Communication and Media Advisory Board

Dr. Masudul (Mas) Biswas is Chair and Full Professor of the Communication and Media Department at Loyola University Maryland. Dr. Biswas teaches a wide range of courses in communication and media, especially in digital and emerging media. The courses he has taught include user experience, web development, mobile media, data visualization and storytelling, digital content creation, and senior capstone in digital media. He regularly teaches a course on diversity and representation in the context of U.S. media. 
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.

Peter Blair is an editor at The New York Times, where he leads the Flexible Editing Desk, a team of multipurpose editors who offer support to other newsroom departments at all hours of the day and night and particularly during major news events. In his role, he also works closely with early-career editors and has developed a training curriculum to teach others the craft of editing. Recently, he has written for The Times about his experiences solving word games like Wordle and Connections.

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.

Marisa Brahney is an Emmy award-winning television host, on-air lifestyle expert and media coach who has spent the past two decades on TV.

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.

Debbie Coffey has more than 30 years of experience leading communications for global companies within the consumer products and aviation sectors. Debbie currently serves as Chief Communications Officer for Atlas Air Worldwide, a leading global outsourced aviation logistics company with over $5 billion in revenues. Debbie joined Atlas in 2018 to establish the company’s first dedicated communications team. She has responsibility for driving an integrated communications strategy for all internal and external stakeholders, including employee communications, media relations, marketing, social media, crisis communications and ESG Reporting. 
 
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).

James daSilva is a content marketing manager at Rep Cap, a B2B content agency, and a freelance B2B editor and content strategy working primarily with professional associations and nonprofits. For over a decade, he was a senior editor at the email newsletter company SmartBrief, where he managed the SmartBrief on Leadership brand. James started his career as a copy editor at a small daily newspaper in central New York.

Theresa DiDonato is a relationship scientist, author, and Professor of Psychology who recently assumed the role of Associate Dean for the Social Sciences and Graduate Programs at Loyola University Maryland. With over 15 years of faculty experience, Theresa brings with her a reputation for highly effective teaching, experience in a wide array of university service and leadership roles, and a track record of impactful research. Her recent textbook, The Science of Romantic Relationships (co-authored with Loyola alum Brett Jakubiak) has been praised as a "game changer for the field," and for its "fresh perspective" and "commitment to diversity and inclusion." 

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 Harig is in her 10th season working in public relations for the Baltimore Orioles. She currently serves as the Director of Public Relations, a role she’s held since January of 2023. In her role, Jackie oversees all aspects of both the baseball and business communications for the club, including filtering and facilitating all internal and external requests for players, coaches, families, prospects, and staff; writing and editing all baseball and business-related announcements and deliverables; coordinating daily media availability and interviews with all members of the team; and helping to execute content ideas and concepts, working collaboratively with broadcast partners, creative content, marketing, community development, and other departments.
 
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.

Joelle Hernandes, an alumna of Loyola University Maryland with a background in journalism and advertising, is currently an Account Manager at Dotdash Meredith on the Partnerships Team. Beyond her corporate endeavors, Joelle is the co-owner of Double Dough Sweets & Treats, a thriving Cottage baking business known for its bespoke creations.

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.

Jordan Hernandez is a seasoned communications and marketing professional specializing in content creation, marketing strategy, and business development. With nearly a decade of experience in content marketing publishing, she now directs content and drives growth for Citizen Relations. A cum laude graduate of Loyola University Maryland in communications, Jordan is also the co-owner of Double Dough Sweets & Treats, known for its custom confections. As an editorial contributor to Local Girl Media, she highlights New Jersey's local scene. Jordan is deeply committed to community service, serving on the board of Party with Purpose and co-founding two non-profits supporting education. She manages Completely Booked, a book community, and enjoys staying active, traveling, and exploring new restaurants.

