Meet The Team

Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk
Co-Founder

Gary Vaynerchuk has captured attention with his pioneering, multi-faceted approach to personal branding and business. After primarily utilizing traditional advertising techniques to build his family's local retail wine business into a national industry leader, Gary rapidly leveraged social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to promote Wine Library TV, his video blog about wine. Gary's success has led to a 7-figure book deal, several national TV appearances, and a flurry of speaking engagements around the world. Gary's dual identity as both business guru and wine guy has made him the "Social Media Sommelier."

AJ Vaynerchuk
AJ Vaynerchuk
Co-Founder

AJ Vaynerchuk is a co-founder of VaynerMedia, a social media agency that focuses on community management and emerging technologies. AJ runs day to day operations at VaynerMedia while also serving as the key contact for many VaynerMedia clients. In addition to his responsibilities at Vaynermedia, AJ serves as an advisor to several startups including WakeMate and Forrst. He enjoys spending time with his family, reading on his iPad, and following the New York Jets.

Sarah Mandato
Sarah Mandato
Senior Vice President

After leaving a traditional law career, Sarah discovered her passion for experimenting with and fine tuning the use of social media as a business strategy. She arrives at VaynerMedia by way of a social media website, eager to continue her work within this emerging medium. A California transplant very much at home in NYC, she loves gallery hopping, mixology bars, independent films, reading, eating eggplant and spending irresponsibly.

Steve Campbell
Steve Campbell
Senior Community Manager

Steve hails from New Castle, Pennsylvania, aka the fireworks capital of the world. It was there that he developed his love of sports (Go Steelers!), emerging tech, and business. Fun fact: In high school, Steve was voted 'Most Likely to be on Wall Street' by his peers. He attended Penn State University, where he majored in IST and was fortunate enough to meet legendary football coach Joe Paterno. Graduating into a tough job market, Steve turned to social media and writing to build his personal brand and differentiate himself from other job seekers. He quickly became passionate about social media and startup life, which led him to NYC and VaynerMedia. Oh, and Steve likes ninjas, too.

Bridget Maher
Bridget Maher
Senior Community Manager

After running two music blogs, Bridget confessed that she was a social media nerd and vowed to use its powers for good instead of evil. She joined VaynerMedia but occasionally moonlights as a photographer and blogger, braving mosh pits, crowd surfers and overhyped musicians. Don't let her "angry death metal" scare you, she also is a foster mom for wayward dogs from Waggytail Rescue (follow her on Twitter for puppy pictures.)

Max Bass
Max Bass
Community Manager

Max grew up in Gorham, Maine, shredding the town's relatively safe streets on his bike, playing sports, and climbing trees. He went to Lafayette College in Pennsylvania where he took a few classes, sang a capella, and became an intramural basketball legend. After college Max moved to New York City where he worked at a radio station writing interviews for guests ranging from former CIA operatives to Harlem Globetrotters. Max joined VaynerMedia as an intern hoping to take his social media game to the next level(s), now he's proud to be a Community Manager!

Richard Dedor
Richard Dedor
Community Manager

Richard has a passion for sports (everything Colorado and tennis related) and after transplanting himself from the Midwest, found a home at VaynerMedia as a Community Manager. From the Heartland of America and a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, he was once a candidate for mayor of his hometown, placing third out of ten. In his free time, Richard volunteers for The Trevor Project, enjoys giving motivational speeches, taking inopportune naps and writing books.

Ella Evans
Ella Evans
Community Manager

Raised in Pittsburgh (that's the City of Champions to you, haters) since age two, Ella moved with all her belongings to the Empire City of her birth just a couple days after graduating from Brown in May 2011 with a double degree in Religious Studies and History. Her biggest thrills come from eating really delicious, really spicy tacos, watching the Steelers win, finding great dive bars, getting new Foursquare badges, and going to concerts on concerts on concerts. An interest in new media, writing, and cool young people brought Ella to VaynerMedia and community management at just the right time, and she can't wait to see what's gonna happen next!

Jared Horowitz
Jared Horowitz
Community Manager

Jared was born and raised in New York, where he bounces around between the 5 boroughs of NYC, Albany, and his hometown of Warwick. As community leader, he is most passionate about gaming, music, coffee, and Astoria. Jared was the Community and Distribution Manager of a gaming and men’s lifestyle publication, General Manager of his college radio station (which broadcast throughout the community of the Capital Region of New York), has managed a café, and is actively involved in the Astoria community of Queens, where he currently resides.

