The global licensing community is powered by an incredible group of professionals whose diverse backgrounds and creative energy drive innovation and excellence. Each week we’re profiling one of these professionals in this ongoing series developed in partnership with MyMediaBox.

How did you get into licensing (or how did licensing find YOU😊)?
I fell into licensing my very first job out of college when the licensing agent Sid Kaufman hired the company I worked for to do PR and Marketing on his “deals,” including for The Wiggles and The Bananas in Pajamas. Starting that very first year, I went to Toy Fair and The Licensing Show in New York. We loved the industry, and got more kids properties and toyco clients, promoting their licensed brands. Since then, between PR, Marketing and Licensing, I have worked with hundreds of top beloved brands in some way or another, including Subway Surfers, 5 Surprise Mini Brands, Care Bears, Cabbage Patch Kids, Pokémon, Disney and Marvel brands, Tamagotchi, SpongeBob SquarePants, JoJo Siwa, Pound Puppies, Ghostbusters, and countless more.

What’s your biggest personal and professional accomplishment?
I am so proud of the work I have been able to do around social good and women’s empowerment, especially the important work I’ve been privileged to do with Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment (WIT). I discovered inequities in college, and ended up double majoring in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations, and also Women’s Studies. I felt passionate about making a difference in the world, and leaned into activism. I both work with and volunteer with lots of nonprofits, and eventually was empowered to lead corporate social responsibility at JAKKS Pacific. During that time I directed over $60 million in product and cash through the charitable division JAKKS Cares; which I spearheaded creating to help children in need around the world.

When I first got involved with WIT, I was named WIT’s 2010 Woman To Watch, and when I left JAKKS, I really leaned further in, joining the Board of Directors, dedicating my time and knowledge to help evolve programming, to mentor members, and took over co-chairing the organization’s WIT Wonder Women Awards, which lift-up and shine a bright spotlight on extraordinary women in myriad roles within the toy, licensing and entertainment industries. This coming February WIT will celebrate 30 years of advancing women, and it will be my 10th and final year co-hosting the Awards, but I will continue to mentor WIT members and lend my support to empower women in the toy and licensing industry wherever I’m needed. I am also a proud Genius of Play Ambassador for the Toy Association, responsible for promoting the incredible benefits of play for children and adults!

I served on the Toy Foundation Board of Director and the Board for Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, each for seven+ years. I’m also committed to activism and allyship around diversity, equity and inclusion. I not only work to guide my PR clients on how they can be better corporate citizens, our team at GennComm loves to amplify our clients’ incredible social good campaigns.

Team GennComm ImaGENNation is actively working to create adaptive products, products with profits tied to social good, and inclusive entertainment content, developed with a deliberate lens toward social responsibility and social good in mind. My family and I also actively support several charities, like Camp Ronald McDonald, Operation Smile, The Ethan Lindberg Foundation, Children’s Heart Centers, and several others.

In your opinion, what is the top skill every licensing executive should have in order to succeed?
I think it’s important to understand the entire licensing ecosystem to be the best partner, and also to be most empowered to control your own role within the industry and in licensing deals. By truly understanding challenges, nuances and pain points for both licensees and licensors, the forward-thinking A-Team at GennComm can add true value to programs with our partners, and also protect valuable rights vs. giving away the farm.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? OR What is your favorite quote?
Timing is everything, and you never will get anything without asking for it.

What is your favorite licensing deal of all time? (doesn’t have to be one that was signed by you)
My favorite licensing deal is the very first GennComm innovation we licensed, to The Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Company. They licensed the use of overstuffed slowrise memory foam in plush toys, and they used it to power their Squeezamals Brand, which was named Plush Toy of the Year by Learning Express the year it came to market! The innovation was invented in-house by ImaGENNation Director, Jeremy Medwed, and our first licensees’ introduction launched an entire new category in the toy industry of squishy toys in plush, which is still going strong today!  GennComm holds several US patents for this technology, so it’s a very exciting time for our company as we work to optimize this technology with licensing partners around the world.

What are the most significant trends or changes that you’ve seen in the business in recent years?
I love the trend of personalization and customization, and the impact it’s having on consumer products. From Cameo to Shutterfly and everywhere in between, hyper customization powered by technology is at people’s fingertips, and it’s here to stay. At the same time, people are shopping online and it sometimes can be a bit more impersonal. Based on this trend, my business partners and I are building new businesses and licensing an incredible video customization technology and portfolio of experiential products, both of which have many distinct fields of use; and we look forward to introducing them in the coming year with forward-thinking giants who are utilizing our innovations in totally diverse, myriad ways.

What keeps you up at night? What’s your biggest challenge these days?
As we get more deals under our belts, it’s important to keep all the records straight, keep track of royalties, protect our IP, keep up with patent and trademark filings, and make sure everyone gets paid in a timely manner. It’s also challenging when partners aren’t able to focus on IP and change the gameplan along the way.

If you weren’t in licensing, what would you be doing now?
Haha – I did enjoy my first jobs, waiting tables at California Pizza Kitchen, and also working as a bank teller! I really loved counting stacks of money in both roles during and at the end of my shifts… I think I first discovered how much fun it is to count stacks of money playing Monopoly and the Game of Life as a Kid.  Plus, walking out the door after having made it nice for other people, and not having to think about work til I showed up the next day was a plus! Maybe someday I’ll own a Bed & Breakfast. That would be fun!

The last licensed product I bought was…
My son Brayden turned eight this September, and he is crazy for Minecraft! We had a Minecraft birthday party for him, so we went to Target and bought Minecraft Yoyos, Minecraft plates, napkins and eraser tops from Mojang, Minecraft figural drink cups from Zak!, hel wore his Minecraft undies from Bioworld, and one of his many Minecraft tees, as he redeemed points for a new Minecraft “Mod” that he’d been asking for to debut at the party with his friends… He also got a new Minecraft backpack and three different Minecraft PJs. Thanks a lot, and you’re very welcome, Microsoft 😉

THE 2021 PEOPLE PROFILE SERIES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY MYMEDIABOX

MyMediaBox is the leader in providing online solutions that streamline every stage in the brand licensing lifecycle, from contract management and rights tracking, through style guide delivery, product approvals, security tag management and royalty reporting. With over 54,000 global professionals logging in from 125+ countries, Mediabox is by far the world’s most thoroughly tested and widely trusted licensing software.