Dear ArtsComm Students,
We heard from you and from our alumni that you want to be connected with each other. We are delighted to have three new initiatives to deliver on what you’ve asked for. More than 100 of you have attended the two recent ArtsComm Alumni Chat panels, and several of you have and will travel for the Alumni Connections in NYC opportunities scheduled at Google, Delish/House Beautiful and SONY headquarters.
Now we have a third opportunity, Career Conversations with Alumni Leaders. These conversations will include no more than five students and one Alumni Leader, many who serve on the ArtsComm Dean’s Advisory Council. It is a wonderful chance to get to know some alumni and for them to get to know you. You will learn about their career paths and their industries. You can get advice and ask questions about work in their fields and how to prepare for and pursue internships and jobs.
Sign up below to meet with the following leaders. Stay tuned for more opportunities in the Spring semester.
Nov 13, 2pm | Jessica Gebauer ’11 is a business owner and creative advocate. After a 20 year career as a jeweler, designer, business owner and business and marketing coach, her passion for artists, designers and creative product businesses led her to open her retail gift shop Krysset (KRIS-set) Artisan Boutique in 2021. At Krysset, Jess sources beautifully created gifts and goods exclusively from independent small businesses, makers, and designers in the United States and Canada. In addition to financially supporting creative entrepreneurs via Krysset, it’s her mission to advocate for business education in creative careers. At TCNJ, Jess earned a BFA in Fine and Studio Arts. Some of you may remember her from last spring when she spoke on the “Business of Art” to an engaged group of ArtsComm students. She lives and works in Yardley, Pennsylvania with Tom, her husband of 17 years and TCNJ ‘07, and two dogs. Register here
Nov 13, 3pm | Andy Polansky ’83: Before retiring as Chairman and CEO of IPG DXTRA, a global collective of marketing services and public relations firms, and as Executive Chairman of Weber Shandwick in 2022, Andy Polansky held the position of CEO at Weber Shandwick from 2012 to 2019. During his leadership, the agency was named PR Week’s Global Agency of the Year four times and earned the title of Agency of the Decade from PRovoke Media. Throughout his career, Andy has served on numerous corporate, industry, and nonprofit boards, including the Advertising Council, the Institute for Public Relations, Page, The TCNJ Foundation, and the Dean’s Advisory Council for the School of the Arts and Communication. Register here
Dec 4, 1pm | Robert Rinaldi is the Senior Vice President of Jacob’s Music Company, which is the last surviving piano retailer on what was known as Philadelphia’s “Piano Row” in the early 20th century. They are among the region’s premier distributors of Steinway pianos, and also contribute to the region’s musical community, providing instruments and technical services for internationally renowned artists and music institutions, as well as supporting schools and individuals involved in musical performances and education. For example, Robert has been a generous supporter of TCNJ’s Future Music Educators Institute. He serves on the board of the Bravura Orchestra, the School of Music Advisory Board for West Chester University, the Advancement Board of the Music School of Delaware and the Dean’s Advisory Council for TCNJ’s School of the Arts and Communication. Rinaldi is a proud TCNJ parent with two daughters at TCNJ. Register here
Dec 4, 1pm | Laura Forti ‘05: is the Senior Vice President of Business Operations for HBO and Max for Warner Bros. Discovery. With a background in managing international programming and operations, Laura bridges the gap between HBO and Max US and global partners, ensuring smooth communication and consistency in process and policy across various platforms. In her role, Laura acts as the central hub for HBO and Max original programming as it travels to international markets, working closely with global sales and channel teams to expand the reach of the brands’ programming and formats, and supporting the global expansion of Max and WBD’s partnerships with third parties such as Sky in the UK, Foxtel in Australia, and Bell Media in Canada. Laura’s responsibilities extend to overseeing critical internal projects, such as managing and providing analysis on the HBO and Max original programming development budgets, and her team has built and oversees a self-service collaboration tool to house and share information for original programs from development to production – making key details available to all groups that are part of the content lifecycle. Her team is also responsible for HBO rights and option tracking, Max and HBO deal management, clip licensing, and original programming marketing and credit obligations. She began working for the company in 2004, starting in New York at the cable network Court TV, with 2024 marking her 20th year. She has held a variety of roles within the international distribution and business affairs groups, across truTV, TNT, tbs, and the launch of HBO Max. At TCNJ she majored in English with a minor in Journalism. She spent a semester studying at The University of Oxford and is an alumna of The WICT Network’s Betsy Magness Leadership Institute, Class 35. She currently lives in Sierra Madre, California with her husband and two children. Register here
Dec 4, 6 pm | Jennifer C. Fowler ‘96 is the Senior Vice President, Commercial Partnerships, Sony Music Entertainment. She oversees the commercial account teams for the U.S market including key partnerships with Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tik Tok, Meta and others. Before that, she worked for 13 years as Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing at RCA Records. While at TCNJ Jennifer was a member of Lamba Phi Eta and held several positions supporting the college’s radio station WTSR. She is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for TCNJ’s School of the Arts and Communication. Register here
ArtsComm’s mission is to transform lives and communities by fostering creativity, communication, connections and careers. I hope you will take advantage of at least one of these new opportunities to connect with alumni about your career aspirations.
Warm Regards,
Dean Barnett