Our Staff

Peter Easter, CAE
Chairman and Director of Government Affairs. He has been a Charlottesville resident for 44 years and has a B. A. in Economics from Dartmouth College. He is a U.S Army Veteran (1 st Lt.). He had business experience in banking, printing, and sales management prior to entering association management. He is a Certified Association Executive by the American Society of Association Executives. He was a former chairman of Albemarle County Planning Commission and former board member and member, since 1977, of the International Association of Association Management Companies. He is a member, since 1976, of the American Society of Association Executives and Virginia Society of Association Executives and member, since 1977, of the Virginia State Chamber of Commerce.

Douglas Easter
President and Lobbyist. He has a B. A. in Political Science from the University of Colorado. Upon graduation, he spent two years on the staff of Governor Gerald Baliles handling constituent affairs. He has ten years experience in sales, marketing, and management in the broadcast industry and five years experience with Easter Associates.

Laura Patterson, CPA
Vice President and Comptroller. She has a B. A. in Business from Transylvania University. Upon graduation, she spent five years as an auditor for the state of Kentucky. After moving to Virginia in 1989, she joined a Charlottesville CPA firm and for eight years specialized in auditing and preparing tax returns of 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(6) organizations. She became a full-time staff member of Easter Associates in August 1998 upon the retirement of its former comptroller who had served the company nineteen years. She has served on the board of directors of the Virginia Society of CPAs.

Symia Feggans
Accountant. Symia recently joined Easter Associates in August 2007. After graduation, Symia supervised a campus retail store at the University of Virginia. She then spent a year and a half in the tax industry with CF Hutter, Inc. preparing individual tax returns and researching and teaching tax law. Symia has a B.A. In Economics from the University of Virginia.

Ruby Seal
Office Manager. She has thirty years experience as an executive secretary, bookkeeper, and manager in a large corporation, a statewide bank, and in a small business. In addition to organizing and scheduling the administrative responsibilities for our clients, she is the administrative assistant to the chairman and president. She has been with Easter Associates Inc. for twenty years.

Christina Sandridge
Member Services Coordinator. Christina joined Easter Associates with over eight years of hotel management and hospitality industry experience. She currently works closely with all associations and members and assists them with their administrative needs, marketing mailings, database management, and more.

Mary Howell
Communications Coordinator. Mary's 15-year career includes marketing and public relations work for government, nonprofit and private sector employers. She served as communications coordinator for the Virginia Governmental Employees' Association from 1997-2003 after several years as a public relations specialist, producing newsletters and other promotional materials for three state agencies. She has an M.S. in Mass Communications/Journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia.

Amanda Jacobson Snyder
Communications Coordinator. Amanda joined the Easter team in February 2007. She previously served as Energy Editor for SNL Financial, where she helped coordinate a staff of 15 writers to produce a daily online industry newsletter and other online news and features. She also edited a weekly online newsletter for the Center for Environmental Citizenship that reached more than 11,000 students and served as a reporter and editorial assistant for the Waynesboro News-Virginian and several other publications. Amanda has a B.S. in Communications/Journalism from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Christina Fry Meyer
Website Developer. Christina joined Easter Associates in July 2008, and has 8 years of web development experience. She previously taught a web design course at Massanutten Technical Center in Harrisonburg, VA as well as ran a private website development company. Christina served as the programmer for the Daily News-Record website in Harrisonburg, VA.

Christina has a Master's degree in Music Performance from the University of Nebraska.

Amy Shaw
Director, Meeting and Convention Services. Amy came to Easter in November of 2004 from the hotel industry.  Prior to hotel sales, Amy worked in Campus food service marketing for over five years at the College of William and Mary and at the University of Virginia and in outlet center marketing for over four years. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Amy graduated from Georgia Southern University with a BS in Communication Arts.

Sherry Whiting
Director, Meeting and Convention Services. Sherry joined Easter Associates in June 2008 having spent the last 9 years working in the corporate headquarters of a multi-unit franchise food and beverage company; she left her post as Director of Training and Operations in late 2007. Sherry is originally from Chesapeake, Virginia and graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in English Literature and a minor in Spanish.

:: Client Associate Staff ::

Christopher Manzella
Vice President, Virginia Broadcast Solutions, Inc. (VBS) Chris has worked closely with Easter Associates since 2002 when he took over leadership of VBS, a unique media service division of the Virginia Association of Broadcasters (VAB). With over 24 years of executive experience, including 17 years in the broadcast industry, Chris builds strong client relationships and delivers powerful results. Originally from Western New York, he is a graduate of the University of Buffalo and holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration (M.I.S.). For more information, visit the VBS website.

Marlaine Hall
Accountant, Virginia Broadcast Solutions, Inc. (VBS) Marlaine has over 20 years of work experience in finance, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll and human resources, budgeting, and auditing. Prior to joining Easter Associates, she served for thirteen years in non-profit corporations and held a Director of Finance and Administration position.