Advisory Board

The Department of Communication’s Advisory Board, established in 2009, was tasked with providing support, advice, and counsel to the chair, faculty, students, and staff on issues central to the Department’s mission and helping to build bridges to the Department and University’s alumni. Our Advisory Board members provide invaluable resources to our students: mentorship at the networking event, COMMConnect; visits to their organizations during NYCOMM and CaliCOMM; and internships and other opportunities. The board is comprised of Cornell alumni (primarily Communication graduates), and all are industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and role models in the field of communication. They span a wide range of professions, and they approach communication from a multitude of perspectives, working in media, news, marketing, gaming, film, investment, law, and non-profit.

Members

Kurt Abrahamson

Kurt has been building and leading digital companies for the past 25 years. He is now an advisor and board member to a variety of start-ups. He is Executive Chairman of brrr, based in Atlanta; Chairman of ShareThis, and a Director at Amify. He also advises the podcast platform Sounder.

His career started as the co-founder of Jupiter Communications. Kurt built Jupiter from a small, 12-person group to 520 employees worldwide, establishing Jupiter as one of the leading Internet research organizations. He joined Google in 2003 to lead global sales efforts for the launch of AdSense. He managed this team of 40 through the initial 18-month launch of one of Google’s most successful products.

With his deep experience, Kurt has the vision, management skills, and leadership capacity to guide an organization to substantial growth and efficiency. He is highly adept in designing and directing sales, marketing, and product development initiatives. He has a proven ability to scale operations and raise the capital to transform a start-up venture into an industry leader.

Dale Bornstein

Dale joined M Booth as CEO in October of 2013. M Booth is an integrated communications agency specializing in public relations, digital strategy and content marketing and is headquartered in New York with presence in Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco and Boston. Under her leadership, the agency has nearly doubled in size and been awarded every industry accolade including overall Agency of the Year and Best Place to Work (2x).

Prior to joining M Booth, Dale was Senior Partner, Director of Global Practices, and a member of the 9-person worldwide executive team at the global communications agency, Ketchum, where she worked for more than 25 years. At Ketchum, she was responsible for the evolution and growth of the agency’s five global practices: Brand Marketing, Food & Nutrition, Corporate, Healthcare, and Technology Practices. She also oversaw the development of Ketchum's global media network, global creative community, and Ketchum Sports and Entertainment.

Dale was recently appointed for a 3-year term to the Board of the PR Council. She is a member of Women in Communication and has served as a senior judge for industry and marketing awards programs, including the PR Week Awards, Silver Anvil awards and the Effie Awards. She also brought the award-winning, crowdsourcing platform “Mindfire” to Cornell. In 2013, she was awarded the CALS Outstanding Alumni Award and in 2016, she was awarded the Department of Communication's Outstanding Service Award.

Lou Diamond

When it comes to putting great people in touch with other great people, Lou Diamond is a master connector. He has more than a quarter-century of experience in sales, relationship management, business development, and executive coaching. Lou’s authenticity, energy, and enthusiasm, along with his unwavering passion and desire for helping people achieve their business and personal goals, is unmatched.

Lou is a Coach, Consultant, Bestselling Author, Speaker & Motivator. He was a top producer for firms such as Accenture, Deloitte, Omnicom, Merrill Lynch, and Bank of America, leading teams to achieve record revenues year after year. Lou founded THRIVE, a leading consulting and coaching company focused on making the most incredible leaders and top performers even more amazing. Most recently, he launched ThriveLOUD, a weekly podcast dedicated to inspiring people to reach their peak potential in every facet of their life.

A Cornell University graduate, Lou is a passionate sports fan, avid golfer, loving husband, and extremely proud dad.

