ADVISORY BOARD
RICK MARKER
Rick Marker is a seasoned television sales and distribution expert with decades of experience in the broadcast and syndication industry. He currently serves as a senior sales executive with Trifecta Entertainment & Media. Previously, he held the role of Vice President of Television Sales at Warner Brothers Domestic Television Distribution, where he was responsible for syndicated sales of iconic series and major entertainment franchises, contributing significantly to network and affiliate programming successes during his tenure.
Rick’s extensive catalog of negotiated content includes beloved series such as The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Friends, ER, The West Wing, and major talk and entertainment programming. He has also managed distribution of critically acclaimed and Academy Award-winning films in television syndication.
Rick began his career in sports media with Hubbard Broadcasting, where he conducted interviews with professional athletes including Joe Montana, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O’Neal, and Andre Agassi. He played an instrumental role in the production of the 1991 TNT Super Bowl Saturday Night broadcast, working alongside top talent and celebrities.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and a graduate certificate in sales negotiations from the Sandler School of Sales.
XIXI YANG
XiXi Yang is an award-winning entertainment journalist and content creator who has worked with some of the most authoritative brands in the world. As Yahoo! Finance's "Top 12 Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2020", XiXi has earned the credibility as one of the most reputable fresh faces in media. As the first and only Asian-American woman to anchor “Live From the Red Carpet” solo from the Oscars and Grammys, XiXi has brought millions of viewers around the world live coverage through the Associated Press. She put her bilingual skills to use for a global audience by conducting interviews and delivering live hits in both English and Mandarin.
Since 2016, XiXi has been an entertainment contributor to CNN and HLN, discussing pop culture and social issues on “CNN Newsroom”, “Morning Express”, “On the Story”, and more. She has served as a spokesperson for various Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Verizon, Macy’s, BeautyCon, and more.
RICK JOYCE
Rick Joyce is a two-time Daytime Emmy® winner for his role as Co-Executive Producer of the syndicated television behemoth, Entertainment Tonight. Joyce’s unprecedented performance and relationship with the most watched entertainment news magazine in the world spans sixteen years with tours as Managing Editor and News Director, in addition to his co-executive producer duties.
Joyce’s career has put him front and center as a boots-on-the-ground team leader in coverage for some of the biggest news stories in pop culture history, including the Oscars®, the Superbowl®, the Olympics®, Cannes Film Festival in France, Elizabeth Taylor’s Wedding at Neverland Ranch, Princess Diana’s Funeral in London, Madonna’s Wedding in Scotland, Tom Cruise’s Wedding in Italy, The Death of Michael Jackson, The Royal Wedding of William & Kate in London, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and, sadly, the Deadliest Mass Shooting in U.S. Modern History in Las Vegas (2017). Joyce has been a guest-lecturer at the Annenberg School of Journalism at the University of Southern California.
JAN LAWRENCE HANDZLIK
Jan is an accomplished investigations and trial lawyer with a national and international practice. He represents individuals and companies, both foreign and domestic, in regulatory and white collar criminal investigations and prosecutions, complex civil litigation and civil enforcement actions. Jan coordinates cross-border investigations and related civil, criminal and regulatory proceedings.
PRINTZ BOARD
Printz Board is a Grammy Award-winning American musician, recording artist, producer, and songwriter who has worked with The Black Eyed Peas, DJ Mustard, CeeLo Green, Mark Ronson, Fergie, John Legend, and many more. Printz has been an essential part of the Black Eyed Peas since the start of the band. He is the co-writer of songs like "Where is the Love", "Don’t Phunk with My Heart" and "Meet Me Halfway". Besides his co-writing for the Black Eyed Peas, he is the band's musical director, commanding all of the band's live stadium shows.
As a songwriter, producer artist, and musician, he has collaborated with Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Busta Rhymes, Chris Brown, Dr. Dre, Fergie, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry. He wrote and/or produced six songs on the deluxe edition of Black Eyed Peas Grammy nominated album "The E.N.D." (2009) including, "Missing You" and "Out Of My Head" (co-producer and writer along with Will.i.am). He is writer of "Rockin' to the Beat," "One Tribe," "Where Ya Wanna Go" and "Don't Phunk Around." In addition to Album of the Year, "The E.N.D." was also nominated for The Best Pop Vocal Album at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. Printz also worked on the albums "The Dutchess" by Fergie, Natasha Bedingfield, "100 Miles from Memphis" by Sheryl Crow, "Bashtown" by Baby Bash, and Candy Dulfer's "Crazy."
