Our Team
Todd Mosher, President and CEO
Todd combines strong business management skills with an unmatched understanding of economic development and technology, cementing Zone 5's reputation in the region as a respected innovator and a great place to work. Todd founded Zone 5 in 1989. He was educated at the University of Albany and has over 20 years of experience in the field of marketing and communications. His background includes management and finance, strategic planning, marketing and Web development as well as business development for Zone 5 and clients alike. Todd holds a leadership role in regional economic development and global technology attraction initiatives. Specifically, he helped develop and promote the New York Loves Nanotech, New York Loves Energy and New York Loves Bio sub-brands from the "I Love New York" travel and tourism brand. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the New York Solar Energy Industries Association (NYSEIA) and on the Executive Board for the Capital Region Chapter of the American Marketing Association. Todd is also an active member of New Energy New York, the Center for Economic Growth, and the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation, and is currently working on initiatives involving photovoltaics and other clean technologies. Todd leads Zone 5's Technology and Economic Development practices and directs strategic marketing efforts for clients in those sectors.
Paul Fahey, COO/Director of Marketing Strategy
A strategic thinker and accomplished designer, Paul brings a unique left- and right-brain approach to the science of marketing and advertising. Paul joined Zone 5 in 2003 with a diverse background in account management, production and creative. With 20 years of experience in nearly every area of marketing and advertising, he brings a vast array of expertise to our clients. Internally, Paul provides ongoing counsel to the president in areas of business development, HR and finance. Externally, he manages all aspects of an account — from initial research through strategic planning and tactical execution. Going beyond his expertise in marketing strategy, he provides enormous value to clients in identifying fundamental business issues throughout the marketing process. Paul was recognized in 2007 as one of the 40 under Forty by the Albany Business Review and serves on the Board of Directors of the Children's Museum of Science and Technology.
Richard Skiermont, Senior VP, Executive Creative Director
With 25 years of experience in the advertising design and marketing communications field, Richard has worked with many national and international companies. As an effective leader, he manages diverse teams to ensure results while meeting budget and schedule requirements. Richard’s leadership qualities and hands-on project management are matched by his award-winning design skills.Richard has provided results-based expertise to such companies as LEGO Toys, Eastman Kodak, ILNY, Fisher Price, Georgia Pacific, among many others. Through this diverse portfolio he has honed his skills to offer a multidimensional approach to meeting clients’ needs which includes online experiential and retail marketing, as well as public affairs and public relations communications.Richard manages all aspects of the creative department, providing leadership and hands-on design. Additionally, he manages the company’s workflow processes for both its web and creative departments. While spending much of his time leading teams and projects, Richard still loves designing and continues to bring his creativity to life for clients.
John D’Alessandro, Vice President, Public Affairs
John has been in the communications field for almost 30 years and brings a unique blend of strategic thinking, creative energy and hands-on experience to the Zone 5 team. His ability to represent clients across diverse audiences, and build relationships among them, has produced positive results on numerous high-profile campaigns and projects. He began his career as a lobbyist/political operative for the Civil Service Employees Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and has since worked for the New York Power Authority, for the Inter-Power Development Corporation, and for more than 10 years at his own consulting firm, WordSmith Communications. From boardrooms to village meetings, he has represented such prestigious clients as: Reliant Energy, Nigro Companies, British American Development, Fiscal Policy Institute, Union University Graduate College, Saratoga Associates, the Harriman Campus Redevelopment Authority and the NYS Restaurant Association. Prior to coming to Zone 5 he also served as VP of Public Affairs for Special Olympics New York. He is a 1979 graduate of Siena College and has served on the Halfmoon Planning Board, Saratoga County Industrial Development Authority, the Center for Economic Growth Semiconductor Task Force, Saratoga PLAN and ARISE.
Ray Witkowski, Vice President
Ray is the newest member to the Zone 5 team. He brings over 20 years of distinguished experience in higher education branding communications having worked personally with over 50 colleges and universities throughout the country. Ray has handled everything from client development to account management to overall day-to-day internal agency operations. He has an unmatched talent for developing long-term client relationships and is dedicated to ensuring all client expectations are met from day one. At Zone 5, Ray spearheads engagements with prospective new higher education clients while also working in a senior advisory role in the ongoing work for our existing clients. He takes a personal, hands-on approach, monitoring every aspect of a clients’ partnership from the initial strategy through creative development and execution, while identifying opportunities for continued client growth and success. Ray has a bachelor’s degree in communications from St. John Fisher College. He is a regular attendee at higher education conferences and events sponsored by the American Marketing Association (AMA), the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the National Association of Collegiate Admission Counseling (NACAC). He also is a member of the Diocese of Albany School Board.