Colleen Fahey Rush

Colleen is Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer for Viacom Media Networks (VMN). In her role, she leads the company’s Research & Analytics team, supporting Viacom senior management and providing guidance to research teams across the company's portfolio of brands, including MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central. Colleen oversees the development of VMN’s consumer insights research on new media behaviors and emerging technologies. This work informs the company’s creative and business operations, from programming and digital strategy to ad sales and content distribution and marketing. Colleen has been instrumental in driving innovation in the cross-platform measurement space and creating solutions for the industry’s key measurement challenges. She has shared VMN’s research and insights in presentations at The White House, on Capitol Hill and on Wall Street. She has spoken at premiere consumer and research-focused conferences held by “The Economist,” The Advertising Research Foundation and The Institute for International Research, as well as at international venues including the Monaco Media Forum and the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association Conference. Colleen joined Viacom in 1996, where she served most recently as Senior Vice President of Research for VH1/CMT.

Colleen began her career at CBS, holding a series of positions at the company’s O&Os and broadcast network. She went on to serve as Director of Research at Telemundo, before becoming Associate Partner and Director of Research at J. Walter Thompson. She serves as the chairman of the board of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), is chairman of the executive committee for the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and is a 2009 TAMI Award winner for her integral role on the CTAM Research Committee.

She holds a B.S. in Communications from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She is also on the Advisory Board for the Communications Department at Cornell. In 2010, she was named to Ad Age’s list of Media Mavens, and in 2009 was recognized by Working Mother Magazine as a Working Mother of the Year.

Ian Geller

Ian is the Global Head of Consumer Business Development at Spotify where he and his team oversee all of Spotify’s strategic distribution partnerships, which include Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Facebook, Sony, Tesla, and many others. Ian’s team is not only responsible for negotiating the distribution agreements with these partners but also for growing and evolving the partnerships in order to maximize opportunities for Spotify and its listeners.

Prior to working at Spotify, Ian was the Vice President of Business Development at Pandora, which he joined as an early employee in 2006. In this position, he saw the company grow from a handful of employees and a few users to thousands of employees and 70+ million users over the course of almost 10 years. Ian previously spent time with Virgin Mobile, Palm, and ThinAir Apps, a pioneering wireless app development company.

Ian is a Cornell University graduate (Human Ecology ’97) as is his wife (ILR ’95). They live in New York City with their two teenage daughters. In addition to seeing a lot of live music, Ian enjoys connecting with Cornell students, recent alumni and faculty, and providing whatever guidance and perspective he can.

Melissa (Wasserman) Goldman

Melissa is an award-winning entertainment marketer, most recently having served as the Senior Vice President, Integrated Marketing and Client Solutions, at AMC television. There she was responsible for developing and executing content and experience-driven marketing campaigns between the AMC brand and network partners, and for creating all go-to-market initiatives supporting AMC programming including Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead. Prior to working at AMC, Melissa was Vice President of Marketing Activation at CBS Radio, where she led campaigns between national clients and CBS affiliated radio stations throughout the United States. Earlier in her career, she worked in music television as Director of Consumer Marketing at VH1 and in Affiliate and Consumer Marketing at MTV. Melissa has also worked in public relations and as a marketing consultant.

Melissa earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University, and she enjoys remaining connected with students and faculty. She lives in Chappaqua, NY where she loves to relax and spend time with her husband, Seth, two daughters, and several pets.

Courtney Goldstein Tobin

Courtney Goldstein is Penske Media Corporation’s Vice President of Human Resources helping to develop and nurture strong advisory relationships with the Presidents, Founders, and Publishers of PMC’s media brands as well as other executive business leaders. This role also leads the execution of key HR programs across the business, and in doing so, helps to build and shape a culture where all employees thrive with a deep sense of belonging and purpose and are equipped to do their best work.

Courtney started her career practicing law as a licensed attorney in the State of New York. Given her interest in talent development and strategic people planning, she transitioned her career from law to talent acquisition and talent management roles where she has been successful in leading organizational change through leading performance management practices and programs. Courtney has earned a stellar reputation for bringing energy and creative, solutions-driven practices that shape and build culture across organizations including Major, Lindsey & Africa, NBCUniversal, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, and Millennium Trust Company.

