Rich Barry is a creative director who likes to get his hands dirty. As vice president/creative director of Viacom International Media Networks, he personally slimed thousands of kids all over the world! As one of the creators of “Slime Time Live,” “U-Pick Live,” TEENick and more, Barry has done almost every job in media from live TV director to international creative director. He began his career working for radio host Howard Stern in New York City and moved to Nickelodeon in Orlando, Florida, as a production coordinator. Years later he returned to New York and helped create the live production team, which produced over 1,300 episodes of TV. He has massive experience in brand building, promotion and digital short form. In 2018, he combined his passion for motorsports with his knowledge of promotion and social media platforms to open Speed Social Marketing. He continues to race and is an accomplished, high-performance driving instructor. Rich is currently the Senior Brand Director for Sesame Workshop in NYC.
Tim Beach has spent three decades producing events, game presentations and program content across the sports landscape. He has been with the Arizona Cardinals since 2014 as the senior director of game entertainment and special events. He spent 19 successful seasons with the New York Islanders and has enjoyed stays with the Anaheim Ducks, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Yankees, with whom he began his career as an intern in 1989. In addition, Beach has worked the soccer World Cup in 1994, two hockey World Cups, seven Super Bowls, nine tennis US Opens, the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and many game days with the Yankees and New York Jets. At Quinnipiac, he was active with WQAQ, theater club productions, campus events and was a resident assistant.
Alex Birsh is the chief operating officer and vice president of Playbill, Inc®. After graduating from Quinnipiac University in 2011, Birsh worked primarily in the sports media industry, making stops at Major League Baseball Productions, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, SiriusXM Radio, and The Topps Company. In 2016, he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, Arthur, and father, Phil, and joined Playbill, becoming the third generation of the Birsh family to act in a leadership role in the company. He currently oversees the day-to-day operations of all facets of the company and is a vice president of Playbill Travel®, the subsidiary travel company of Playbill.
With more than two decades of communications industry expertise, Aaron Blank became CEO and president of the West Coast-based communications and marketing agency, Fearey, in 2014. As a marketing strategist, he has helped to execute award- winning campaigns for nationally recognized clients such as Seattle Kraken (NHL), Amazon and Rite Aid, among others. A dominant force in social media and media relations, Blank has personally placed stories in TIME, Newsweek, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, while his social media strategies have been recognized by The Atlantic as game changing concepts. He and his wife, Lacey, met at Quinnipiac as orientation leaders. The parents of three, they are actively fundraising to improve the community of Woliso, Ethiopia, where they adopted their son, and working to find a cure for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rare affliction that renders their son’s skin and connective tissue unbearably fragile. At Quinnipiac, Blank held various leadership positions including class president, student body president, resident assistant and orientation leader.
As senior manager of communications at Comcast Advertising, Jason Braff is responsible for managing employee communications, strategies and programs, developing initiatives designed to support key business objectives, long-term goals and projects. In a previous role at Comcast Advertising, Braff led social media strategy and administered the Comcast Advertising social media advocacy program for Comcast Advertising brands Effectv and FreeWheel. Prior to starting at Comcast Advertising in 2018, Braff served as senior client solutions manager at Qnary, where he managed client success for 25-plus accounts ranging from C-level executives at Fortune 100 companies to fast-moving tech startups. He also worked at Videology (now Amobee) as a communications lead. While at Quinnipiac, he served as editor-in-chief for The Chronicle student newspaper and co-founded The Quad News.
An Emmy-winning veteran investigative reporter and anchor, Jonathan Carlson is the Morning Drive Anchor at WWJ Newsradio in Detroit. Previously, he was chief investigative reporter at the CBS station in Atlanta, the 10th largest television market. With nearly two decades of experience in local television and print news, he has broken countless stories of local and national importance, some of which have led to major reforms. He began his journalism career at the age of 16, reporting for his hometown newspaper, and then moving to larger city dailies. Carlson has been published in the New Haven Register, Connecticut Post and Hartford Courant, during his college years. He also wrote for The Chronicle, anchored Q30 news, and made the most of local news internships during his time at Quinnipiac.
Cathy Christino is vice president of Triangle Home Fashions, where she is responsible for branding, communications and content creation. She has broad experience in brand development, integrated marketing, digital strategy, sales support, media, content production, events, promotions and public relations. Christino has led cross-functional teams and worked with major companies and clients across several key categories including luxury, lifestyle, media, entertainment, home fashions, b2b, tech, finance, auto, real estate, education and health care. She has headed up marketing for major media brands where she has transformed the global media strategy, spearheaded digital transformations and launched new media products. At Quinnipiac, Christino majored in mass communications with a minor in marketing and served for three years as Promotions Director for WQAQ.
Kwegyirba Croffie is a writer/producer at CNN International. Before that, Kwegyirba was working in New York with their Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans. Before joining CNN in 2016, Kwegyirba worked at News 12 Connecticut and NBC. She graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2011, with a BA in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in theater. While at Quinnipiac, Croffie was a founder sister of Alpha Delta Pi, an orientation leader and was inducted into Lambda Pi Eta and Order of Omega. Kwegyirba was also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists.