Michelle Lansing, Vice President of Creative Strategy
Michelle guides the creative effort at Zone 5. A firm believer that the difference is in the details, she finds strategic and creative ways to blend public relations with traditional communications. With a strong background in event planning and creative writing, Michelle offers clients unique approaches to reaching intended audiences. Prior to joining Zone 5 in 2003, Michelle was VP of Marketing at Berkshire Marketing Group, where she developed strategy, provided creative direction, wrote copy and managed accounts for various for-profit and not-for-profit clients. She also served as Assistant Director of Alumni Programs for the University at Albany, handling all aspects of alumni events, as well as managing alumni volunteers. Michelle is a past Vice President and Social Chair for the The Albany Ad Club Association of Professional Communicators. She holds a Bachelor of Science in advertising from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Michelle enjoys volunteering her time and event expertise to local organizations and charities.
Mark Esposito, Vice President of Creative Services
Mark's diverse combination of design skills and problem-solving abilities in Web, multimedia and print enables him to organize complex information sets into easily understood components. His marketing strategy is results-driven and simple: to quantifiably predict what an audience expects, then go one step further. Mark earned a B.F.A. at Syracuse University and spent his initial years producing magazine illustrations and fine art. Soon after, he founded Camelot Graphx, an Albany design firm, and grew the company to a staff of nine within four years. During this time, he developed projects for a range of corporate, agency and institutional clients. Mark has enjoyed front-line experience in administration, finance and management; from running his own studio, to his experiences building and managing the creative team at Camelot. Mark brings 18 years of knowledge and experience to the team. For Zone 5's clients, he provides identity, marketing, print design, and Web design and development, and is Zone 5's most prominent illustrator.
Loren Sutherland, Senior Director of West Coast Business Development
Loren offers over twenty-five years of compelling experience and success in the sales/business development, marketing and senior management of capital equipment, materials and services within the electronics industry. His background includes extensive experience with leading OEMs and advanced electronic materials suppliers as well as start-ups.Loren is a well-known and recognized semiconductor industry supply-side executive. He maintains high visibility as a leader of many industry activities and programs that include the creation and/or management of several key SEMI executive programs and supplier sponsored technical conferences and symposiums.
Paul Hook, Director of Marketing
Paul's vast experience in the communications industry helps him understand and assist clients with all aspects of their projects. He has worked on campaigns for numerous not-for-profit organizations, financial and higher education institutions, arts organizations, and corporate and retail clients. He is also an internationally published illustrator, with work appearing in magazines, scientific journals and travel publications. At Zone 5, his duties include business development, public relations and project management. Paul also assists with copywriting, design, and video production for Zone 5's clients, and is in charge of Zone 5's own marketing efforts. Paul is a past president of the Sage Albany Alumni Association and the Albany Ad Club Association of Professional Communicators. He currently serves on the Board of Stewards of the Society of the Friends of Saint Patrick, the Signature Chefs Auction Committee for the March of Dimes and the Business Development Committee for the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District. His work at Zone 5, along with his dedication to these and other organizations earned him recognition by the Albany as one of 2005's "40 under Forty" business leaders of the Capital Region.
JoAnne Latham, Director of Account Services
In JoAnne’s 25+ years of marketing experience, she has developed national and international strategic marketing programs for clients in the healthcare, economic development, tourism, energy, financial, professional services, and outdoor power equipment industries. Her specialties include product and brand development, direct response marketing, integrated marketing campaigns, sales support strategies, affinity programs and marketing data analysis for a variety of B-to-C and B-to-B accounts. JoAnne has unique insights on the pressures facing clients based on extensive experience working in corporate marketing with full P & L responsibility for products and programs generating sales in excess of $50 million dollars. JoAnne values insight driven strategies that deliver tangible results on time and on budget. She has delivered successful programs for I Love NY/Empire State Development, Healthy NY/New York State Insurance Department, Fidelis Care NY, Troy-Bilt Power Equipment, Key Equipment Finance, Plug Power, NYSERDA, and GlobalSpec Inc. As Director of Account Services, JoAnne manages the account services team providing leadership on strategic planning, the development of integrated programs and all aspects of project management.
