Meet the New Fall 2024 Faculty!

Jenna Adikes (Capstone) is Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis at Everyday Health Group (a division of Ziff Davis), where she is a key advisor to the Chief Financial Officer and delivers value-added business analysis, creates financial and operational metrics, develops and monitors the company’s annual operating and capital budgets and monthly forecasts and provides financial analysis and valuation support for acquisitions. Prior to this role, she held various positions in finance leadership across print and digital brands at Time Inc. (now Dotdash Meredith). She holds a BS in Finance from the University of Virginia. Her interests include tennis, soccer, reading and live music.

Fun Fact: Jenna is a huge sports fan - especially soccer - and played in soccer leagues in NYC for over 20 years.

Melanie Chang (Introduction to Marketing and Branding) is the Senior Vice President of Marketing, Publicity, and Corporate Communications at Abrams, where she oversees the development and execution of marketing & publicity campaigns to strategize, develop and implement effective advertising and promotional campaigns that align with business objectives and enhance the company’s brand visibility. Melanie also develops and executes strategic communication plans to enhance the company’s brand image and reputation. Melanie is an industry veteran with thirty years of experience in book publishing working collaboratively with authors, agents, booksellers, educators and media with the goal of connecting books with readers. Her career began in children’s books publicity, and she spent several years at leading houses including Scholastic, Random House Children’s Books, and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Melanie remains dedicated to promoting the power of books to inspire, enlighten, and effect change. 

Fun Fact: My idea of the perfect vacation is sitting on a beach with a good book in one hand, a cocktail in the other, with the sights and sounds of the ocean in front of me-- what bliss! 

Thomas Claire (The Craft of Copyediting) has had an extensive career in copyediting and proofreading magazines and books as well as in teaching about how to achieve success in doing so. He was the copy chief at Country Living (Hearst Magazines) from 1992 to 2004 and the associate managing editor (and de facto copy chief) at Ladies’ Home Journal (Dotdash-Meredith) from 2004 to 2014. He has also copyedited and proofread at university presses (Yale and Oxford) and led copyediting seminars at Oxford University Press. Along the way he has been wine and spirits writer and editor at Living in Stamford (then McCormack Publishing) and has held other writing and editing positions, including production and copy editor at Gartner, Inc., in Stamford, Connecticut, starting in 2018. Tom earned a BA in the Classics at State University at Buffalo in 1977. He currently teaches copyediting and proofreading books at NYU SPS (beginning in 2010) and lives in Watertown, Connecticut, with Lindsay, his wife of thirty-two years.

Fun Fact: I have run more than a dozen marathons (including NYC three times) but the four I ran in Europe (Paris three times and once in Madrid) were the most fun.

Rosa Del Saz (Principles of Finance in Publishing) is an accomplished finance and business operations professional with over 20 years of experience, particularly within the not-for-profit, media, and publishing sectors. She has a proven track record in budget development and management, regulatory compliance, and strategic planning. As the Chief Finance and Administration Officer at The New Press, Rosa plays a key role in aligning financial and operational strategies with organizational objectives. Her expertise extends to financial analysis, budget and grant management, ensuring compliance with GAAP, effective fiscal management, and overseeing HR and operations functions. Del Saz holds an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from The New School University and a B.B.A. in Entrepreneurial and Small Business Management and Accounting from Baruch College.

Fun Fact: I have a marvelous cat named Lily!

Cora Frazier (Workshop in Creative Writing) is an adjunct professor of fiction writing at NYU SPS, and has been working as an adjunct since 2020. She has written a number of publications, which have been published in the New Yorker and the Harvard Lampoon, to name a few. Cora has professional experience as a Senior Copy Editor at S&P Global, and as a guest writer on Saturday Night Live on season 38. She has also been a guest lecturer at the Amsterdam Writing Workshop, and the International Women’s Month Reading Series in New York City. Cora holds an MFA in Fiction from Rutgers University.

Fun Fact: Cora is the co-creator and writer of the pyschological thriller and Audible Original I Think You’re Projecting.  

Naomi Gibbs (Book Acquisition and Editing) is an Executive Editor at Pantheon Books. Previously, she worked in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt trade division. She acquires literary, upmarket, and genre-bending fiction, both American and international, as well as some select memoir, essays, and narrative nonfiction. Some of her recent and forthcoming titles include the National Book Award finalist Chain-Gang All-Stars and Friday Black by New York Times-bestselling author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah; Mina’s Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa, finalist for the National Book Award; and How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by nationally bestselling author Alexander Chee.

Fun Fact: I have once been featured as the cover model for a book—How to Pick Your Preschool.