Anthony Liang
Anthony Liang
Community Manager

Anthony Liang graduated with a degree in economics from the University of New Hampshire (where he's also from), but has strong passions for entrepreneurship, technology, and the web-making social media a perfect fit! As an undergrad Anthony lead a student group helping local businesses and organizations understand how to use new media tools effectively (One of his efforts was published in the book Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day). Working in a family restaurant growing up has also made him into a giant foodie. Throw in his desire to live in the city and learn from Gary, becoming a Community Manager at VaynerMedia is the perfect fit!

Loren Mattia
Loren Mattia
Community Manager

Born and raised in the Garden State, known by some as the armpit of America (New Jersey), Loren’s creative spirit and drive for a dynamic career path attracted her to the constantly growing world of social media. Always craving the new, Loren moved to California to attend a prestigious arts high school at the tender age of 17, then moved back to the east coast to attend Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her degree in the Writing Seminars in 2009. Her experience as an entertainment blogger at a media advocacy nonprofit sparked her interest in social media, which led to her entering the field of public relations and marketing in Los Angeles. Seeing Community Management as an ideal utilization of her passion for all things creative and digital media related, Loren relocated back to the tri-state area for a wonderful opportunity at VaynerMedia.

Neelam Rana
Neelam Rana
Community Manager

Neelam is a true Jersey girl. Born and raised in North Jersey, she graduated from Rutgers University where she studied Communication and Economics, and takes great pride in being a Scarlet Knight. She has a great appreciation for music with great beats, anything eatable, and fashion that makes bold statements. Neelam considers her family as her most prized possession and loves to spend her free time doing pretty much anything that comes her way.

Vikash Shah
Vikash Shah
Community Manager

Vikash hails from the Motown city. His Finance degree from Michigan State led him to work in the Banking Industry, where Microsoft Excel secretly became his favorite program. Throughout his time in the Banking Industry, a travel bug caught up with him which led to working in Africa for three months. Aside from making graphs, his other interests include; hashtags, entrepreneurship, dancing and eating. Bonus Factoid: Vikash is an International Garba champion.

Evan Weiss
Evan Weiss
Community Manager

Evan was born in Illinois and raised in California. He studied English with Creative Writing at Kenyon College and started his own Freelance Community Management business during his senior year. He listens to an extensive amount of public radio and also reads quite a bit (thanks to his commute). He writes when he has the time and hopes to be knighted one day though he is not British. He is working on his accent.

Cory Williams
Cory Williams
Community Manager

Cory was born and raised in New England but managed to find her way south of the Mason-Dixon for college to enjoy the sprawling agricultural metropolis that is Blacksburg, Virginia. Cory “unlucky” Williams has a history of encountering bad luck in life, so earning her degree in Communication from Virginia Tech and landing her "big kid" job at VaynerMedia was no accident. After gaining marketing and public relations experience with various companies, Cory knew community management and VaynerMedia were a perfect fit for her. In her spare time she enjoys fraternizing with #hashtags, long walks on the beach and traveling anywhere she can. She can be found walking on her tip-toes through the halls of VaynerMedia.

Luis Paez-Pumar
Luis Paez-Pumar
Associate Community Manager

A product of Venezuela via Miami, Luis comes to VaynerMedia with a little bit of rock and roll. A music lover since the first time he heard his brother's collection as a toddler, he had a life planned as a music journalist. Then he discovered Twitter during his time at New York University. Now a staunch advocate of the power of social media, he has found a place where he can put his passion to work. Whenever he's not raving about online communities, Luis can be found tweeting about one of his other loves: independent music, sports, movies, and especially good TV.

Celeste Roque
Celeste Roque
Associate Community Manager

Sailing in to VaynerMedia from across the Hudson River is Celeste (not to be confused with the frozen pizza of the same name). Born in New York but raised in New Jersey, she is a lover of the city lifestyle. As a Rutgers University graduate Celeste majored in journalism and media studies while also delving into the world of psychology. Throughout her undergrad career, she worked as a brand ambassador for several major companies while also interning, and working in retail. While Celeste does enjoy the occasional "fist pumping" track, she is known by her friends for her varied taste in music. She is a beauty aficionado by day and Nintendo geek by night. Celeste prides herself on being an active sharer of links and media on her social networks and her Foursquare badges. Recently she has developed an obsession with all things Star Wars. May the force be with you!

Jemar Souza
Jemar Souza
Associate Community Manager

Jemar is a Bronx born, Syracuse University graduate with a child-like thirst for knowledge and unquestionable love for music and fun cartoons. When he's not doing his thing at Vayner, he dabbles in various (song)writing, fashion, and education projects to help leave his stamp on the world. Unnecessarily deep conversations about nothing important are his forte; and he enjoys orange juice...alot.