Equally important, Courtney maintains a strong commitment to her alma mater, Cornell University, where she has served as Cornell Club of Los Angeles Board Committee Chair and as LA Chair of the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network. Courtney has been active as a CAAAN volunteer for the last 15 years and helped plan the inaugural and bi-yearly Cornell Los Angeles Communication trips. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communication from Cornell University and a JD degree in Civil Litigation Concentration from the University of Buffalo State University of New York.

Courtney is most passionate about connecting people and helping people navigate personal and professional growth.

Lorette Simon Gross

Lorette began her career at the global advertising agency D’arcy Masius Benton & Bowles where she served in the New York and Los Angeles offices. Her major clients included Proctor & Gamble, Burger King, Kraft, and Mars. She then went to work for clients Nestlé and Disney at Dailey & Associates. Lorette left Dailey to spend more time with her family and to pursue philanthropic causes. She is a dedicated member of the Women’s Guild at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she served as president. This non-profit group has raised more than $60 million for projects at the medical center, including The Breast Center, The Lung Institute,The Simulation Center and The Neurology Initiative. She has also served in volunteer/leadership positions at Harvard-Westlake School and Curtis School.

Lorette is a Cornell Communication (CALS) and Johnson School graduate and proud supporter of Cornell University, specifically the Department of Communication, Cornell’s Health Center and the Greek system. She currently serves on Cornell’s Board of Trustees, elected by her fellow alumni. She has been a member of the Cornell University Council, the Cornell Parents Committee, as well as the Department of Communication Advisory Board. In addition, she has served as co-chair of major gifts for her 25th and 30th Cornell class reunions.

Lorette lives in Beverly Hills, California with her husband Keith and their two sons Bennett ‘20 and Matthew.

Peggy Koenig

Peggy Koenig is Chair of Abry Partners, LLC, which is a top-ranked North American private equity investment firm focused solely on investing in the media, communications, information, and business services industries. She was a 2018 Fellow in Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Program.

Abry has completed more than $80 billion of leveraged transactions and other private equity investments. The firm manages buy-out, growth equity and senior debt funds. Peggy joined ABRY in 1993 as a partner when the firm organized its first $250 million buyout fund. During her tenure as co-CEO, Peggy was responsible for the oversight of the firm’s employees. She initiated a myriad of professional development activities to enhance the firm’s employee base. She co-chaired the firm’s investment committee, and she was responsible for raising nearly $7.5 billion of capital.

Peggy is the Producing Director of Black Cap Productions where she is developing a musical inspired by the book “Lives in Limbo,” which chronicles the lives of dozens of undocumented Americans (Dreamers) over more than a decade. She has invested in “What the Constitution Means to Me,” “The Inheritance,” and “My Dear Drug Lord,” of which she is a Co-Producer. She is a graduate of the 14-week Producer’s course at the Commercial Theater Institute and the three-day creative producing course at The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.

Prior to ABRY, Peggy was a Vice President, partner and member of the Board of Directors of Sillerman Communications Management Corporation, a merchant bank making investments principally in the radio industry. She participated in the formation and success of SFX Broadcasting, a publicly traded radio industry consolidator. Earlier in her career, she was involved in motion picture financing (Columbia and TriStar Pictures), investment banking (Thomson McKinnon Securities), and the magazine publishing industry (Savvy and American Photographer magazines).

She is a Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Cornell University, where she is Chair of the Research and Innovation committee, a member of the Executive Committee and a Co-Chair of Cornell’s capital campaign. She is a member of the Cornell Tech Council for Cornell’s NY Tech Campus and a member of the Board of Advisors at the Millstein Program in Technology and Humanity. She is a member of the National Board of the non-profit Cradles to Crayons and a member of the Massachusetts Women’s Forum. She is also a member of Citi Private Bank North American Advisory Board and the Advisory Board of the Carr Center for Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Allison Kornet White

Allison Kornet White, a 2004 graduate of the Department of Communication, is a Senior Vice President for Operations & Technology Risk Management at Citigroup, Inc. in New York. She focuses on establishing standards and controls to prevent employees from having inappropriate access to company data. She is certified as an Associate Business Continuity Professional from the Disaster Recovery Institute International. In 2012 Allison married Matthew White, also a Cornell graduate; they have a daughter together and live and work in New York.