Trina Hunn (Publishing and the Law) is Associate General Counsel at HarperCollins Publishers, where she conducts prepublication review of authors’ non-fiction works and provides editorial staff with guidance on a range of works and issues; responds to claim letters regarding HarperCollins’ content, and drafts and negotiates settlement agreements and releases. Trina provides legal guidance to business units; manages and supervises litigations and disputes; supervises and coordinates with outside legal counsel regarding acquisition of assets from other publishing companies; and manages corporate compliance for business units globally. She previously held positions at Hearst Corporation and Squadron Ellenoff Plesent & Sheinfeld, LLP / Hogan & Hartson LLP. She earned her BA from the University of Texas at Austin and her joint JD and Master of Public Policy from Harvard Law School and John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Fun Fact: My family and I were rescued by park rangers in Big Bend National Park after we became trapped in a canyon by flash floods. (Not actually fun!)

Jennifer Jackson (Introduction to Marketing and Branding) is a book and magazine publishing professional, specializing in content strategy, brand development, marketing strategy and analytics, and audience acquisition for Celadon Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. Prior to Macmillan, Jennifer worked as Vice President, Content Strategy at Open Road Integrated Media, where she launched and ran a network of six editorial websites catering to genre readers. She has also worked as a writer and editor at DailyCandy (NBC Universal), Country Living, and House Beautiful (Hearst). Jennifer has a M.S. in Journalism from Syracuse University.

Fun Fact: Jennifer once spent the night at one of New England's "most haunted" inns on assignment for work. To this day, she has never seen a ghost.

David LeGere (Capstone) is an accomplished publishing professional with over seventeen years of experience in the U.S. trade nonfiction, fiction, gift, and outdoor markets. As Editorial Director at Globe Pequot Press and CEO of Woodhall Press, he has collaborated with industry experts to publish hundreds of titles, including numerous award-winning works. David is also a dedicated English professor and writer. He actively hosts conferences, such as the Woodhall Press Writers Conference, and is a podcaster and the proud publisher of the annual Connecticut Literary Anthology and the Fairfield University Book Prize. For more information, visit www.dllegere.com. 

Fun fact: I love acting and I have been doing commercial work for about 10 years.

Gabriella Mongelli (Niche Markets: Romance) is Senior Editor for Park Row Books at HarperCollins Publishers, where she reviews both fiction and nonfiction submissions and acquires new projects, focusing on literary, book club, and smart commercial fiction, and narrative, popular history, and culture non-fiction; edits approximately ten books per year, working with authors to develop content; collaborates closely with marketing and publicity departments to develop campaigns; and cultivates and maintains strong relationships with literary agents, potential authors, reviewers, foreign rights directors, and literary scouts. Prior to joining Park Row and HarperCollins, she held positions in Trade Publicity at W. W. Norton & Company; Touchstone at Simon & Schuster; Little, Brown & Company at Hachette Book Group; and finally working her way up from Editorial Assistant to Editor at G. P. Putnam’s Sons at Penguin Random House. Gabriella earned her degree with honors from Vassar College.

Fun Fact: I’ve recently taken up needlepoint as a hobby and am always looking for project ideas! 

Torrey Oberfest (Management and Leadership) is a partner at Bloomvale, where she advises publishing companies on growth strategies, mergers and acquisitions, and change management. Prior to that, she was VP of Corporate Strategy at Hachette Book Group. At HBG, Torrey led strategic planning and successfully completed multiple corporate acquisitions. She was previously the Managing Editor of Bulfinch Press. Torrey holds a BA in English from Barnard College. 

Fun Fact: I learned to drive at age 40.

Ojasvinee Singh (Publishing and the Law) is an attorney at Penguin Random House, where she practices First Amendment and media law. As a member of PRH’s Intellectual Freedom Task Force, she works on legal challenges to book bans, right to read legislation, and public advocacy against censorship. She vets manuscripts and counsels authors and editors on legal concerns. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, where she played tennis, and a JD from The George Washington University Law School. Her interests include soccer, Formula 1, reading, cooking, and painting.

Fun Fact: I collect vintage tennis racquets and movie soundtrack cassettes.

Carolina Valencia (Managing a Digital Brand) is a longtime media and digital executive who has worked at The New York Times, Univision and The Recount. She currently heads up partnerships, communications, community engagement and video at Epicenter NYC, a local media and community organization. A native of Guayaquil, Ecuador, who grew up in Queens, Carolina also worked for the NYC Council and NYC Kids RISE. Throughout her career she has led and contributed to innovative strategies that advance media organizations, implemented award-winning and revenue-driving efforts to further engage diverse audiences; and spearheaded initiatives to empower communities for the future. Carolina is fully bilingual in English and Spanish, and volunteers her time to efforts in support of older New Yorkers, youth, immigrants, and minority-owned small businesses.You can read more about Carolina and connect with her on https://www.linkedin.com/in/cvvalencia/.

Fun Fact: I ran the media center and led the press efforts for President Barack Obama's education town hall hosted by Univision. In the days leading up to the town hall, I attended an impromptu meeting in the White House to discuss this very event.