DR. AMIR BAGHERPOUR
Amir Bagherpour is a Global Managing Director in Accenture’s Data & AI practice, where he leads agentic AI, data science, and advanced simulation technologies for Accenture’s Global Health & Public Services, including state and local government. Previously, he headed Accenture’s Federal Data Science & Analytics capabilities for defense, diplomacy, intelligence, and civilian agencies.
A recognized authority in AI‐driven decision intelligence, econometric modeling, and agent‐based simulation, he co‐founded giStrat—an analytics startup delivering a game‐theory and machine‐learning powered decision engine—and pioneered enterprise mission analytics in the U.S. Department of State, leading hundreds of assessments that influenced foreign policy across multiple regions.
With a Ph.D. in Political Science (Quant Methods -- agent-based models) from Claremont Graduate University (where his dissertation accurately forecasted Arab Spring transitions), an MBA from UC Irvine, a B.S. in Systems Engineering from West Point, and service as a U.S. Army Armor Officer, Amir combines technical rigor, strategic insight, and mission‐driven leadership to drive AI‐enabled transformation at scale.
TRACEY WIEDEMAN
Tracey is an established Music Industry Professional. Tracey began her music career in 1988 excelling at Fey Concerts as Assistant Media Director, promoting the biggest names in touring such as The Rolling Stones, U2, The Eagles, Van Halen, KISS, and Guns N’ Roses.
Tracey was also Senior Account Executive, Music and Entertainment at Octagon, Inc., placing musical properties together with sponsorships and corporate entertainment talent buyer. After Octagon, she formed her own firm, T Management. Over the years, Tracey has built a reputation of commitment and respect as a Tour Manager, Event Manager, Production Coordinator, and VIP Manager for artists including:
Heart, Styx, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Journey, Don Felder, Ziggy Marley, Marilyn Manson, Megadeth, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Tesla, Danzig, John Fogerty and Willie Nelson.
SCOTT "DJ SKRIBBLE" IALACCI
Scott Ialacci, better known as DJ Skribble, has become renowned across generations and in high regard in todays music world. Ialacicci has a career that spans across decades in the entertainment industry, beginning with the Young Black Teenagers. He is most recognized for his presence on MTV on hit shows such as Spring Break (1998-2004), MTV Jams, The Grind and Total Request Live. Besides MTV, he also worked with major organizations such as the NFL, NBA, Disney, Sony, and Playboy.
Scott is also an accomplished screen actor and producer. Besides having been featured in over 20 music videos and TV shows, he starred in his own TV series, Project Dad, which played on TLC in 2017. He is also the co-creator of Street Slang, a Tech House duo who reached Beauport’s Top 10 House Release chart with “East Coast Swing.”
PAGE HAMILTON
Page Hamilton is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer, mostly noted for his work with alternative metal band Helmet. Most of his work has been in the hard rock and alternative metal styles, though he trained in jazz guitar and has substantial connections with avant-garde music and film soundtrack composition.
Hamilton has also worked as a record producer, most notably producing the album Distort Yourself by former Bush singer Gavin Rossdale's band Institute. He has also produced albums for the bands Bullets and Octane (In the Mouth of the Young), Classic Case (Losing at Life), and Totimoshi.
MICHAEL KERN
Mike has dedicated his career to information operations and combating the use of the Internet for terrorist and violent extremist purposes by combining, sharing, and expanding approaches built through private sector experience and engagement, cyber and counterterrorism (CT) operations, policy creation, and academic experiences. From 2017-2020 he served at the White House on the National Security Council, where he helped produce the first U.S. National Strategy for Counterterrorism since 2011.
He received his MPS with a focus on Information Science - Cybersecurity from Pennsylvania State University. Mike earned his BA from American University in International Politics with a concentration in Middle East Studies and Islam. He speaks Arabic as well as basic German.