Stephanie Cunha is the regional director of public relations for Curaleaf, a leading international provider of consumer products in Cannabis. In this role, she creates strategic communications plans to de-stigmatize and educate new audiences around cannabis consumption for health and wellness, and increase Curaleaf's brand awareness in the quickly evolving industry. Previously, Cunha led integrated external communications campaigns for the CVS Pharmacy retail business, helping to evolve the brand's reputation from a convenience store into a true health and wellness destination. She worked on many innovative projects during her tenure at CVS, but she is most proud of being part of the team that brought the retailer’s award-winning Beauty Mark initiative to life. A former consumer and investigative producer, Cunha’s work garnered three Associated Press awards, an Edward R. Murrow Award and an Emmy. Her stories exposed a number of issues, resulting in changes in local laws and the closure of a nursing home with health violations. At Quinnipiac, she reported for The Chronicle and Q30 news and had internships at the “Today” show and NBC’s local affiliate WJAR. Her Q30 news story on homelessness in New Haven earned her an award from the Society of Professional Journalists, and the 2004 School of Communications Outstanding Student Achievement award.
Claire Currie has nearly a decade of experience in financial and corporate communications. She has led executive and senior leadership positioning campaigns for PGIM Fixed Income, PGIM Private Capital, Chubb, Schwab Trading Services, Northern Trust Asset Management and MFS Investment Management. Currie is experienced in crisis communications, proxy battles, investor relations and public affairs. At Quinnipiac, she participated in the film society and wrote for The Chronicle.
Angelique Fiske currently works as an associate producer for the CBS Mornings features team. She previously spent six seasons with the New England Patriots as a writer and podcast host, covering all things off the football field. At Quinnipiac, she was a part of QBSN, serving as the editor-in-chief and launching QBSN: The Magazine. She also hosted a radio show on WQAQ, served as an orientation leader, went on a service trip to South Africa and was chosen as the founding president of Kappa Delta.
Faith (Goumas) Forman is a digital content manager at BCG. At Quinnipiac, Forman was in the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, where she served as vice president of recruitment, and was a member of the Lambda Pi Eta communications honor society. Upon graduating, Forman has worked in communications in New York City, Connecticut, and Boston. Her roles include a position on the public relations team at the Public Relations Society of America, a member of the inaugural class of the communications leadership program at United Technologies, and marketing assistant director at EY-Parthenon.
Ayah Galal is a reporter and producer for WFSB-TV, which is the CBS News affiliate in Connecticut. She joined the Channel 3 Eyewitness News team in December 2018. Galal is a graduate of Quinnipiac University, where she double majored in journalism and political science. During her time at Quinnipiac, she was actively involved with Q30 Television, the student-run television station on campus. Galal graduated Summa Cum Laude and received the Alumni Association Academic Achievement Award for highest scholastic achievement in her class. She interned at WTNH News 8 while in college and was hired there as a news producer upon graduation. Ayah is a Connecticut native with a passion for travel, reading and coffee. She also serves on the board for the Connecticut Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Ben Handelman is an award-winning journalist based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He anchors evening newscasts at WITI, the local fox affiliate. At Quinnipiac, he helped launch Sports Paws, a Bobcats sports show still going strong today on Q30. He got his start in broadcast journalism by calling play-by-play for the women’s ice hockey team. He began is career in Illinois, where he worked at TV stations in Springfield and Champaign and met his wife, Ashley Sears, who also works at WITI as a reporter. They live along Lake Michigan where he dreams of Quinnipiac’s first Frozen Four championship and a Cinderella run by the basketball team.
Ray Hernandez is director of public relations and government affairs at Otis Elevator. He has held roles of increasing global responsibility throughout his career including corporate communications, PR, digital/content marketing, and employee/executive communications. Hernandez remains involved with the Quinnipiac community through speaking engagements and student mentoring. He also served as a professional mentor for QU teams participating in the 2016 PRSSA Bateman Competition.
Jaclyn Hirsch is a Senior Product Manager at Nike, where she manages software development for Nike's content management system. Before joining Nike, she managed product development at Charter Communications and product testing for the FinTech group at Citibank. In addition to her corporate experience, Jaclyn conceptualized and launched FANS — a platform for live music fans. Previously, she wrote for The Tracy Press in Tracy, California and was an editor and content manager at Patch. At Quinnipiac, Hirsch was a writer and editor at The Chronicle and co-founded The Quad News.
Brian Kelly is a deputy editor with ESPN Digital Media. He has held a variety of positions over his two-decade career at the company, including college football editor, overseeing a staff of 27 writers. He also worked at ESPN Radio and the ESPN.com newsdesk. His current role is with the audience engagement team, helping to oversee the digital media efforts with programming, push notifications and streaming platforms. At Quinnipiac, Kelly was a sports reporter for The Chronicle and hosted a radio show on WQAQ.