David Markowitz

Dr. David M. Markowitz is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. He uses language patterns from natural databases to infer what people are thinking, feeling, and experiencing psychologically. Much of his work focuses on the relationship between deception and language, such as how fraudulent scientists write their research reports compared to genuine scientists and how online daters deceive their partners. His work has appeared in outlets such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Communication, and Journal of Language and Social Psychology. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University and his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Cornell University.

Tim Minton

Tim is communications director at New York City’s MTA, North America’s largest transportation network, where he leads a team responding to dozens of daily media inquiries from around the world. He also serves as a senior advisor to the Chair and CEO of the 70,000-employee organization, promoting thought leadership in a time of pandemic-delivered human challenges and financial crisis for global public transit.

Prior to joining the MTA, Tim was a pioneer in creating, distributing, and monetizing content for a generation of consumers that perceives television viewing to be optional. As CEO of Zazoom Media Group (2011–2017), he built a company leveraging technology for scalable production of original short form video programming. From its start in his mother-in-law’s dining room, ZMG became a global producer and distributor of online news and entertainment content that was viewed billions of times under his leadership. In 2017, Tim assumed the role of managing partner at East End Strategic, a consulting company based in New York. EES primarily assists companies seeking to build digital content businesses.

Earlier, as an on-air correspondent at NBC, ABC-7 Eyewitness News in New York and WTVJ in Miami, Tim’s reporting earned 18 Emmy awards and other local and national honors. His journalism career started in Ithaca, where he wrote stories for the New York Times while at Cornell.

Tim, who is also a professional soccer referee, lives in New York City with his wife Linda.

Hauwa Otori

Hauwa Otori is a Senior Researcher at GitHub, Inc., a software development platform, where she investigates the relationships and interactions between developer and security research communities. Prior to creating this research area, Hauwa led the Open Source Security Coalition, an industry effort to help secure open source software. Prior to joining GitHub, Hauwa gained extensive experience in Internet policy and communicated complex policy issues to diverse audiences. She was previously a Program Fellow at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation where she supported strategic thinking and grant making for the five-year, $65 million Cyber Initiative. She has also served as the first in-house counsel and Director of Legal & Regulatory Policy at the Internet Association, a trade association representing leading global Internet companies, where she oversaw its broad Internet policy portfolio.

In 2008, Hauwa graduated with honors from Cornell University earning a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a minor in Applied Economics & Management. During her undergraduate studies, Hauwa was awarded a position as a Cornell Presidential Research Scholar and engaged in academic research on media and psychology. She earned her J.D. (2011) from American University Washington College of Law and is a member of the New York State Bar.

She is the author of Children and the Media: Self-Other Perceptions of Occupational Portrayals in the Media and writes compelling features about culture, lifestyle, news, and technology. She is passionate about telling stories that inform, inspire, and move people to act. Her work has appeared in media outlets including Elle, Forbes, and Los Angeles-based National Public Radio member station KCRW. Hauwa is the Executive Producer of the Building Black Podcast with Hauwa Otori, a narrative-style podcast that tells in-depth stories of Black builders, entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs from around the globe who are building successful businesses and organizations.

Lesley Pinckney

Lesley Pinckney is an accomplished marketing and digital transformation expert with a track record of building successful brands and businesses. With a focus on youth and diverse audiences, she has been a driver of marketing innovation for Fortune 500 brands across multiple categories. She has held leadership positions in both public companies and start-ups. Her energy and vision bring added value to all types of organizations.
Lesley is the Director of Marketing for Intel's Ideation & Disruptive Innovation Group. Previously, as general manager of Essence.com, she negotiated an internal joint venture between Time Inc. and Warner Brothers Television group. The joint venture secured investment funding for an Essence.com redesign and re-launch. In five years, Lesley built Essence.com into the most profitable digital property per unique visitor at Time Inc. She also led the diversification of sales inventory to unlock new ad sales categories and revenue streams. Revenue grew by 20% year over year.

