Who We Are
& What We Do
Bethanna "Beth" Bennett
Creative Designer | Marketing & Advertising Developer Advisor | Consultant
Beth is a creative designer, business marketing developer, advisor, and consultant specializing in working with small businesses. She is passionate about developing smart, creative, and exciting designs and works side-by-side with owners to develop their marketing, logo, and brand vision to ensure future business growth.
During Beth’s 20 year career she’s worked for the Anchorage Downtown Partnership and The Anchorage Fur Rendezvous specializing in event planning, design, advertising, and marketing. She’s worked for multiple design and advertising agencies and the Alaska Small Business Administration.
Beth works closely with local Alaskan artist and friend, Jon Van Zyle. She created a new website to increase his marketing presence, improve advertising, and manages the sales of his original art, fine art, and special Iditarod prints. She started Burnside Creative in 2001, and is a partner in two local businesses, Ravenink Fine Art Printing and True Lily Jewelry on ETSY.
Beth’s favorite job so far in her professional career is working with the American Red Cross of Alaska as the Director of Communications and now, as a volunteer. She deployed on disasters in Alaska and throughout the lower 48, which provided her incredible learning opportunities. She enjoys being able to work alongside some of the most dedicated staff and volunteers helping families during very difficult times, seeing different parts of our country, and developing long-lasting friendships and memories.
Constance "Connie" Black
Business Advisor | Strategist
Consultant & Mentor
Connie is a strategic business advisor, consultant, and mentor focused on helping people achieve their dreams from start-ups to managing and growing small businesses and nonprofits.
Her love and passion for everything business began when she started her first business at the young age of six with a lemonade and fruit stand, graduating to selling candies and cookies, selling flowers on the corner, to working in small family-owned flower shops.
She’s worked for numerous small businesses, large corporations, and nonprofits in diverse industries in manufacturing, distribution, transportation, product sales, construction, engineering, and service-related businesses.
She is an entrepreneurial business leader with broad experience in operations, business administration and support services, financial performance, and program and project management. She achieved her Bachelor of Science degree in Business at ASU, W.P. Carey School of Business, Tempe, AZ with additional certifications in Transportation Management.
In her spare time, Connie enjoys spending time with her family and Alaskan Malamutt, Mackenzie (“Kenzie”), and she loves photography, hiking, paddle boarding, and kayaking at the family’s lake cabin. She is an avid volunteer, board officer/director, and social media communications manager for animal and wildlife rescues, and local community and humanitarian organizations. She is a third-generation American Red Cross volunteer following in her grandmother’s and aunt’s long-time 35- and 25-year dedicated volunteer service. For the past 18 years, Connie has volunteered with the Red Cross of Alaska Mat-Su as a Public Information Officer (PIO), client casework advocate, disaster responder, and daily support for local, regional, and national social media content, disaster messaging, and crisis communications.
Her extensive business background, dedication and commitment, and her passion for wanting to help people, and her enjoyment of discovering and fixing problems, finding solutions, looking from a global perspective, and seeing the big picture make her an invaluable advisor and team member on a wide range of projects.