Judith Ricker has spent her career straddling Rochester’s arts and business worlds. In the Fall of 2018, she began teaching oboe at Nazareth College and playing with the Wilmont Woodwind Quintet. She also teaches “Marketing for Musical Enterprises” in the Eastman School of Music’s newest graduate degree program, Master of Arts in Music Leadership.
Judy began her career as a professional musician, spending 15 years in the oboe section of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and teaching at the Hochstein School of Music and Dance. She remains an active musician, and is a founding member of Antara Winds, a professional woodwind quintet whose CD, Antara Music, is comprised of works commissioned for and by the group. She also performs regularly with local organizations, including the Rochester Oratorio Society, the Rochester Broadway Theater League, and the Greater Rochester Women’s Philharmonic. Judy has served on the Hochstein Board over many years and is the past Board Chair.
Her business experience is extensive. In 2013 Judy retired from Market Probe, an international Market Research firm, to pursue independent consulting opportunities. She joined Market Probe as Executive Vice President of Brand Research in early 2011. While there, she developed an approach to measuring Brand Passion, and was honored with the 2012 “Creative Mind Silver Innovation” award from the Advertising Research Foundation for that work.
Prior to joining the Market Probe, she spent 12 years at Harris Interactive. As Division President of Harris Interactive’s Brand and Communications Consulting, Judy was responsible for developing state-of-the-art methods for researching brand and advertising effectiveness. During her years at Harris Interactive her team won several Ogilvy Awards for advertising effectiveness.
Joining Harris Interactive in 1998 from the Eastman Kodak Company, Judy brought with her a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research experience, with particular expertise in brand, product positioning and communications research. Her work with the Kodak brand earned the company an Effie Award in 1997.
Judy holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, as well as a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, and an MBA in Marketing and Finance from the William E. Simon School of Business Administration of the University of Rochester. During her final year at the Simon School she was awarded the honor of being selected as the School’s, as well as the University of Rochester’s “Outstanding Adult Student.”
She is married to Ramon Ricker, Emeritus Professor of Saxophone at Eastman and former Senior Associate Dean for Professional Studies (retired). Ray has also been a member of the Rochester Philharmonic for over 40 years. They live in Fairport, New York with their Rhodesian Ridgeback.
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