As a C-Suite Media Executive, Vincent Krsulich has more than 20 years of experience leading successful sales teams for several powerful brands in the U.S. He is creative, strategic, and disciplined.  He is best known, however, for his tireless efforts on behalf of his clients as he pushes for their success within the changing consumer landscape.

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.

Christopher Nelson is the Director of Talent Relations and Recruitment for NewsNation. He helps manage the recruitment of on-air and off-air talent for NewsNation, provides coaching and mentoring to staff on career growth and development, and advises network leadership on strategic priorities. He also supports NewsNation and its parent company Nexstar's diversity equity and inclusion efforts.
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.

Jay O’Brien leads Ravens Productions, an award-winning team responsible for all brand video and audio, including social and digital video content, in-stadium game presentation, television shows, preseason game broadcasts, podcasts and gameday radio. He also serves as executive producer of the Ravens’ gameday production, which was recognized by the NFL’s Voice of the Fan survey in the 2023 season as the best game entertainment and best video board content in the NFL. O’Brien was the Ravens’ lead to debut the team’s Mixed Reality Raven in partnership with The Famous Group in 2019 and received the 2020 Sports Business Award for Best in Sports Technology. He also played lead roles in the Ravens’ pioneering partnerships with Skycam and Intel True View to enhance the team’s fan experience. O’Brien and Ravens Productions received the team’s first-ever national Sports Emmys Award for Outstanding Long Feature for their NFL Network co-production of “The Gift of Gaba” in 2021. O’Brien has earned 22 regional Emmy Awards, and in 2017, the Baltimore Business Journal named him to its “40 Under 40” list. He serves on the board of the Ravens Foundation, earned an undergraduate degree in journalism from Loyola College and a master’s in business administration from Towson and the University of Baltimore. O’Brien and his wife, fellow Loyola alumnus Alex O'Brien, have a daughter, Siena (9), and a son, Shea (7).

Aimee Pagano is the Global Head of Talent Acquisition at VML, the world's foremost creative advertising powerhouse. Aimee spearheads VML's mission to attract and onboard top-tier talent, fueling the company's exponential growth. With two decades of talent acquisition expertise across multiple industries she has worked with some of the world’s most creative strategic minds. Her innovative approach has reshaped talent acquisition, empowering companies to secure diverse, exceptional talent across consumer, creative, and health sectors. Beyond her professional achievements, Aimee is a graduate of Loyola College, a dedicated mother of two, wife of one Australian, and a proud New Yorker, balancing her career with a love for family, travel, and beachside relaxation.

Krista Phillips is an EVP, Head of Consumer Credit Cards & Consumer Lending Marketing at Wells Fargo, where she manages a multi-billion-dollar P&L and team of over 900 employees. Krista has led the reinvention of the entire consumer credit card portfolio at Wells Fargo, which includes launching six industry-leading credit cards since joining the team in 2020. 

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.

Nick Scutari has a decade of brand marketing experience and is currently the Brand Director & Digital Lead at United States Beverage (USB) – one of America's leading beverage companies, focusing on imported and U.S. craft beer, ciders, and specialty beverages. Nick's professional career began at Pernod Ricard USA, where he had various marketing responsibilities within wine and spirits, including digital & social media initiatives, brand advocacy, data analytics, graphic design, and in-house brand events. After his time with PR USA, he continued to build brands within the health & fitness and financial services industries. He was instrumental in the development of the social media strategies at those companies. Nick joined USB in 2021 as a Senior Brand Development Manager and was later promoted to Brand Director & Digital Lead. In his current role, Nick manages a variety of beverage brands, leads national & regional consumer-facing programs, curates our e-commerce, digital & social media strategies, and supports innovation ventures. Nick’s digital skillset enhances USB’s online brand presence which drives awareness, consideration, and conversion among consumers. Nick is a graduate of Loyola University Maryland (Class of 2014) and earned his M.A. in Emerging Media from Loyola in 2020. Nick is currently pursuing his third degree from Loyola – an MBA in Marketing – to be completed in 2024.

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.