ARCS member Marilyn Schutz’s entrepreneurial spirit, support of female empowerment, and long-lasting success in the education and technology sectors led her to be named one of FOLIO: magazine’s 2020 Top Women in Media.

According to the magazine, Schutz was specifically chosen for her “persistence, perspicacity, and ingenuity in the niche market of education; for her resilience in successfully navigating the pressures of economic downturns; her ability to pivot to new platforms with originality; her dedication to the audiences she serves; and her unwavering support of women colleagues and those new to the field.”

Other 2020 honorees include prominent female professionals from Forbes, Bloomberg, ESPN, Consumer Reports, and PEOPLE magazine, just to name a few. Schultz will receive the award on September 9 during a virtual honoree awards gala.    

“This honor is not mine alone,” Schutz said in a previous interview. “It must be shared by all of those women who have generously provided their insights, guidance, encouragement, hard work, and friendship over the past many decades. For all of them, I am grateful.”

Schutz is founder, president, and publisher of Big Deal Media, a pioneering company in the educational publishing world that links educators with information on the latest education trends, as well as curricula, resources, funding opportunities, and more through the Big Deal Book of Technology.

Big Deal Media is also home to a staff of all-female employees. “Throughout my career, I have supported and encouraged other women within my organization, and in the educational publishing and educational technology communities in general, through professional development, mentorship, and rich first-job experiences,” she notes.

Beyond her publishing ventures, Schutz enhances the professional growth of female school superintendents and other district leaders through a series of seminars that address how to achieve personal and professional balance and also propel curriculum and cultural change.

Before the launch of Big Deal Media, Schutz founded its parent company, Marketing Projects, Inc., tapping her years of experience as advertising vice president at Instructor, the largest educational magazine at that time.

Her expertise and leadership skills drew her to ARCS Foundation Illinois Chapter in 2010: “I was impressed by ARCS history of having been conceived and driven by visionary women who saw the need to support scientific exploration.” She was on the chapter’s board of directors from 2012 to 2015 and served as co-vice president of development during that time.

Schutz says this recent award has heightened her awareness of the importance of the ARCS mission and the organization’s commitment to future scientists. She believes the honor can serve as inspiration for present and future scholars, especially women.

“I hope this recognition, among many other factors, demonstrates to young women how perseverance, resilience, and ingenuity are important traveling companions in any area to which they commit themselves.”