Our Team

Dianna’s background and experience: In her own words

Before founding Huff Industrial Marketing in 2014, I specialized in B2B marketing communications and SEO copywriting under the name DH Communications, Inc.

I initially went out on my own in 1998 because I didn’t want my son in daycare full-time. I like to say I grew a business and raised a son at the same time. The business really took off in 2006 once I published my e-book, Turning Clicks into Leads Through Search Engine Optimization.

As DH Communications, I worked with global companies, such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, Cabot Corporation, Waters Corporation, SAE International, and Martin Marietta — plus a whole host of small to mid-size companies across the U.S. and around the world.

During this time, I was an in-demand speaker and trainer on the topics of SEO and marketing at industry events and corporations. My work was regularly featured in blogs, the mainstream press, and marketing books. (See the full media list here). I also worked with several well-known CEOs and authors to ghostwrite marketing books, such as Engagement Marketing, by Gail Goodman, the founder / former CEO of Constant Contact.

I learned a lot, and was pretty busy, but by 2013, I was also burned out. And, my son was now a young man. The day he got his driver’s license, he got in his beat up Toyota Camry (that leaked oil like a sieve — but cost only $600) and peeled out of the driveway, Green Day blaring. I came back to my office and said, “Now what do I do?” Up until then, my second job had been “taxi driver.”

After lots of thinking and reflection, I realized that my love had always been working with smaller manufacturers. So, I closed up the copywriting business, drove to the NH statehouse on my birthday, and changed my business name to Huff Industrial Marketing, Inc. I never looked back.

As I did with DH Communications, I’ve built the business and the existing client base from scratch. It’s been a lot of work but worth it because I feel like I’m making a difference in the lives of the people I work with.

Where I get my manufacturing experience

Before going out on my own, I worked as a Marcom Specialist for Varian Associates (Palo Alto, CA) where I provided Marcom support to two U.S. factories: Analytical Instruments and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). In addition to managing six-figure budgets and product launches, I produced three print newsletters for U.S. customers, as well as over a half-dozen translations for business units in South America and Europe.

Before Varian, I spent seven years running the front office of Precision Technical Sewing, Inc., a small woman-owned company in Palo Alto, CA that manufactured custom-sewn cloth products for the military and aerospace industries.

My vision is to keep manufacturing jobs stateside

I do this by putting my money where my mouth is: I buy Made in USA products whenever possible — usually direct from the manufacturer. Why? Because manufacturing benefits our families, local communities, and our country. It’s why the header on my home page features people versus machines — because manufacturing is all about people.

I’ve been buying Made in USA since 2015 and now know where everything in my house has been manufactured.

I’m an advocate for American manufacturing because that’s where I come from. My family was working class, plus I know what it’s like to work the shop floor. I spent five years making sails for sailboats in order to put myself through college — all due to taking a home economics class in high school. You can read that story on LinkedIn.

I’m an avid cyclist and geeky backyard birder. I love cooking, road trips, growing my own herbs, and watching old movies. I’m a voracious reader. The love of my life is my super smart German Shepherd dog, Rocky.

I’m also restoring a classic 1960 mid-century modern ranch house. I’m proud to say I’ve repaired my own drywall.

My son is now a programming whiz with a fantastic work ethic. I think he works harder than I do. He worked for me as a teen; today he’s employee #9 / Full Stack Engineer for a start-up. I’m quite proud of him and of the job his father and I did raising him.

As the Designer and Creative Director for Huff Industrial Marketing, Rachel draws on over 16 years of experience designing a broad range of websites for companies and individuals around the globe.

More than “just a designer,” Rachel is also a deft communicator. Her strength lies in reading customers’ content and then making recommendations for how to better present the message in terms of design and images – as well as taking into consideration mobile and other factors.

Rachel has worked with Huff Industrial Marketing since its founding in 2014; she also worked with Dianna at DH Communications starting in 2010.

As Creative Director, she attends manufacturing tradeshows with Dianna. She’s also the co-founder and designer of Manufacturing Marketing Magazine.

Her background includes an MS and BS in Statistics – which makes her insight into web design, testing, and analysis a valuable contribution to the Huff Industrial Marketing team.

In her off-time, Rachel runs a small family farm with her husband while also taking trips abroad with her husband and children.

Stephen oversees all aspects of building WordPress websites from scratch, including coding, development, training, and bug fixing. He also provides technical support and site maintenance for all client websites. He’s fast, accurate, and incredibly thorough. (If you catch him in a mistake, frame it.)

Stephen is instrumental in performing all technical tasks related to the websites built for customers, from creating easy-to-use WordPress backends to properly adding tracking code.

Stephen has competed in several international programming competitions, with achievements including 11th place in the International Collegiate Programming Competition and a top 100 finish in the Google Code Jam.

Art has an extensive background in public relations, journalism, and marketing communications, and has won numerous industry awards for his work, in both client and agency settings.

Art gains extensive media coverage for clients, including industry trade publications and podcast interviews. He’s also a published author and has had a number of articles appear in major trade and consumer publications across the United States.

Based in Hartford, CT, Al Ferreira specializes in industrial photography and videography — both onsite and in-studio. We’ve worked with Al for many years and rely on his expertise to tell manufacturers’ stories through compelling imagery.