Six Elected to Alumni Assn. Board

A key governing body, the Emerson College Alumni Association Board of Directors is charged with creating opportunities for greater engagement and connectivity among Emerson’s global alumni community, both with one another as well as with the College and its students.

The Board, which is led by Chair Patricia Peyton Martell ’84, comprises a number of leaders within that community, each having achieved a level of professional and personal achievement that has positioned them well to best meet the diverse, ever-changing needs of Emerson’s more than 37,000 undergraduate and graduate alumni. With many of the directors serving as active members or leaders in Emerson’s multitude of regional chapter and affinity groups, they bring a wide range of perspectives and ideas in support of the Board’s mission.

Each year, the leadership group elects new members to its ranks.

Linda J. Coombs ’77

Upon graduating from Emerson College, Linda J. Coombs worked at several local radio stations, including WSOC-FM in Charlotte, North Carolina, for several years before joining CBS Radio News in New York.

 She began at CBS as a writer and had been promoted to editor, when she was tapped for her current position as operations manager. A native New Yorker, Coombs also sits on the Journalism Advisory Board at York College in Queens, New York.

Jason E. Grossman ’02

Jason E. Grossman is the co-founder of Radio Mouse Entertainment, an award-winning New York-based theater and media production company.

His producing credits include the Off-Broadway production and original cast album recording of Nevermore–The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, nominated

for three Lucille Lortel Awards; the Broadway production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, winner of the Tony, Drama Desk, NY Drama Critics, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle awards for Best Play; the Broadway and national touring productions of the Tony Award-winning Peter and the Starcatcher; and The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway.

Richard Cresta ’90

Richard Cresta (not pictured) is a senior vice president and head of Institutional Insurance Sales for Fidelity Financial Advisor Solutions (FFAS), a division of Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing, and other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals, institutions, and financial intermediaries. Cresta leads sales at Fidelity for the Institutional Insurance sub advisory group. Prior to this, he held senior vice presidencies in sales strategies and effectiveness and advisor marketing.

Before joining Fidelity, Cresta worked at Putnam Investments in the Financial Institutions Division; he began his career at independent bank research firm Veribanc.

Lou Lauria ’83

With more than 20 years of executive experience in international sports, Lou Lauria is vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility and Federation Relationships, at Ultimate

Fighting Championship (UFC). He previously worked in a range of areas, including competition and venue management, and commercial partnerships, in roles with three Olympic Games Organizing Committees (1996, 2000, and 2002), as well as with the International Paralympic and the International Olympic committees.

Lauria was also vice president, Bid City Management, at Helios Partners, a boutique international agency that led successful bids for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Margie Sullivan ’81

Margie Sullivan is an executive producer at Redtree Productions in Boston.

Prior to joining Redtree, Sullivan was EVP/director of Creative Service at the Boston global headquarters of Arnold Worldwide, responsible for managing the workflow of the creative

department for television, print, and interactive. During her tenure at Arnold, she managed and produced work for many award-winning accounts such as Volkswagen, Truth, Royal Caribbean, Fidelity, and McDonald’s.

She was the executive producer for the award-winning documentary A Hero for Daisy. After Arnold, Sullivan joined Redtree and uses her skills to produce a gamut of work, from interactive to film production.

Sullivan is also a member of the Ad Club Board of Directors, Hingham Community Access & Media TV Board of Directors, and is president of the Massachusetts Production Coalition.

Chet Tart ’74

Chet Tart is a media executive and talent coach with more than 35 years of broadcast experience as an on-air personality, radio station owner, network executive, and entrepreneur. He has owned and operated small-to-mid-sized radio companies since 1980. Tart (with a series of various financial and operating partners) operated and improved stations in markets ranging from communities of under 50,000 to those in the “top 50” ratings. He has raised more than $2 million in capital for start-up businesses. He was also an instrumental player in the latest World LEADERS Conference on Servant Leadership in Palm Beach, Florida.Tart was also inducted into the WERS Radio Hall of Fame in 2014.