Communication and Media Advisory Board
The Communication and Media Advisory Board (CMAB), established in Spring 2024, is a resource for Loyola College of Arts and Sciences (LCAS) and Loyola University Maryland. Advisory Board members are stakeholders of LCAS who provide critical and useful feedback to the communication and media department chair and the associate dean of the social sciences.
Specifically, the Advisory Board assists in furthering the work of the communication and media department – both undergraduate and graduate programs. This involves, but is not limited to, offering insight and advice to the department chair regarding programs, policies, and plans; supporting the work of Loyola University Maryland through philanthropy and direct engagement with the faculty and students; and serving as ambassadors for Loyola and the department.
Dr. Biswas has a wide range of research interests that include community and ethnic media; media, policy and diversity; diversity in journalism and communication education; and global media. His peer-reviewed research articles were published in academic journals, including Newspaper Research Journal, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Teaching Journalism & Mass Communication, Journal of Development Communication, and Social Development Issues. More information about his publication is available on Google Scholar page.
Biswas’s first book (co-authored with Dr. Dorothy Bland at the University of North Texas) on DEI Strategies: Learning from Journalism and Mass Communication programs was published by the Rowman & Littlefield in November, 2023. He is currently working on research projects and manuscripts on Ethnic News Media in Times of Crisis, AI in Journalism and Communication Education and the Black newspapers’ coverage of COVID-19 vaccines/vaccination in the context of racial disparities in health care and public health messaging.
After graduating from Loyola in 2003 with a B.A. in communication, he earned a master’s degree in magazine, newspaper and online journalism from Syracuse University. He was previously a copy editor at The Baltimore Sun.
He lives in Connecticut with his wife and children and in his spare time enjoys attending concerts, theater performances and just about any other form of live entertainment.
From appearing as a regular lifestyle contributor sharing her value-packed tips and product picks on Inside Edition, PIX11, ABC, FOX, CBS, Cheddar and more, to selling out her kitchen must-haves on QVC, Marisa is a millennial mom and gourmet girl-next-door who connects to her audiences in an authentic, dynamic way.
As a former news anchor and born storyteller with the gift of gab, Marisa spent 15 years building creative, must-see TV on channels like NBC Philadelphia and News 12 New Jersey. Through her time in news as both and anchor and reporter she covered high-profile breaking news stories, major weather events, historic elections and more.
Now as a lifestyle expert and brand ambassador, she partners with some of the nation's biggest brands in the food and lifestyle space, including Target, Cuisinart, General Mills, Amazon, Olay, Secret, Bath & Body Works, The Vitamin Shoppe, and Wyndham Hotels, bringing their products and messaging to life on the air through her segments.
Marisa uses that breadth of experience to teach others, developing strategy for her media coaching clients and helping them become confident on camera to help grow their business and brand impacts. In addition to her TV and coaching roles, Marisa is also a video host and digital contributor for NJMOM, where she leads meaningful discussions about the challenges of motherhood and highlights mompreneurs, businesses and events to a community of 200 thousand+.
Speaking of mom life, Marisa’s heart and hands are full as a proud mom to two sons and a daughter. Having also lost her first daughter to birth complications in 2014, Marisa is a passionate advocate for pregnancy and infant loss awareness initiatives that support families who’ve lost babies.
Marisa credits her Jesuit education at Loyola for instilling a widened, compassionate, curious perspective of the world and its complexities. She’s honored to give her time to helping ensure success for the upcoming generation of Loyola Communication and Media students.
Before joining Atlas, Debbie worked for 20 years with Avon Products, Inc. leading internal and external communications, and corporate social responsibility across the global and North America businesses. She also served on the board of the Avon Foundation, a 501C3, and helped drive its growth to one of the world’s largest corporate foundations for women, with over $1 billion raised to support the fights against breast cancer and domestic violence. Prior to joining Avon, she worked on the agency side, delivering marketing communications and public relations services to blue chip clients, including Procter & Gamble, Bath and Body Works, Beiersdorf, SmithKline Beecham Consumer Health, Rosewood Hotels and Swarovski.
Debbie currently serves on the board of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Loyola University Maryland, with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in Business.
Debbie lives in Basking Ridge, New Jersey with her husband Steve, and has two sons: Jack (Providence College, Class of 2023) and TJ (Quinnipiac University, Class of 2027).
Theresa pens the popular blog "Meet, Catch, and Keep" hosted on Psychology Today, which has accrued over 34 million views to date. She has been interviewed and consulted widely on account of her expertise in relationships, with radio appearances (e.g., WPR, KPCC, WBAL) and commentary solicited for outlets such as The New York Times, Yahoo News, CNBC, US News and World Report, Bravo TV, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and HGTV Magazine.
Originally from New England, Theresa holds a bachelors in English and Psychology from Wellesley College and a master's and doctoral degree from Brown University. She lives with her husband and two young children and enjoys baking, her spin bike, and the beach.
Jackie joined the Orioles as a public relations intern during her senior year of college from 2015-16 and joined the organization fulltime in May of 2017. Originally from Narragansett, RI, Jackie graduated from Loyola University Maryland in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and Spanish.