As the Executive Strategy Director for GMR Marketing and the Omnicom Experience Group, Lesley built two successful agency capabilities leading the creative technology and social media practices. She was selected as one of 70,000 global employees to attend Omnicom University, one of the pre-eminent management development programs in the industry. In this role, her client roster included companies like Twitter, Nissan, Target, Visa, and Comcast.

Lesley has also built a successful speaking career, making appearances at conferences including SXSW, EventTech, ANA, BlogHer, and Mediapost Summit. Lesley enjoys cooking and hopes to take her smoked meats skills to the competition circuit when she retires.

Raphael Poplock

Raphael Poplock serves as Senior Vice President of Business Development, Strategic Partnerships, and Content Acquisitions for Turner Sports and Bleacher Report. He is a core part of the senior executive team, overseeing business development, strategic partnerships, content acquisitions, and new business opportunities for Turner Sports and Bleacher Report. He works closely with department stakeholders to evaluate, negotiate, and manage league programming deals, including relationships with the NBA, MLB, and NHL. He also helps oversee Turner Sports and Bleacher Report’s sports betting business, leading its multi-year strategic partnerships and related content and product efforts with DraftKings and FanDuel. Raphael plays an integral role in developing business strategy and growing audience and revenue across the sports division, including developing original IP; supporting Bleacher Report’s leading digital/social portfolio brands; and scaling non-ad supported business lines, such as eCommerce, NFTs, betting, licensing, and other direct-to-consumer revenues, all while providing invaluable leadership to the overall content, sales, talent, and product development efforts.

Before joining Turner Sports, he served as Executive Vice President of Partnerships and Business Development and Head of Content at The Players Tribune. Prior to his role at The Players Tribune, he was the Vice President of Partnerships and Gaming at ESPN, where he led the company’s global partnerships business, seeking to create world-class content and product experiences while driving incremental revenue to the company.

Raphael lives in Long Island, NY, with his wife, Rachel, and two daughters, Jordana and Allie. He is a life-long suffering Jets fan, but luckily, he is also a fan of the Yankees, Rangers, Celtics, and Tar Heels.

Emily Posner

Emily Posner is the Wells Fargo Head of Conduct Risk Governance and Strategy. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, she was the Head of Corporate Compliance at Raymond James and the Head of Compliance Governance and Oversight at Citigroup. Emily previously practiced law at the global firm Jones Day.

Emily received her Bachelor of Science in Communication from Cornell University and her JD from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City. At Cornell, Emily was a Presidential Research Scholar and founded Cornell’s first publication celebrating undergraduate research, The Research Paper. At Cardozo, Emily served as editor-in-chief of the Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal and received a Heyman Scholarship for Corporate Governance.

Emily serves on the board of the Maple Street School in Brooklyn, NY. Emily, her husband John, and their 3 children are Cornell hockey fans. Go Big Red.

Adam Reiss

Adam Reiss is an award-winning NBC reporter and producer based in New York, having joined the network in 2014 after more than two decades as a producer and reporter for CNN. Adam has covered the globe and some of the biggest stories of our time in his years in network and local news. He is known for his breaking news coverage as well as exclusive interviews. He is one of the few journalists to report from inside North Korea and to report James Cameron's incredible, record-breaking deep dive to the Mariana Trench off the coast of Australia.

