed by at least one member of our full time staff. However, to ensure that the high quality of service that we aim to provide in the office is maintained onsite, MedEd-Link employs a supplementary onsite management team.

Each of our onsite employees is widely experienced in the healthcare or hospitality industry, or both. Additionally, onsite employees receive periodic training to ensure that they are kept abreast of the latest issues and developments in compliance, and in the medical communications field generally. We are confident that these individuals will be a valued asset to your meeting or event, as they are to our organization.