Shirlee Spitzer
Shirlee Spitzer
Associate Community Manager

Shirlee (pronounced like sheer happiness!) is a Jersey Girl, through and through. Born and raised in north Jersey, and a proud Rutgers University grad, she has always had a love for all things branded and advertised. That, along with her panache for chatting up every character she comes across, led her to VaynerMedia where she could combine it all! Shirlee is happiest trying new adventures, watching movies in her pj's, and scanning food blogs for recipes she's sure she'll get around to cooking... eventually.

Clare Stein
Clare Stein
Associate Community Manager

Clare has spent time living in New Jersey, Ohio, and the more glamorous locales of France and New York City. She studied English and Creative Writing at Kenyon College and has worked in publishing, philanthropy, and education. Inspired by the emerging and creative potential of social media, Clare decided to draw from past community managing roles and enter the field. Clare appreciates puns, postcards, and a good laugh. She spends her free time writing, cooking without recipes, and attempting the New York Times crossword. She cannot choose between cats or dogs.

Semhar Woldeyesus
Semhar Woldeyesus
Associate Community Manager

Semhar was born and raised in Toronto. After completing her master’s degree at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, she headed to Washington, D.C., to work at NPR’s National Arts Desk. A passionate storyteller, Semhar is interested in using digital media to empower audiences and inspire social change. When she is not at VaynerMedia, Semhar can be found practicing Arabic, drinking tea obsessively or plotting her next sample sale adventure. Oh, and she’s really good at Crazy 8’s... really good.

Elise Bartlett
Elise Bartlett
Account Supervisor

Born in New York, Elise grew up in Minneapolis but ended up back on the east coast when she went to Colgate University for college. Since graduating from Colgate in 2007, Elise has spent most of her time in New York building her digital knowledge working on such brands as Target Corp. For a brief period of time, Elise was back in Minneapolis tapping into her entrepreneurial side when she launched an ecommerce website for high end beauty products. She is excited to be back in the big city and working as an Account Supervisor for Vaynermedia.

Eric Fulwiler
Eric Fulwiler
Account Supervisor

Eric has taken the long road along his marketing career path. Originally from Boston, he studied and worked as a jazz musician in Montreal for two years before earning his degree in International Development from McGill University. He worked as a Regional Analyst for the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative in the Caribbean for a year before entering the private sector at Forbes.com where he led the brand's early-stage social media development. Before joining VM, he worked on three start-ups, including his own consulting firm, and ran away to South Africa for two months. When not working, you can find Eric in the library, dog park, muay thai gym, or wandering aimlessly in a foreign country.

Marcus Krzastek
Marcus Krzastek
Account Supervisor

Marcus has come a long way since creating professional wrestling role playing web sites when he was in middle school. Despite studying economics at the University of Richmond, he knew he didn't want to pursue the traditional finance career path (a decision which the economy conveniently supported). Marcus' passion for relationships and critical business analysis made becoming an Account Supervisor with Vaynermedia a logical next step.

Matt Sitomer
Matt Sitomer
Account Supervisor

After earning a Master's in Psychology, Matt Sitomer grew weary of the laboratory and abandoned his academic path. He began working with Gary Vaynerchuk in 2006 and boosted his wine knowledge, but also rapidly absorbed Gary's approach to marketing and the social web. Matt loves jazz, independent rock, good wine, great beer, and baseball. Although he ran track in college, he is gradually coming to grips with the fact that he is no longer a Division I athlete.

Joe Whitmarsh
Joe Whitmarsh
Account Supervisor

Joe Whitmarsh is living the dream at VaynerMedia. While working full-time for CBS Radio in New York, Joe pursued his passion for social media by moonlighting at VaynerMedia in the summer of 2009. Given the opportunity to join the team full-time, in the spring of 2010, he took the chance to work with a smart & talented group in a space he believed in and has not looked back. Typically seen with his headphones on (and heard singing random lyrics) Joe relishes in his eclectic taste in music and is always looking to discover new artists. Joe has also been known to make pancakes for the entire office. To think he has Friendster to thank for it all.

Stephanie Bagley
Stephanie Bagley
Account Executive

Stephanie is the resident sports media chick at Vaynermedia, working with the NHL to explore ways the league can use social media to engage fans and grow excitement around the game. She also hits the sports circuit as a freelance reporter for ESPN the Magazine, where she has been lucky enough to write since 2007. She also likes to talk... a lot... whether it is on a social media panel, the occasional guest spot on a hockey radio show, or on her pink BlackBerry. When not on Twitter and/or otherwise socially engaging, Stephanie enjoys snowboarding, cooking Italian food, the sport of hockey and taking years off her life watching her favorite teams, which include, but are not limited to, the New York Jets and the New York Mets.