One of the first journalists on scene at the World Trade Center attack, Adam began reporting from Ground Zero in New York City, providing constant updates and detailed descriptions of the devastation. His range is broad, covering major events like the volcano eruptions in Iceland and the kidnaping of Sean Goldman in Brazil. He reported on the international tug of war over Elian Gonzalez, the Miracle on the Hudson, and the Escape from Dannemora. He has covered numerous trials ranging from the infamous John Gotti mafia trials of the 1980s, Michael Jackson’s criminal trial, and the recent trials of the Boston Bomber, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and El Chapo. He has been on the ground covering natural disasters including earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes, including the 2005 storms Katrina, Wilma, and Rita in Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and Mississippi. Adam reported on the 2020 presidential campaign and has covered every presidential election since 1988. While at CNN, he produced several specialized shows, including Fashion: Backstage Pass, Diplomatic License, and Soldier Story. He has been assigned to cover the tragic mass shootings in Newtown, Las Vegas, Charleston, and Orlando. Additionally, he covered the D.C.-area sniper case, the anthrax scare, the crash of TWA Flight 800, and the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Adam also worked at several local stations in the New York region including WPIX, WWOR, and WVIT.

Adam earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism from Cortland College. While there he was a disc jockey on the local radio station OK100 and worked at WSTM, the NBC affiliate in Syracuse. Recognized several times for his work, he is the recipient of four Peabody awards, a DuPont award, and a NATAS award. He is also a member of RIAS, a German-American journalist exchange program dedicated to building bridges of understanding in the field of broadcasting. He lives in New York City with his wife, Meryl, daughter, Michael Raye '21, and son, Ryan '26.

Robert Rosenberg

Rob is SVP, Deputy General Counsel, and SVP, Digital Strategy in Showtime Networks’ New York office, with a concentration in technology and digital distribution. Before joining Showtime, he was an associate with the Willkie Farr & Gallagher law firm where he was involved in intellectual property and technology-based corporate transactions. Prior to that, Rob was an Account Supervisor with the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell’s Department of Communication and his Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School. Rob is a former president of the Cornell Association of Class Officers and currently holds a position on the Cornell University Council.

Scott Schiller

Scott Schiller is a loyal and active Cornellian.

He is also an adjunct assistant professor at Stern/NYU and a long-time media executive.

Currently, Global Chief Commercial Officer at Engine Group, a worldwide digital media services company based in New York City,
Schiller brings a hands-on experience career in marketing, sales management, and media sales roles and a seasoned perspective on the intersection of content, media, technology, and data.

Scott has been fortunate to be part of many Fortune 50 companies, including AOL, MTV Networks, The Walt Disney Company, and ten years at Comcast/NBCUniversal. There, he helped create its digital advertising sales team positioned for the explosive growth of digital video, known today at CTV/OTT.

Schiller was a co-founder and long-time board member and former Chairman of The Interactive Advertising Bureau (www.IAB.com) as part of a small group of industry leaders who, 25 years ago, imagined the future business opportunity for digital media.

Schiller earned a BA in Economics from Cornell University and has an MBA in Marketing and Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Schiller is a proud member of the Cornell University Council.

Lisa Semmes

Lisa Semmes is a marketing strategist, brand management veteran, consumer insights expert, and innovation leader with a record of driving revenue and achieving growth for complex businesses through developing consumer-focused marketing plans that drive brand equity, market share, sales, and profits. Lisa has directed innovation and launched new products and line extensions providing $500 million revenue impact to brands including M&M's, Milky Way, SnackWell’s, Beech-Nut, Robitussin, Listerine, and Benadryl. At Staples, Lisa led the growth of two new brands, Union & Scale and NXT Technologies, quadrupling annual revenue. Lisa is adept at new product development, brand positioning, consumer segmentation, digital marketing, eCommerce content, social media, advertising, earned media, consumer promotion, ethnic marketing, and licensing.

After returning from living in India on ex-pat assignment, Lisa transitioned to marketing consulting, teaching best practices in Sales and Marketing Management at the University at Albany and Siena College, and serving as School Board President for two terms at St. Pius X School.

In her current role at Fidelity Investments as Director, Consumer Strategy & Segment Marketing, Lisa uncovers differentiated consumer insights, develops new opportunities for growth, personalization and innovation, and delivers GTM strategies and campaigns that inspire consumers to take action, with a particular focus on increasing financial wellness among young people.

