Principal and Founder (CEO)

Craig Minassian brings a unique blend of senior strategic and crisis communications, brand marketing, and programming and content development to advancing the work of some of the world’s most impactful and recognizable public and private sector organizations and leaders. In addition to leading Minassian Media, he serves as chief content, communications and marketing officer for the Clinton Foundation, including the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), and as a spokesperson for former President Bill Clinton.  Previously, Craig served as White House assistant press secretary & director of television news for President Clinton, on numerous presidential and national advocacy campaigns, as well as a senior advisor for the Democratic National Conventions in 2008 and 2012.

While leading communications for the Clinton Foundation as it drew intense scrutiny during the 2016 election, Craig earned praise for preparation and developing a strategy for CGI which The Washington Post suggested “should go down in The Philanthropy Book of Best Practices” and PR Week  lauded, writing CGI “has evolved into a launching pad for corporate social responsibility programs.” Craig also created and produced the podcast Why Am I Telling You This?with Bill Clinton (iHeartMedia), which Entertainment Weekly named to its“Must List”, and oversaw the virtual reality film Inside Impact: East Africa which earned the Clinton Foundation a Daytime Emmy award nomination.

Craig spent a significant portion of his career at HBO and as a consultant and producer for networks including Comedy Central, MTV, ABC and ESPN. Notable projects include Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear Stand Up Planet with Hasan Minhaj, Stephen Colbert’s WHCA dinner speech, Comic Relief,The Daily Show, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher and HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival among others.  He also worked for World Cup USA in 1994 and, in 2006, launched Minassian Media which serves a wide range of private and public sector clients.  Craig is a member of the President's Council and Dean’s Advisory Committee for the School of Communication at the University of Miami and is a Fellow at the Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service in the McCourt School of Public Policy (Fall 2023), a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Craig is active in the Armenian American community and lives in New York with his wife, Shawna Shepherd Minassian, two young daughters, and their rescue dog Shep.

Principal

Jove Oliver has over 20 years of experience designing and executing results-driven communications, advocacy and digital campaigns for international organizations, Fortune 500 companies, UN agencies, academia and government. Specializing in global health, social impact, crisis management, and international policy, Jove has worked with Amnesty International, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the City of New York, Columbia University, Eli Lilly & Co’s global health team, Mozilla, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Wikipedia, The World Bank Group and numerous other leading organizations. 

Jove served for six years as the Senior Advisor to the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease and played a leading role in their execution of the World Conference on Tobacco or Health and the Union World Conference on Lung Health over that six year period. From 2006-2010, Jove was a director at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), leading the communications, marketing, and digital departments. Prior to CGI, Jove worked for the World Health Organization developing social mobilization, behavior change, and communications strategies for projects in more than 40 countries. 

Jove served as a White House Advance Associate during President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection where he worked on communications and press for major events attended by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in California, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Virginia. 

Jove is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and serves on the CFR Term Member Advisory Committee. He has presided over several CFR meetings on global health including the March 2020 meeting on the Coronavirus Outbreak, the launch of the book “Plagues and the Paradox of Progress, and the June 2021 CFR young professionals series entitled “Briefing on Vaccine Hesitancy.” He also served on the Board of Trustees of The University of Evansville and on the board of the New York City nonprofit Phys Ed Plus. 

Jove’s ghostwriting for heads of state, CEOs, and nonprofit leaders has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian (U.K.), Wired, and other leading outlets, while his own writing has been published in The Atlantic, CNN.com, The Hill, The New York Daily News, and elsewhere. Jove has lived and worked in eight countries across Africa, Asia and Europe, and maintains a global network of contacts in media, business, government, and the UN system.

Juliet Barbara is a strategic communications expert with over a decade of experience advancing global and national brands across the non-profit and technology sectors. She previously served as Communications Director at the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit that operates Wikipedia, where she led a team responsible for the public reputation of the world’s 5th most popular website. Before joining the Wikimedia Foundation, Juliet led Communications for GoodData, a data and analytics start-up in San Francisco, and translated technical stories for public audiences at the Horn Group, a tech PR agency. Additionally, Juliet was a contributor at Forbes.com, and worked at Forbes Media in a number of roles. Juliet is a passionate advocate for social justice and a believer in the power of communication to affect societal change. She graduated with honors with a BA in International Relations and French from Wellesley College.

Based in San Francisco, Gillian is an acclaimed documentary filmmaker and content strategist with a deep interest in telling authentic, powerful nonfiction stories to advance the work of mission-driven initiatives and organizations. From a family of Grammy winning musicians, Gillian chose to chronicle some of the most influential musicians of our time through film. She has directed and produced feature documentaries and television series with artists including Eric Clapton, Matchbox 20, Jerry Garcia & David Grisman, Elvis Costello, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Randolph, Gillian Welch and Norah Jones. Some of her credits include “Grateful Dawg” (Sony Classics), “Keeping Time: New Music From America's Roots” (Sundance Channel), “Show: A Night in the Life of Matchbox20“ (Warner Bros./Warner Music), “Press On,” and “Village Music: The Last Great of the Great Record Stores.” In her previous time at MMI, she produced and directed corporate video and film work for clients in health care and biotechnology as well as for the Clinton Global Initiative. Most recently, Gillian served as Head of Production for George Lucas Educational Foundation Edutopia.org and has worked with other leading purpose-driven organizations like Aspen Institute and the Hewlett Foundation to craft cinematic, human-centered stories that engage communities and inspire action.

