UF American Marketing Association becomes top 5 collegiate chapter

University of Florida’s American Marketing Association (UF-AMA) chapter was recently recognized as a 2025 Top 5 Collegiate Chapter at the AMA Collegiate International Conference on April 3-5. 

Last year, UF-AMA was ranked among the top 25 of collegiate chapters. This prestigious recognition and rise in ranking was spearheaded by co-presidents Cassandra Green (BSBA ‘25) and Logan Levinson (BABA ‘25). 

The AMA exists to create a global community for marketing professionals and students to advance their professional development, education and practice. At UF, this student chapter strives to provide hands-on business experience for all majors to prepare students for professional success. 

The co-presidents both joined UF-AMA in the spring semester of their freshman year. Since then, their focus on professional and personal growth for their members has allowed the chapter to grow by 30% this year alone, paving the way for its national recognition. 

My favorite part of the organization is the community we have built over the years,” Levinson said. “We often call it a “FAMAly.” 

“When we became co-presidents, we conducted a full assessment of every area and role within AMA to identify what needed to be improved,” Green said. “From there, we created a strong vision for the organization and worked to get others on board.”

“AMA has made a significant leap in the experiences we offer our members,” said Levinson. “I can say with confidence that our organization is the best place for students interested in marketing to go and develop themselves professionally and personally.”

Creating a space for personal and professional development, UF-AMA underwent several changes this year to provide members with the optimal experience to get immersed in the campus, community and marketing industry. 

Housed within the AMA, Levinson and Green oversaw the expansion of the UF-AMA marketing firm SPARKS, led by Molly MacFadyen and Evan Kiddy and their competitive sales team APEX, led by Lillian Herron. They added an additional client team named SPARKS One to work with the firm’s first multi-million-dollar client, Belkin. For APEX, they expanded their range of competitions to include more regional sales competitions and their inaugural regional conference. 

On the professional development side, the UF-AMA launched “AMA Sessions”, a two to three week immersive program that included interactive workshops, guest speakers, case studies and hands-on activities to give members concentrated exposure to a marketing industry and skill. 

The improvements of the UF-AMA were not confined internally, but expanded to their social impact efforts, specifically through their partnership with The Humane Society. They were able to use their marketing efforts for the organization and make promotional video content to spread their mission. 

Most notably, the UF-AMA hosted their first AMA regional conference that cemented them as one of the nation’s top chapters and expanded the experience they provide for members. This conference was open to other schools’ AMA chapters, providing opportunities for networking and building professional connections with like-minded individuals. Tejashree Vijay, VP of Chapter Relations, served as the conference lead.

 The conference had 46 registered attendees from universities across Florida. They also had four sponsors including the David F. Miller Retail Center in the Warrington College of Business, Procter & Gamble (P&G) and DogLine, a manufacturer and wholesaler of innovative pet products and two workshops in Navigating the Multicultural Market and Building Authentic Connections. 

This conference included three competitions, a marketing strategy competition, a design strategy competition and a sales competition with 21 judges. The UF-AMA team performed exceptionally—taking first and third in the sales competition, first in design strategy competition and second in marketing strategy competition. 

“Hosting the regional conference was one of the most fulfilling moments,” Green said. “It was something our chapter had dreamed about for years, and to finally see it come to life made me feel incredibly proud of how far we’ve come. It wasn’t just a one-day event, it was months of hard work, late nights and shared belief in what we could build.”

“I am in awe of the amount of effort and time that Cassandra and Logan devoted to AMA over the past 3 years,” faculty advisor Siân Morgan said. “Their strategic planning skills are truly impressive. Last summer, Cassandra and Logan carefully assessed their group’s past efforts, along with the activities of highest-ranked AMA chapters, to create a cohesive and multifaceted strategic plan for the 2024-25 year, which led to their top 5 ranking. Cassandra and Logan were also fortunate to have a great executive team dedicated to AMA’s success. It has been a privilege to support and get to know this group over the past year.”

With all of these achievements and developments from the UF-AMA, the recognition of the organization as one of the top 5 collegiate chapters is only the beginning.  

“It is honestly still a surreal feeling,” Levinson said. “It is an honor to achieve the ranking, and it is a testament to all the hard work all of our Executive Board put in and the dedication our members have to the organization.”

As next year approaches, the chapter is striving to take on even bigger initiatives to make a greater impact on campus and beyond while still expanding their “FAMAly.”

“I truly believe UF-AMA can become the International Chapter of the Year,” Green said. 

Levinson and Green want to thank the executive board for their support throughout this entire year and for fully embracing the vision they set out to achieve.

On behalf of the UF-AMA, Levinson and Green would like to thank Dr. Steve Tufts, the former faculty advisor who laid the foundation to make this growth possible. They would also like to thank their current faculty advisor Siân Morgan for her constant support and belief in all the organization could be.