OUR TEAM

Jack Myers is a media ecologist and founder of MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversity.org. He is recognized as a leading expert on the cultural and economic impact of technology advances on media and marketing and he may be the only person in the history of the industry to hold executive roles in local, national and international media; broadcast and cable television; radio; out-of-home; print; digital media; TV producing, media buying and selling, and direct marketing. Jack has authored five books on cultural transformation and produced several TV documentaries for which he’s been honored with two International Book Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, and Academy and Emmy Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature. Jack’s ground-breaking research on the first post-Internet generation (Gen Z) led to his two best-selling books on shifting gender norms and to his founding of the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors in 2017. His 1993 book Adbashing: Surviving the Attacks on Advertising was a clarion call to the industry to beware of the headwinds that are now buffeting all of business and culture. He majored in Communications at the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University and has a Masters Degree in Education and Media Ecology from NYU.

Mark is responsible for general business management and operations at MediaVillage. He is focused on memberships and our service center. Mark has always been committed to teams and constantly improving organizations. He’s been in media sales, management and executive leadership roles for 40 years and does his best work with organizations committed to growth, education and change. Mark was Vice President, National Advertising Sales at Comcast Spotlight (now Effectv) for 17 years. Here he was part of the start-up team contributing revenue growth of more than 300%.

Earlier in his career, Mark was recruited by several successful start-ups including Group W Sports Marketing, New World Sales & Marketing, audio-internet pioneer, ClickRadio and the Antonelli Media Training Center.

When not working, Mark enjoys family, friends, good health, sports and books. He cooks and specializes in great dinners in 30 minutes.

Ed Martin is editorial advisor of MyersBizNet and its Watch, Listen & Learn platform. He's also the chief television and content critic for MediaVillage.  He is also President (TV Branch) of the Critics Choice Association and has been a member of the Television Critics Association since 1990.

Before aligning in 1998 with Jack Myers, Ed was a television critic and reporter for USA Today and was senior editor of Inside Media magazine. Earlier in his career, he was publicity director for the independent feature film production and distribution company Vestron Pictures, where he orchestrated publicity campaigns for dozens of movies, including the classic Dirty Dancing.

People always ask Ed to name his favorite TV series of all time. The first five positions on his list haven’t changed since 1977. They are, in order: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family,I Love Lucy, The Twilight Zone and Green Acres.

Awa joined the MediaVillage team in October 2021 after earning her bachelor’s degree from Lawrence University. Awa works as a content researcher, compiling information on MediaVillage’s members to increase efficiency and generate ideas for content. Awa is also part of the database creation team working closely with Jeff Minsky to ensure all of MediaVillage’s data is accurate and up to date.

During her time in college, Awa was a writing fellow at Lawrence University’s Office of Communications, while contributing and holding leadership positions multiple diversity-focused organizations on campus.

Catherine is a media executive with over 15 years of leadership expertise managing clients and campaigns across marketing channels. In her current role, Catherine is responsible for managing and servicing member relationships along with strategic oversight of delivering their B2B initiatives at MediaVillage. Previously, she held strategic and integrative marketing positions at NBCUniversal, Live Nation Entertainment, experiential agencies, and early in her career at The WB. Catherine holds an MBA in Marketing & Management from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business and a BS in Marketing from Bentley University. Catherine enjoys yoga, running, and continuously exploring her hometown of NYC.

Diane Stefani is a results-driven public relations specialist with over two decades of experience garnering top-tier press placements and providing brand strategy for a broad range of innovative organizations, mission-based startups and legacy media companies.

Diane was brought on board to bring awareness to MediaVillage’s AdvancingDiversity.org and annual Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors. The relationship has grown to include publicizing the growing number of content marketing channels, subject matter columnists, and multiplatform journalists.

Prior to launching Diane Stefani Public Relations, the born and bred New Yorker was Executive Vice President at the Rosen Group, managing clients as diverse as the James Beard Foundation, B. Smith Enterprises, One Club for Art & Copy, Barnes & Noble, National Magazine Awards, Etsy, and Fast Company. Stefani credits her earlier career as an entertainment reporter at The New York Post and Director of Communications at Playboy Enterprises for a passion for journalism.

Photo credit: Matt Sutton.

As Editor of the MediaVillage Knowledge Exchange, Janet oversees a host of articles published throughout the work week. They highlight new innovations and deep insights that have developed within media companies. As a key part of that process, she directs an orchestra of fine journalists who uncover those stories.

Janet got her “chops” at the storied showbiz bible “Variety.” She was on staff at a number of business publications over the years, first as a correspondent and later an editor. And she has also worked as a consultant and researcher, specializing in the business of media.

In addition to her work as a journalist, Janet writes science fiction that illuminates the human condition in provocative ways. Her novel, “The Juice,” imagines what the media industry could be like a few decades into the future. It was released by Dragon Moon Press in February 2021 to rave reviews. She won the competition for the  Writers Lab for Women, which is funded by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. And her work has also been published by Asimov’s magazine.

Jeff is an award-winning advertising and digital media pioneer, strategist, and media technologist. He is one of only a handful in the industry with not only a strong mix of traditional and digital knowledge and experience, but also experience on all sides of the business, agency, client, and media sales.

Throughout the course of his 25-plus years in the marketing communications industry, Jeff has driven media strategy, internal digital change management, and media negotiation/project management for brands as diverse as IBM, Intel, McDonalds, The CW, CBS, Showtime, Disney, Visa, Hilton, State Farm, Anheuser Busch, and Pepsi. He has been influential in creating the industry frameworks by which digital media is purchased as the coauthor and lead negotiator for the 4As/IAB Industry Standard Terms and Conditions for the Buying of Digital Media.

Justin joined the MediaVillage team in June 2020 after graduating from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications in May with a bachelor's degree in Broadcast & Digital Journalism. Justin works as a producer, putting together podcasts from archived content, as well as fresh content weekly. Justin is also a part of the social media team and works closely with Amanada and Christian to ensure content is regularly being socialized.

During his time in college, Justin interned at SiriusXM's Mad Dog Sports, SNY and ESPN Radio Syracuse while also contributing to the on-campus radio stations and television station.

Maryann has been an integral part of the Myers team for over 30 years. She serves as the hub of MediaVillage, ensuring that members, readers, and staff are best served. On a daily basis she manages internal operations, including human resources and accounting; and she oversees such customer-facing operations as content distribution and web management. In her brief moments of "spare time" she dabbles with the company's research, supporting and working alongside the research team to deliver top-notch insights to the industry.

As the person with the most institutional knowledge (besides Jack, of course), she serves as a key mentor and supporter for all new team members. She thoroughly enjoys working with every member of the team to help them succeed individually, and to help them come together to ensure the success of MediaVillage and its members and readers.

As MediaVillage’s member services manager, Robin leads the business relationship with our member companies. She also works to help foster a sense of community for our members by managing events such as the 3rd Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors Induction Experience, the leading diversity & inclusion event at CES.

Robin started her career in movie advertising, working on behalf of New Line Cinema and Dreamworks. She moved to the nonprofit sector, where she worked in partnerships and fundraising for organizations including UJA-Federation of New York, Women in Need, and Urban Dove. Most recently, Robin was able to merge her love of media and entertainment with her passion for bringing people together while at The Paley Center for Media, where she ran membership and events for their industry executive group.

When she’s not working, Robin can be found hanging out with her husband Paul and her kids Quinn and Noah.