The Shift Team

	Aaron Kenedi, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, has had more than 12 years of experience in publishing and has designed and edited projects for publications such as TV Guide, Schwab's On Investing, Red Herring, Newsday, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has written, edited, and designed 14 art and literary books including Muhammad Ali: Ringside, Legends, and Pure Design: 79 Simple Steps to Designing Books, Magazines, and Newspapers. Aaron previously worked with John Miller and Mario Garcia at Garcia Media, and was a founding team member of Danilo Black with Roger Black in San Francisco.
	Jason Rissman, Founding Partner / Publisher, has worked in business development and management for several independent and small media companies, and has long been involved in the environmental and non-profit sector. Jason managed the market entry of a new business for a major German Internet portal into Spain, and served as Managing Director of a prominent theatre company in Chicago. Since moving to New York, Jason has worked in marketing and business development for Miramax Films and Rainbow Media. He has participated in several international conferences on sustainability, and other issues of common global concern. Jason graduated from Cornell University and is currently pursuing his MBA at NYU Stern.
ADVISORY BOARD
Jason Olim founded CDNOW in February of 1994 and became a highly recognized Internet entrepreneur.  Jason successfully raised venture, debt and public capital; he acquired and merged with other companies; and took his company private through a sale to Bertelsmann, the third largest media company in the world. He has earned Entrepreneur of the Year awards from various organizations, including the Small Business Association, Arthur Andersen and the Greater Philadelphia Venture Group. Olim consults for startup companies on strategy, fundraising and organizational development.
Wendy Abrams has worked as the Director of Marketing for BMI, and the Director of Corporate Communications for Medline Industries, Inc., spending her early career at the advertising agencies J. Walter Thompson and Foote Cone & Belding. She currently serves on the National Council of Environmental Defense, the National Advisory Board for the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the IL Steering Committee for the Sierra Club. Wendy graduated from Brown University and received her MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Stephen J. McCarthy is a Senior Vice President of KCG Capital Advisors, a family investment office. He has more than thirty years of diversified experience in the financial services sector with such firms as PaineWebber, Security Pacific, Deloitte, Citibank and Bache. A board member of NYRAG and trustee of his family’s foundation, Stephen’s past two decades in the philanthropic arena have included important projects with the Council on Foundations, the Association of Small Foundations, the National Center for Family Philanthropy, the Support Center for Nonprofit Management and the National Philanthropic Trust. Currently, Steve represents his family group as a member of the Institute for Private Investors, the Metropolitan Circle and the Greenwich Roundtable and serves on the Executive/Advisory Boards of Shaking the Tree and Hope House. Mr. McCarthy received a BA in Economics and Government from Wesleyan University and his MBA in finance from NYU/Stern.
Bert Messina has worked on numerous product launches, acquisitions, and divestitures in his roles as a Business Development and Strategic Planning professional. He has worked in multiple media channels including print, internet, television, and events at such companies as Reader's Digest, Primedia, Mott's USA, and AllAdvantage.com. Bert received his BA from Vanderbilt University and his MBA in Finance and Marketing from NYU Stern.
John Miller has worked in print media for more than 20 years as an art director and editor at numerous publications, including Vanity Fair, HarperCollins and Esquire. He has consulted on redesigns of TV Guide, The New Yorker, Newsday, The San Francisco Chronicle and Quick, and has helped develop web sites for Bank of America, Intel, MSNBC and many others.
Ron Kenedi is currently Vice President of Sharp Electronics, Solar Energy Solutions Group (SESG), in Huntington Beach, CA. He has 25 years of solar sales and marketing experience earned as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Kyocera Solar Inc. and Photocomm. At the beginning of Ron's career he founded and presided over Independent Power Company (IPC), one of the solar industry's first product distributors, where he created the industry's first mail order catalog and eventually merged the business with Photocomm.
Ilene Rapkin is an established leader in the media industry, specializing in luxury marketing with extensive proficiency in lifestage and integrated marketing. She has held a wide range of executive marketing and management positions at leading media companies including Condé Nast, American Express Publishing, and Primedia. Ilene currently shares her expertise through her second successful entrepreneurial venture, I OPENERS, a full-service strategic marketing firm that specializes in customized developmental programs for media and related industries, founded in 2002. She holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin where she graduated with distinction.