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MFA Faculty

Melinda Mettler

Melinda Mettler
Director of Advertising

Melinda Mettler started her career in Advertising as an Art Director at Young & Rubicam in New York. Among her accomplishments there, was the much acclaimed "Movie Campaign" for Jell-O Pudding featuring Bill Cosby as Rhett Butler, as the Godfather and the sheriff in "High Noon." Y&R promoted her to Vice President Senior Art Director and created a position for her in their San Francisco office. During her tenure at Y&R/SF, the office doubled in size and billings.

Ms. Mettler has worked on Adidas, AT&T International, Brita Water Filtration Pitchers, Con Agra Turkey Selects, Diamond Walnuts, Eastern Airlines, Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing, Japan Airlines, Jell-O Pudding, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Liquid Plumr, Pozzi Wood Windows, The Rock and Roll Museum, Sanka Coffee, Shanti Project, SONY, and Sunmaid Raisins.

Ms. Mettler holds awards from the Cannes Film Festival, The One Show, The Andys, the Clios, The London International Show, The Effies, Se Habla Espanol, and The SF Show. She also has three campaigns in the permanent collection at the Museum of Broadcast in New York. Ms. Mettler earned her BFA in Advertising Design at The Academy of Art University and, in 1992 was named Alumni of the year.


Mark Edwards

Mark Edwards
Associate Director of Copywriting

Mark Edwards has been a successful, award-winning copywriter for more than 20 years. His work has been recognized in shows as diverse as The One Show, the Addys and the Direct Marketing Association’s Echo Awards.

His career took off when he landed a coveted position at the legendary New York agency Ally & Gargano. A freshly-minted University of Texas graduate, Mark found himself rubbing shoulders with his industry heroes, people whose work he had studied mere months before. From there, he moved onto Grey where he quickly excelled in direct marketing becoming a vice president and associate creative director at age 30. Next he transitioned to San Francisco and joined the management team of local agency M. Gould & Co. He helped transform it from an independent shop with a dozen employees into the west coast hub for McCann Relationship Marketing with over 500 staff members and worldwide creative responsibilities for McCann’s largest client Microsoft.

Mr. Edwards has had work appear for some of the world’s best-known brands, including Aetna, AMD, Apple, Bank of New York, BMG Entertainment, Charles Schwab, Chase Manhattan Bank, DeBeers, Dove, Dunkin’ Donuts, EMI Records, Harry Winston, Intuit, Lucent, Microsoft, Saab, Showtime, Sony, Starbucks, Sun Microsystems, Time Warner and Wells Fargo.


Cameron Maddux
Associate Director of Account Planning

Cameron Maddux is the Associate Director of Account Planning for the Academy of Art University's School of Advertising, one of the largest ad schools in the country. An Account Planning superstar, Cameron's career has included stints at Haggin Marketing, JWT and Slingshot.

Cameron received his BA in English from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and his MA in Advertising with a focus in Account Planning from the University of Texas, Austin. Cameron's career has included stops in Dallas as an account executive/strategic planner at Slingshot, a brief hiatus from advertising in Chicago at Wrigley Field (in the front office), then onto JWT as an account planner. Next, Cameron moved to San Francisco and began work at Haggin Marketing, a mostly direct marketing firm.

Cameron has helped shape brands such as Verizon, Cellular One, Pizza Inn, Jack Daniel's, Starbucks, GM, The Department of State, The British Council, and many more.

In his role of Associate Director of Account Planning, Cameron has made it his mission to reshape, redesign and rekindle the students view and love of planning. Cameron's passion for Account Planning and account planning education is unrivaled. He is currently teaching 6 sections of both graduate and undergraduate account planning and has masterfully mentored recent grads into varying positions within planning departments across the country.

David Wong

David Wong
Full-Time Instructor

Originally trained as an architect, David Wong graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. After spending a decade designing everything from elderly housing to airports, David shifted gears and went into Advertising. He attended the Academy of Art and quickly developed an advertising portfolio.

In 1989, he won the prestigious Gold Pencil in the Student One Show Competition. He was quickly snapped up by Geer DuBois Advertising in New York. From there he went to the Philadelphia office of Earle Palmer Brown. Then he came home to San Francisco and agencies such as McCann-Erickson, Darien & Kilburg, Hampel/Stefanides and Foote Cone & Belding. In 2002, he took on the role of Group Creative Director at Schadler Kramer Group Advertising, Las Vegas.

Over the years, his accounts have included AT&T Wireless, BASF, Borgata Casino, Resort & Spa, Fantastic Foods, Gordon Biersch, Jaguar, Laguna Seca Raceway, Montage Resort & Spa, NEC, Omni Hotels, Philadelphia Daily News, San Jose Sharks, Sony, Taco Bell, Togo’s, Turner Broadcasting, Wells Fargo, and Wolfgang Puck restaurants.

David’s work has been recognized in the One Show, Communication Arts, Graphis, the LA Art Directors Show and the SF Show.


Advertising School Academy News » More than 15 Students Named One Show Finalists » Academy Student/Grads Win 2009 International ANDY Awards » Academy Students Grab Top Spots at Addy Awards