As a dedicated contributor to Local Girl Media, Joelle shines a spotlight on New Jersey's local scene through her insightful coverage of community events and business features. Joelle is deeply committed to serving her community and actively participates in various philanthropic endeavors. She is on the Party with Purpose board and serves as the Volunteer Coordinator for Hoboken Girl. She enjoys channeling her efforts into supporting and organizing personal care and food drives for organizations such as The Flow Initiative, The Hoboken Shelter, and Cathedral International’s Mercy House.
Together with her sister, Joelle co-authors the beloved Twin Tales children's book series. She is one of four co-founders of Little Souls Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing hunger and educational needs in their community.
In her leisure time, Joelle indulges her passion for baking by experimenting with new recipes, exploring local restaurants' culinary landscape, delving into the intricacies of food history, and maintaining an active lifestyle through exercise.
Krsulich is the CEO of Martini Media, a 15-year-old digital media firm that specializes in the affluent market. In the nearly 10 years of running the company, he has elevated its profile, grown customer partnerships, streamlined product offerings, sharpened luxury digital insights, and created new revenue sources. These enhancements have led to stronger brand collaborations and a prominent expertise in the affluent marketplace.
Prior to Martini, Krsulich was the SVP of Sales for InsideHook – a digital start up led by Andy Russell (Pilot Group) that focuses on influential, active, upscale men. In one year, he developed branded content campaigns for top luxury clients such as TAG Heuer, Louis Vuitton, Don Julio, Nordstrom, Tiffany, Zenith Watch, and Chanel.
Krsulich was the Publisher of Men’s Journal. As Publisher, he was responsible for all ad sales, marketing, and strategy for Men’s Journal Magazine and MensJournal.com. He successfully launched the Men’s Journal Adventure Race Calendar, initially sponsored by Porsche. The calendar is the only comprehensive online guide to all adventure races in the U.S. He also served as Men’s Journal’s Associate Publisher for five years. While Associate Publisher, Krsulich played an integral role in launching MensJournal.com and driving innovative custom content offerings for brands such as Land Rover, The North Face, Tudor Watch and Texas Tourism. He also helped to develop the Men’s Journal Gear Lab pop-up store and Gear Lab digital offerings, as well as Men’s Journal’s e-commerce approach.
Before joining Men’s Journal, Krsulich was Advertising Director at the National Geographic Society, working on National Geographic KIDS and National Geographic Adventure. While at National Geographic in 2008, Krsulich was recognized as the MIN Salesperson of the Year. He also held sales positions at Time Inc.
Earlier in his career, Krsulich lived overseas in Melbourne, Australia and worked for Standard & Poor’s in editorial and product management.
Vincent graduated with honors from Loyola University in Maryland. He currently resides in Briarcliff Manor, New York with his wife and two daughters.
Nelson joined NewsNation in June 2020 and initially served as Weekend Managing Editor helping to oversee weekend coverage and contributed to the planning of special projects such as Election 2020 and the Presidential Inauguration.
Previously he was a Coordinating Producer at MSNBC and a contributing writer for the digital platform NBCBLK. He also served as both Senior Editor and as an Assignment Editor at NBC News managing the network’s Network News Desk overnight.
In a previous stint with NBC News, Nelson was a researcher on the Network News Desk. He joined NBC News as part of the highly regarded News Associates program.
Earlier in his career, he was a news writer at the CBS-owned WJZ-TV and a blogger for The Baltimore Sun’s BTheSite.com.
He began his journalism career as an anchor, reporter, and writer for “Teen Perspective 2 News,” a monthly news program for young people at WMAR-TV while in high school.
As an undergraduate at Loyola he was news director for WLOY Radio and contributed to what was WLOY-TV, and to campus publications.
Nelson earned a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in sociology from Loyola University Maryland and a master’s degree in law from the Georgetown University Law Center.
A Baltimore native, he is a proud graduate of St. Ignatius Loyola Academy, and McDonogh School.
He is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the Online News Association.
In her role, Krista oversees credit card product development, P&L management, agile delivery, product capabilities, and marketing. Her greatest strengths are her creativity, drive and leadership, and she thrives on challenges, particularly those focused on expanding an organization’s reach.
Krista is also passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion and sits on the Google Marketing Advisory Board for Finance and was recently awarded the Change Agent award from Women in Payments USA. She is a sought-after and frequent speaker on the topics of credit cards and financial health and has been a member of the private women’s membership group CHIEF.
Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Krista worked in product management and marketing at several companies, including 10 years at Citi, where she served as Managing Director of Global Consumer Brand Strategy and Advertising. While at Citi, she helped institute gender equality measures into marketing in partnership with The Female Quotient and the Association of National Advertisers. Earlier in her career, Krista worked at JPMorgan Chase for 11 years in a variety of P&L, product, communications and marketing leadership roles.
Krista holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola College and a graduate degree from LaSalle University. She is a Long Island native and currently lives in Landenberg, Pennsylvania, with her husband and three children.
Kimberly Stevenson Parks brings three decades of progressive leadership and fundraising experience in the higher education and independent school sectors to her role of director of development at Loyola’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Loyola Clinical Centers. A native Marylander, Stevenson Parks most recently led advancement efforts for her alma mater, St. Paul’s School for Girls, after serving McDaniel College and Bowie State University. Her current volunteer activity is focused on mentoring youth about food insecurity at the Baltimore Hunger Project.