Amanda Baldauf
Amanda Baldauf
Account Executive

Amanda is a New York/Long Island native and a Marist College graduate. Since graduation, she has been fully immersed in the Social Media world. She was first responsible for developing a Social Media department at a full service ad agency, followed by her work at Buddy Media managing their Facebook ad solutions department. Before her work in Social Media, Amanda worked as a sailing instructor on Long Island and spent much enjoyed time traveling and living in Florence, Italy.

Cristina Colletta
Cristina Colletta
Account Executive

Cristina is a native New Yorker and graduate of Boston University's College of Communication. She is an eternal optimist, believing that any problem can be solved either with a smile or by melting cheese on it. During college, Cristina tried on several hats working for a major luxury fashion label, a non-profit, in retail, and even a pizzeria. After experiencing the growth of a brand through social media while working for a small startup post-graduation, Cristina's glorious journey led her to join the fine team at VaynerMedia as a Community Manager. When not fine-tuning her hashtag skills, Cristina likes to peruse vintage shops, eat sandwiches upside down (try it, it will change your life), and watch videos of cute, furry animals online.

Andrew Kwon
Andrew Kwon
Account Executive

Andrew grew up in the ‘burbs of New York, went to school at the University of Maryland, and now calls Brooklyn his home. Before coming to Vayner as account executive, he worked with a wide range of brands, developing social media campaigns and managing their online voice. Aside from work, he likes to work on cars, collect records, DJ, road trip and chill with his dog, Monk.

Emily McDonough
Emily McDonough
Account Executive

Emily having a true passion for connecting with others, studied communications and public relations at Montclair State University. Before coming to VaynerMedia Emily placed digital media and diced analytics for an advertising agency specializing in hospitality and lifestyle clients and did leadership development for a non-profit. A believer that the right soundtrack can get you through anything, Emily is a dance enthusiast. Having the Irish Blarney gift of gab, Emily can usually be found catching up with friends, having her thumbs move at a feverish pace over her iPhone, reading from large stacks of glossy magazines or making Italian family recipes in the kitchen.

Patricia Nelson
Patricia Nelson
Account Executive

After gallivanting around the world (while earning her MBA), Patricia returned stateside to enjoy all of the amenities that she missed, including, but not limited too, TV (where people spoke English/American), Pop Tarts, and Good Pizza! Being overseas did however allow her to appreciate a few of the finer things in life like real beer, rugby, 10 cent Thai omelets and also gave her a deeper appreciation for the Internet, without which she may have completely missed the beginning of the Justin Bieber phenomenon. After completing her thesis on online branding she became immersed in online marketing, which ultimately lead her to VaynerMedia. When not behind a computer engulfed in a brand you can find serving cocktails and amazing meals at the restaurant she refers to as home.

Donn Ogilvie
Donn Ogilvie
Account Executive

Donn was born and raised in New York City. A graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut, he dove right into the Marketing field after school, working for two years at Ogilvy and Mather. The obvious joke concerning his last name NEVER got old. After two years there he moved to Sweden to complete a Master's program in International and Ethnic studies; but the draw of his hometown brought him back in the fall of 2011, just in time to join the VaynerMedia team! Donn is a big fan of travel, food trucks, and general watersports. In that order.

Jason Wong
Jason Wong
Account Executive

A true Northeasten-er, Jason was born in NJ, raised in PA, attended university in Boston, and now finds himself in the greatest city of the world. At Northeastern University, Jason studied Marketing and Management. His passion for these areas led him to work on media strategy for brands such as Pepsico International and Lowe's. In his downtime, Jason enjoys composing on the guitar, traveling, and fist pumping/general rowdiness. Jason joins us now at VaynerMedia as an Account Executive.

David Zhang
David Zhang
Account Executive

Born in China and raised in the Far East (New Jersey), Dave had always wanted to live in New York. With his knack for perfect timing, Dave graduated with a Finance degree from the University of Maryland in 2009 just as every investment bank in the world was going bankrupt. He happily joined VaynerMedia during the company's inception that May and took on the position of Controller. He transitioned to a Community Manager role in early 2011, and is now an Account Executive. His hobbies include both playing and watching sports (Packers!), cheesy wordplays, and having others cook for him. He often receives compliments on how soft his hands are, even though his handshakes are actually quite firm.