Lisa has volunteered on her Cornell Class Council since graduation, co-chaired the 15th, 20th, and 25th reunions, served on the Cornell Club of Boston Board of Directors, and is currently co-president of the Class of 1988. Lisa and her husband, Ben, live in the Boston area and are the very proud parents of 6 children. Their eldest son, Andrew, gave the Convocation address as President of the Cornell Class of 2019.

Alyssa Kent

Alyssa is Manager of Franchise & Licensing Communications at The Walt Disney Company. She currently oversees consumer product communications for franchises including: Marvel, 20th Century, and ESPN. Since joining the company, she has managed consumer product communications campaigns tied to major theatrical releases, such as: Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, 20th Century Studios’ Avatar: The Way of Water, and Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.

Previously, Alyssa was Director of Publicity at Paramount (formerly ViacomCBS), working on shows including: Rachael Ray, Inside Edition, and The Drew Barrymore Show. Prior, Alyssa was Brand Communications Manager for PEOPLE Magazine, its streaming network PeopleTV, and the nightly entertainment news show, “PEOPLE,” while at Meredith Corporation (formerly Time Inc.). Before joining Time Inc., Alyssa was Senior Account Executive at the New York City entertainment public relations agency, FerenComm, where her client roster included: Bravo, CNBC, Travel Channel, and more. Her first job after graduating from Cornell University was at the entertainment public relations and marketing agency, Beck Media & Marketing. While working for this agency in both Los Angeles and New York City, her client roster included: NBCUniversal, Hulu, National Geographic Channel, award-winning actors, and more.

Alyssa graduated from Cornell University in 2012, receiving her B.S. in Communication and minor in Development Sociology. She received her M.S. in Strategic Communication from Columbia University in 2022.

Marc Silberman

Marc is a Strategy Lead at CLEAR, a biometric technology company that empowers touchless experiences, where he focuses on expansion into new business verticals. Before joining CLEAR, Marc served as Chief of Staff at an early-stage healthcare startup and was a venture investor at Time Warner Investments, a media-focused corporate venture capital fund at the parent company of Warner Bros., HBO, and Turner. Prior to Time Warner, Marc spent three years at BuzzFeed, the global news and entertainment company, in roles spanning finance, strategy, and international growth.

At Cornell, Marc was an undergraduate researcher in the Department of Communication and served as a Teaching Assistant for COMM 2450: Communication and Technology. Since graduation, he has worked as a Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador in New York City and has guest lectured for several Communication courses. Marc graduated from Cornell in 2012 with a double major in Communication and Applied Economics & Management.

He lives in New York City, is a big New York Mets fan, and is an avid (but admittedly slow) distance runner, having completed 5 NYC Marathons.

Ryan Silbert

Academy Award winning filmmaker Ryan Silbert is a writer, producer, author, and founder of Origin Story Entertainment, a multi-platform entertainment company with a global focus on storytelling. Silbert’s next project is Stan Lee’s Alliances: A Trick of Light, an original, first-of-its kind audio storytelling event produced by Amazon’s Audible Studios and starring Grown-ish's Yara Shahidi. Created by Silbert, Luke Lieberman, and Stan Lee, in the late cultural icon’s final collaboration, A Trick of Light is an audiobook original that will be published later as a full-length novel in hardcover. With work recognized by the Academy Awards®, the Canadian Academy of Film & Television, Sundance, MoMa, IFP, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Berlinale, Ryan's expansive repertoire includes such films as the Academy Award® winning God of Love and Spike Lee’s The Girl Is in Trouble. As the founder of Origin Story Entertainment, Ryan is currently in development on television, film, and immersive narratives projects created specifically for audio platforms.

Ryan is an appointed member of the Cornell Communication Advisory Board and Cornell University Council. He graduated with honors from Cornell University with a dual degree in Communication and Business and is an MFA Candidate at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program where he also recently completed a post-doc fellowship investigating immersive narratives in games and film. As a writer and producer he is currently represented by Foundry Literary+Media.