With deep experience in Democratic politics and campaigns, government, non-profits, and tech and media companies, Erika Gudmundson founded Good Comms to create and execute thoughtful and precise communications strategies that make an impact. She specializes in strategic planning and crisis communications, messaging and positioning, public affairs, social good, and executive communications.

Prior to and between consulting projects, Erika most recently served as Deputy Communications Director for Messaging and Strategy on Mike Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign. Prior, she was a Director at Pramana Collective, a strategic advisory firm focused on brand and communications. Previously, Erika served as Press Secretary to Chelsea Clinton on Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. She led communications for The Clinton Global Initiative, including managing media engagements and forging partnerships with large global companies and media organizations, and also served as a Senior Communications Advisor to the Clinton Foundation. Erika was the first to lead new media and digital outreach for the United States Department of the Treasury during the first term of President Barack Obama's Administration. She started her career as a National Press Aide on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.

In consulting, Erika has worked with international media companies, venture capital firms, higher education institutions, large tech companies and innovative startups, and political, charitable, and advocacy groups to navigate critical moments including launches, social good campaigns, moments of crisis, and brand pivots.

Ed has worked across public, private and nonprofit sectors to build results-oriented solutions to large-scale social and public policy challenges. A strategic development executive with an extensive background in identifying and executing initiatives that increase the viability of organizations through collaboration, program management, and fiscal responsibility, he has expertise in pinpointing needs and devising forward-thinking solutions to align activities with evolving organizational priorities. Prior to joining Minassian Media, he served as Deputy Director of the Clinton Global Initiative and developed annual and long-term strategic plans as the organization grew from start-up to globally recognized brand dedicated to convening global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world's most pressing challenges.

Born in New York City and raised in Evanston, Illinois, Ed graduated from Bates College. He served in White House Counsel’s Office during the Clinton Administration. He then transferred to the White House Office of Advance, serving as Associate Director of Advance. Following his tenure in Washington, Ed returned to New York City, initially to work on a City Council campaign, and subsequently on the staffs of New York City Council Members Eric Gioia and Speaker Gifford Miller.

Paul Jensen is Principal of Etalia (et-alia.com), a science communications firm serving the world's most visionary leaders in global health and life sciences. He helps shape thought leadership agendas for executives at many of the world's leading scientific organizations, and has helped hundreds of industry and academic experts disseminate their insights. Typical clients who work with Paul are either established leaders in their fields, or they oversee world-class research but haven't yet achieved the visibility or impact they want. A firm believer in the value of helping scientists become expert communicators, he regularly takes clients from having never published outside the academic literature to seeing their own articles published in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Politico, Reuters and other major media outlets, as well as leading health publications including STAT, BMJ, Health Affairs, Devex, ThinkGlobalHealth and WEF Agenda. Applying the same communications strategies that he helps clients apply, his analysis of global health issues has earned coverage from more than 100 news media outlets worldwide and made a concrete impact on public policy. You can read more about his work in the textbook Global Health 101. 

Michael has 20 years of high-level experience in global health communications, with special expertise in HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases, tobacco control, sexual health and harm reduction around drugs and alcohol. He has provided official media relations services to over 35 international global health conferences for a range of clients, including the International AIDS Conference, the World Conference on Tobacco or Health, and the World Conference on Lung Health. Michael has worked with a wide range of clients on critical global health issues, including the World Health Organization, GAVI Alliance, International AIDS Society, The Union and the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Michael has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Sydney, and a Masters in Journalism from the University of Technology in Sydney. In addition to media relations and management, he has expertise in speech writing, opinion piece writing, documentation writing, media training and strategic communications. Michael maintains a global network of media contacts in dozens of countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. He is fluent in Spanish and is based in Barcelona.

For nearly twenty years, Helen has developed strategies and communications that address the social challenges of our time. Working with some of the most important brands in the world, Helen’s skills have stretched from mining insights and strategy to developing PR campaigns, creating entirely new platforms to masterminding show-stopping events. She has worked at a global and local level, producing initiatives around a huge range of issues including human rights, global health and animal welfare. She has led high-level communication campaigns for organizations and brands including Amnesty International, Tesco, T-Mobile, Wikipedia, London 2012 Olympics, the BBC and Comic Relief. She served as Communication Director for a number of organizations including the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease based in Paris, running strategies across global teams with multiple stakeholders. She started her career as a journalist and regularly writes op-eds, blogs and web contents for campaigns. Helen is based in the North of England.