Linda Mather, Account Supervisor
Linda develops strategic marketing plans and programs, provides leadership to the agency's account teams through the tactical execution of client projects, and serves as the primary liaison between Zone 5 team members and clients. Linda has nearly 16 years of experience in business-to-business, non-profit and service marketing. Prior to joining Zone 5, Linda was Marketing Communications Manager at Media Logic, where she was responsible for developing marketing strategies, coordinating projects from design to final output, and evaluating results for clients. Linda was the primary liaison and facilitator between the client and team members — working with members of marketing, media and creative staffs to deliver strategically sound programs on time and on budget. Linda is a past president of the local chapter of the American Marketing Association, the world's largest professional society of marketers. She holds a Master of Business Administration from The College of Saint Rose, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from St. Bonaventure University. Linda was also recognized in 2005 as one of the 40 under Forty by the Albany Business Review.
Chris Urig, Account Supervisor
Christopher comes from a diverse marketing background that ranges from working to develop brands for various start-up companies to multi-million dollar accounts such as the Olympics and the NFL. He combines his unique eye for detail with a talent for getting things done; especially when it comes to brand identity, video production, web development, collateral development, start-up packages for investors and corporate annual reports. Previously, Chris worked in all of Zone 5's industry sectors as the company's media buyer, but his work as an Account Supervisor is concentrated in healthcare and higher education, having worked extensively on major campaigns for the Brooklyn Hospital and The Sage Colleges.
Dave Homsey, Creative Director
Dave Homsey joined Zone 5 as Creative Director in March 2003. Dave's diverse set of design skills and strategy offers clients a perfect blend of know-how and talent. He leads the Zone 5 creative team on projects for Columbia-Greene Community College, SEMI, Healthcare Association of NYS, The DR Group, Clarkson University and Union College. Prior to joining Zone 5, Dave was VP of Creative Services for Berkshire Marketing Group (BMG) in Troy, NY. During Dave's 12 years with BMG, he worked on such impressive campaigns as HANYS' "Some Cuts Never Heal," Richmond NetWorx's "Local Roots. Global Connections." and Jiminy Peak's "So Much So Close." Dave also worked as a Senior Designer at Lafayette Graphics and at MicroAmerica's in-house agency in Marlborough, MA. He received his BA in Graphic Design from SUNY Binghamton and earned an MFA in Graphic Design from Boston University.
Dave Imbarrato, Creative Director
Fluent with both mouse and markers, Dave possesses versatile design skills, extensive knowledge of the production process, and an eye for great design. In his 23 years as a designer Dave has developed a clean, effective, innovative design vocabulary. After obtaining a degree in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1983, Dave worked as a draftsman at New York State Historic Preservation in Saratoga Springs, and as a graphic artist for the Professional Insurance Agents Association. Dave then spent 12 years as a graphic designer and marketing agent for the NYS Credit Union League, helping the League expand membership and services throughout the state. In addition to creating unique design solutions, Dave contributes to the creative process with his writing skills. He is responsible for cracking the whip on quality and graphics standards at Zone 5, and utilizes his wealth of photographic experience as Zone 5's in-house photographer.
Anthony Palmeri, Web Department Supervisor
Anthony has experience working in all facets of Web development, having created hundreds of Web sites and multimedia presentations for a variety of clients. With a formidable knowledge of Web design applications, Anthony is always able to provide "flash" to a project, making a unique creation that is attractive but, more importantly, functional for the client's needs. Anthony obtained his degree in graphic design from Tompkins Cortland College in 1996 and entered the field as a digital production supervisor for Corporate Graphics Resource. He later cultivated his skills working at a daily newspaper as a digital artist, giving him a new appreciation for the word "deadline." At Zone 5, Anthony is responsible for managing the Web department and is Zone 5's main Web Designer; he is fluent in HTML/CSS, JavaScript and Flash animation.
Spencer Raggio, Web Strategist
With 30 years in creative, deadline-driven environments, Spencer possesses a strong mix of organizational, communication and problem-solving abilities. His comprehensive knowledge of Web and print production methodologies is supported by a philosophy of design and marketing strategy that is focused, distinctive, results-oriented and audience-centered. After a short engagement in journalism, Spencer founded Unicomp, a boutique design shop that later merged with Word Management in Albany, NY. As Creative Director, he handled concept-to-completion marketing and branding projects for a broad range of corporate, agency and institutional clients. He has been engaged as a Web services consultant for clients as diverse as a disabled sailing association in Calgary, Canada, and the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Russia. For the Web development team at Zone 5, Spencer concentrates on strategy, functionality and interface design.
Additional Staff Support:
The key individuals listed here are supported by 18 other in-house professionals including Account Executives, Writers, Art Directors, Graphic Designers, Web Developers and administrative staff.