Mickey Cloud
Mickey Cloud
Director of Strategy/Account Supervisor

A born-and-raised Southerner at heart, Mickey has spent the past several years in NYC, working at various interactive, traditional, and social engagement ad agencies. With a background in both Account Management and Strategy, Mickey is excited to join the VaynerMedia team to help build out the capabilities and services we can provide to clients. An avid sports fan who takes immense pride in his hometown (Charlotte), home-state (North Carolina... raise up!), and his school (UVa), Mickey also enjoys time with family, friends, and people who are awesome at the Internet (like Joe and Buzz).

Sam Taggart
Sam Taggart
Strategist

As a young child, Sam would sit by the dim blue light of the television in his parents' bedroom in the middle of the night, filling sketchbook after sketchbook with drawings. Later in life, Sam's creativity would shift from drawing to dance to music to design & writing. The son of a creative director and a former chef, Sam prides himself on his artistic skills as well as his ability to pour a mean bowl of cereal. Being that most people are set when it comes to the cereal thing, Sam is thrilled to be working as a creative strategist at VaynerMedia.

Phil Toronto
Phil Toronto
Manager of Emerging Technology

Phil began his journey as a collegiate scholar in 2005 at The College of New Jersey. 4 years and 20 plus pounds (of knowledge) later, Phil graduated with a degree in teaching. Between the screaming teenagers and the lack of recess in middle school, Phil realized that teaching wasn't for him and that he'd leave the classroom for Mr. Feeny. After spending 18 months as Gary's assistant, Phil has moved on up like the Jeffersons to become the Manager of Emerging Technology.

Bobby Glennon
Bobby Glennon
Junior Copy Writer

After a two year foray in high finance Bobby has come to New York to ply his trade. Bobby joined VaynerMedia to fulfill the role of Junior Copywriter and is looking forward to putting his creativity to good use. Bobby is also a board game enthusiast, trivia champion, and will always root for the underdog (Rays!). Voted best eyelashes in the office.

Megan Clegg
Megan Clegg
Designer

A New Yorker in every definition of the word, Megan originally hails from a little town called Syracuse, home of Dinosaur BBQ and snow. She graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with degrees in graphic design/illustration and a hell of a caffeine addiction. Megan is a massive sci-fi nerd obsessed with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and a pop culture lover who can quote "Spice World" word for word. Her claims to fames include being on Netflix (courtesy of a "Man vs. Food" episode), being a cyborg, and being simultaneously the palest and most colorful person in a room. Oh, and she designs stuff.

Yaron Walfish
Yaron Walfish
Developer

Yaron’s first computer was the rubber-keyed Sinclair Spectrum when growing up in Israel in the 80s. While he did write a line or two of BASIC code back then, he mostly used it to float around in flight simulators and play other video games. He finally graduated to more serious software development in the U.S. as a number cruncher for his high school math club. In college Yaron majored in computer science and physics and loves to brag that he is only two math courses short of a triple major. After graduating college he was able to finesse his way into a computer science MSE degree from UPenn. Until discovering his current favorite web development technology, Ruby on Rails, he thought that the Internet was a minor fad that’s going to fizzle out in a few years, but was luckily convinced otherwise.

Katherine McMahan
Katherine McMahan
Project Manager

Katherine was born in Indiana, raised in Michigan. While studying American Culture and Italian at the University of Michigan, she spent a year exploring Italy. Before VaynerMedia, Katherine worked at Flavorpill as the Account Manager for the Venue Partner Program. Besides Flavorpill, Katherine spent time as an event and volunteer coordinator for various organizations including the Coney Island Mermaid Parade and the Ann Arbor Film Festival. If she isn’t at her computer you’ll find her drinking a good beer, watching a good movie, or making some type of baked good.

Ryan Graney
Ryan Graney
Office Admin

Ryan was born and raised in upstate NY, spent summers in Maine, went to college in Virginia, lived in LA for a bit and worked for an Irish company...all of which has lead to a funny accent on certain words and an appreciation for everything new. You can usually find her with glitter on her nails, her Blackberry and her two pups Molly and Bronco. When not managing the office at VaynerMedia she is usually volunteering with the American Lung Association or Waggytail Dog Rescue. Yes, she knows Ryan is a usually a guy's name, ask her if you are curious as to how she got it.

Nathan Scherotter
Nathan Scherotter
Gary's Assistant

Born and raised in Tempe, Arizona, Nathan graduated from Arizona State with a degree in business marketing. After completing internships at Wine Library and Cork'd, he logically followed Gary to VaynerMedia, where his love of marketing and branding can be nurtured. You can find Nathan strumming on a guitar, hitting the links for a quick 9 holes or meticulously fine tuning his fantasy football lineup.

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