Even from a young age, Tracy Opiekun knew she wanted to be a marketer.
She studied it at Rhode Island College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2006. Then she lived it with her first job out of school, starting her career at Sperian Protection, a manufacturer of personal protective equipment that is now a part of Honeywell.
After four and a half years there, Tracy made the jump to Collete, where she worked on the digital team focusing on email marketing. Her stint at Collette lasted nearly a decade, during which time she rose up the ranks from channel marketing specialist to senior account manager.
Tracy joined AAA Northeast in October 2019 as a senior marketing specialist and in less than two years was promoted to marketing manager in Membership. But even given her successes and trademark attention to detail, Tracy wishes her younger self knew that it was OK to fail.
Q: What career advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t sweat the small stuff. I’ve learned in my career that you will make mistakes and its OK – its all about learning and growing. Don’t dwell on the negative, turn it into a positive and think “How can I learn from this experience?”
Q: What’s one thing that can instantly make your day better?
Random acts of kindness. When I’m having an off morning, I try to “pay it forward.” Whether it’s paying for a coffee for the car behind me or simply doing something nice for someone, that always puts a smile on my face. I love to give back and simply do for others. Spreading good karma is something I believe will have a way of coming back to you.
Q: Do you believe in ghosts?
This is a tricky one! I do believe energy surrounds us all. Is it ghosts? I once saw a medium who told me my grandfather is my guardian angel but I personally have never witnessed any real proof of ghosts.
Q: If you could have dinner with anybody in history, who would it be?
So many to choose from! One important historical figure I would have dinner with would be Marie Curie. She once said, “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Such a brilliant women and pioneering physicist and scientist who developed a portable X-ray machine! It would be fascinating to discuss how she overcame adversity and discrimination throughout her career since science and physics were such a male-dominated field. She has influenced our world to this day.
Q: Are you a dog person or a cat person?
I am a 100% dog person! Although, I don’t dislike cats, I just had a westie growing up as a kid so I’m much more comfortable with dogs. We have a 2 year old border collie mix named Mylah. She loves to snuggle with all of us and keeps us busy with our nightly walks!
Check out these past profiles of your colleagues:
- Andrew Rosen, vice president, Brand & Content Marketing
- Dana Laverty, copy editor, Publications
- Liz Eaton, member retention counselor, Outbound Contact Center
- Damond James, senior manager, Membership Experience
- Stephanie Tomasso, business line manager, Human Resources
- Ashley Janke, project manager, Marketing Operations
- Sarah Cholewa, marketing specialist, Financial Services
- Dan Pegg, email marketing specialist, Marketing
- Kemdy Lawson, senior data analyst, Marketing
- Brooke Fairbrothers, associate marketing specialist, Insurance
- Karina De La Cruz, social listening specialist, Social Media
- Christine Spinella, business development coordinator, Sales
- David Dhanpat, senior marketing specialist, Marketing
- Dan Tu, director of marketing insights and analytics, e-Biz
- Kim Davis, manager, Outbound Call Center
- Jared Ventetuolo, senior financial analyst, Marketing
- Liliana Alston-Swan, manager of creative, Studio
- John Garubba, managing director, Media and Digital Marketing
- Stephanie Freeman, marketing manager, Membership
- Amy Andrews, director of marketing, Membership
- Aleshi Bray, executive assistant, Marketing
- Tabitha Pereira, marketing coordinator, Travel