Natalie is a senior account lead with experience in corporate communications strategy and event programming for a variety of clients in the non-profit, corporate, healthcare, and entertainment sectors. Previously, Natalie interned at Haymaker PR, a New York City-based public relations agency that leads media strategy for tech companies. There, she gained valuable experience in media relations, writing, and research. While studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Natalie took an intern position assisting a graduate school admissions advisor with social media management and copyediting. Natalie is also a member of the firm's digital team, with a background in production. As a production assistant at Driver Studios, an award winning media and entertainment company focused on the development, distribution, and marketing of entertainment content, she worked closely on content creation for multiple clients, including Nickelodeon, American Girl, and Sesame Street. As an undergraduate student at NYU, Natalie worked part-time as a teacher’s aide in an elementary school on the Lower East Side, where she helped second-graders reach their next levels in reading, writing, and math. Natalie graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Media, Culture, and Communications from New York University.

Sam is a strategic communications expert with nearly a decade of experience helping organizations use communications to advance their mission, cultivate new and existing audiences, and drive meaningful impact. She has led global media strategy, crisis communications, advocacy communications, executive communications, digital communications, internal communications, and project and campaign management across the nonprofit and technology sectors. She previously served as Senior Communications Manager at the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia, where she led a globally-distributed team responsible for developing and executing the global media relations, crisis communications, and advocacy communications strategy for the organization. Sam is a creative systems thinker with a passion for leveraging communications for social good. She graduated with honors from Santa Clara University with a BA in Communications and a minor in Political Science.

Bio Coming Soon.

Rescue from Animal Haven, victim of Wikileaks, all around sage until succumbing to cancer.

Shawna Shepherd is an Emmy-winning television journalist and producer, having been honored with Primetime and News & Documentary awards for her work with The Daily Show and CNN. Shawna currently serves as a producer for The Daily Show which she joined in 2015 after more than 15 years of covering politics and breaking news for CNN.  

At CNN, after working with Inside Politics anchor Judy Woodruff, Shawna served as a White House producer, covering President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, and spent countless hours on the campaign trail covering major candidates across three presidential cycles as a producer and reporter.  After being based in South Carolina through the primaries in 2012, Shawna was named as a campaign embed for the Republican nominees Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, for which she earned an Emmy as part of CNN’s election coverage. Following the 2012 campaign she served as a producer on “Anderson Cooper 360” and “Erin Burnett OutFront”. 

Originally from Southern California, Shawna is an alumna of Mary Washington University in Virginia and now lives in New York with her husband, their two daughters and their rescue dog Shep.

Moka brings twenty years of experience working as a marketing communications leader, producer, advisor and start-up founder at the intersection of social impact and technology. 

She has led marketing and communications teams and programs for several start-ups, as well as organizations dedicated to social impact work like Wikipedia, World Bank Group, US Department of Health and Human Services and Bloomberg Philanthropy.

Moka lived in Seoul, South Korea where she received her MA in Korean Studies, focusing her research on the evolution of media and technology and the development of democracy on the Korean peninsula. While there, she also worked as a program manager at SBS News, a top national broadcast news agency in South Korea.

Before moving to Seoul, Moka was part of the senior leadership team at Porter Novelli (PN) in both the Seattle and Austin offices, focused on cutting-edge technology clients and communications lead for SXSW Interactive. 

Moka started her career in Washington D.C. as part of the launch team for the DREAM Act in conjunction with Senator Orrin Hatch’s office. She also worked as a community organizer with the Black Leadership Council for Excellence, building coalitions and mobilizing minority communities around critical health issues. 

She currently lives in Seattle WA and recently produced an award-winning film shining light on women’s reproductive rights through the lens of psychological horror.

Justin Talbot Zorn is an author, adviser, and policymaker. He has served as Legislative Director for three members of the US Congress and has written widely on climate, economics, technology, international affairs, and psychology for Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, The Guardian, Wired, Fast Company, The Nation, Foreign Policy, CNN, and other publications. His first book, published with HarperCollins in the US and Penguin in the UK, was printed in 14 languages globally and topped Audible bestsellers lists in diverse categories including philosophy, meditation, and business.

Justin is a Senior Adviser to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a Truman National Security Fellow, and co-founder of a first-of-its-kind talent pipeline for Congressional staffers. He serves as a partner to a variety of mission-driven startups, think tanks, foundations, and advocacy groups. Justin has worked to organize ideologically diverse coalitions in business and government to support policy reforms for community solar and net metering, to increase national funding for election administration, and to boost federal investments in translational research focused on clean energy, health, and climate adaptation. He has been a guest on more than 70 podcasts and has lectured on public policy and communications in Congress, leading universities, think tanks, and private sector firms.

Justin helped to launch and lead a pioneering mindfulness program in the US House of Representatives, bringing together people from across the political spectrum to do the work of finding greater calm and clarity. A former Fulbright Scholar, Justin received graduate degrees in international relations and public policy from Oxford and Harvard. He lives in Santa Fe, NM with his wife, Meredy, and three young children, Tierra, Saraya, and Jai.