Meredith Klein ’05 is head of consumer and product communications at Pinterest. At Pinterest, Klein works closely across teams to dig into consumer insights and create compelling campaigns and stories, including sharing how our innovative products help merge these insights and create joy and inspiration for people around the world.
Prior to her appointment at Pinterest, she was the director of public relations for Walmart.com’s acquired brands, providing communications support for Jet.com, Bonobos, Hayneedle, ELOQUII, Moosejaw and Art.com. In addition, Klein also led communications for Walmart’s Product organization, helping the chief product officer with all facets of executive thought leadership and communications.
Before joining Walmart, Klein served as the director of media and public relations for Jet. Klein also has had leadership roles at Makovsky and Golin where she managed account teams and led the agency’s key clients including WebMD, Cisco, Adidas and Walmart.
In 2021, PRWeek honored Klein as part of their “40 Under 40” list, which recognizes influencers and innovators guiding the PR industry.
Bulldog. That’s just one word to describe Marlon LeWinter. With over 18 years of experience in the PR industry, Marlon is known for his ability to power through and get it done and his no-nonsense attitude and networking ability puts smiles on his client's faces. Having worked both at an agency and in-house, Marlon brings a breadth of national consumer and media relations experience with unmatched placement ability. He has been instrumental in developing and executing award-winning campaigns for a wide variety of clients, including Under Armour, the American Cornhole League, Microsoft, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hugo Boss, Yahoo Sports, Timex and more. Marlon also worked directly for tennis icon Venus Williams, helping support her business interests off the tennis court. He specializes in building brand awareness, consumer marketing, partnerships and developing promotions that generate press and produce bottom-line business results for his clients. Marlon is also a three-time finalist for a Platinum PR Award for his work with the American Cornhole League.
Lauren Melillo is a passionate Quinnipiac Alumni and creative leader with eight plus years of experience. Starting as a graphic designer at Time Inc. in 2012, Lauren worked her way from an entry-level position to her current role as Manager, Creative Studio at Meredith's targeted advertising division, MNI Targeted Media. Nimble in her responsibilities and proud of her award-winning portfolio, Lauren spearheads her team to support the MNI brand both internally and externally, across various mediums. In 2019, she was featured and recognized in The Drum as an Unsung Hero within the marketing space. While at Quinnipiac, Lauren was the president of the design club and graduated magna cum laude in Interactive Digital Design with a minor in Fine Arts. She is thrilled to be reunited with her QU family.
Kirsten Owens leads corporate communications for Arvinas, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Previously, she worked for Alexion Pharmaceuticals, as well as TellMed Strategies, an agency focused on the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Prior to focusing on health science, Owens worked for United Technologies Corporation (UTC) and was selected for the company’s communications leadership program, where she spent time rotating throughout the digital communications, marketing and public relations functions. At Quinnipiac, Owens was a founding member of QuinniPR, a student-run public relations firm, and served on the executive boards of the Public Relations Student Society of America, the Communications Honor Society (Lambda Pi Eta) and the Quinnipiac Women’s MBA Association.
After 10 years of experience in marketing and branding, Brianne Richard found a home with Amazon Studios in their Awards Department, focusing on campaigning events for the streaming studio's array of award-winning content. Previously, she served as manager of marketing and digital communications at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, heading the social media and digital communications strategy for the Emmy Awards and the Television Academy’s year-long marketing efforts. At Quinnipiac, she was a member of the Lambda Pi Eta communications honor society. Despite moving to the West Coast, she remains involved with Quinnipiac, working to strengthen the QU community in Southern California as the chapter president of the alumni association for the area.
Ben Shapiro is a multi-Emmy Award-winning television audio engineer specializing in live sports broadcasts. In addition to his work in television, Shapiro owns a web development and technology consulting company. He began his career working in the broadcast department at Empire City Casino in Yonkers, New York, and advanced within the company until 2012, when he decided to pursue his lifelong dream of self-employment. Since then, he has broadcast games for each of New York’s major sports teams, as well as major events such as the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, and the US Open. Shapiro has traveled throughout the country for sporting events and TV shows including “American Ninja Warrior,” “Ultimate Beastmaster” and “Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge.” A career highlight was working at both the 2016 and 2018 Olympic Games.
Producers, directors and ad agencies from around the globe rely on TaylorVision to bring together the most highly skilled production teams. Recently, TaylorVision's Emmy-winning crews have worked with Disney Legends Julie Andrews, James Earl Jones and Pat Carroll. They have also shot commercials for the One and Only resort in the Bahamas, Snickers, Duluth Trading Company, Coke, Buffalo Wild Wings, Super Bowl features for CBS, FOX and NFL Network, wild Alaskan adventures for Royal Caribbean, VH1’s “Behind the Music,” and interviews with former President Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for a film titled, “Port of Destiny: Peace”. At Quinnipiac in the 80’s, Taylor served as production manager at WQAQ radio and as a videographer for a video magazine show called “Insight.” He also parlayed an internship at ESPN into a 17-year run shooting features for all of its top shows. He left in 1997 to form his company. You can see more at www.taylorvision.us
