The WICT Network: New England Board

Chapter Advisor Lori LeBas
Senior Vice President of Affiliate Partnership Development & Operations at ESPN
Lori LeBas was named senior vice president, operations for Disney’s Platform Distribution segment in February, 2020.
Email: Lori.B.LeBas@disney.espn.com
Phone: 860-766-4011
Bio: Lori LeBas

Immediate Past President Anna Ciccone
Supervisor, Remote Crewing at ESPN
Anna is a Supervisor in Remote Crewing at ESPN. She leads a team of individuals focused on the planning and staffing of collegiate sports across ESPN networks.
Email: anna.ciccone@abc.com
Phone: 860-766-2033
Bio: Anna Ciccone

President Sara Nizzardo
Senior Manager QA Analysis at Disney
Sara Nizzardo is a Senior Manager for Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (DMED), managing teams focused on Quality Assurance. In this role she oversees functional testers and automation engineers that ensure quality of DMED’s global media supply chain.
Email: Sara.Nizzardo@espn.com
Phone: 860-766-2973
Bio: Sara Nizzardo

Vice President Dina Baraiolo
Director of Finance at ESPN
Dina is a Director of Finance with the Disney and ESPN Media Networks distribution finance team. In this role Dina is responsible for the financial planning and analysis of Affiliate sales and distribution for TWDC suite of networks.
Email: Dina.Baraiolo@espn.com
Phone: 860-766-3615
Bio: Dina Baraiolo

Treasurer Brooke Bailey
Manager, Finance at ESPN
Brooke joined ESPN in 2016 and is now a manager of finance with the Disney and ESPN Media Networks distribution finance team. In this role Brooke is responsible for the financial planning and analysis of affiliate sales and distribution for the ESPN suite of networks.
Bio: Brooke Bailey

Secretary Diana Avila
Supervisor of Production Operations at ESPN
I am from Bogota, Colombia. I have been living in the USA for 10 years and working at ESPN for 7. I direct all communication between site, transmission and the ESPN Networks for live events, in addition to being responsible for sourcing and quality controlling all branding, video and audio for on-air programming and sales elements.
Email: Diana.M.Avila@espn.com
Phone: 860-766-2000
Bio: Diana Avila

Program Chair Christina Draper
Lead Network Orginator at ESPN
Christina is entering her 18th year with ESPN, right out of college. Sports have always been her passion which lead her to join ESPN in Network Control, monitoring on air quality of all 17 networks the company serves around the world. She coordinates and plans staffing for remote and studio productions while managing on air issues with multiple departments.
Email: Christina.Draper@espn.com
Phone: 860-766-9754
Bio: Christina Draper

Program Director Jenna Blakeslee
Studio Operator II at ESPN
Jenna (she/her/they/them) is a Studio Operator II with ESPN/Disney Media and Entertainment Studio Operations. Jenna has been with the company since 2014 functioning as a hard camera operator/trainer, jib operator, and editor across our programming. An athlete turned coach; it was a matter of time before they ended up at ESPN. They started their career shooting handheld for Comcast’s first ever live streamed sporting event.
Bio: Jenna Blakeslee

Program Director Jennifer Rimick
Director, Distribution Marketing at Disney
Marketing executive with a 20 year career history in the multimedia industry, specializing in the development of effective marketing strategies designed to deliver results, drive consumer engagement and increase brand affinity across various distribution partners and platforms including; mvpd/dmvpd, OTT and direct to consumer streaming services. Throughout my career journey, I have been fortunate to work for amazing organizations such as; TCI, ATT Broadband, Comcast and The Walt Disney Company.
Email: Jennifer.Rimick@disney.espn.com
Phone: 860-766-2843
Bio: Jennifer Rimick

Partnership Chair Nadine Heinen
Regional Director of Operations at Atlantic Broadband
Nadine Heinen is a Regional Director of Operations at Atlantic Broadband. In this role she is responsible for all of Field Operations, including construction and related areas for the Northeast and recently, Pennsylvania. Nadine has 25+ years of telecommunications leadership at the senior level in Engineering and Field Operations and her previous roles include: Director of Network Engineering for Charter, VP of Operations for Comcast, Director of Engineering for Comcast and Time Warner Cable, and Director of Advanced Technology for HBO.
Bio: Nadine Heinen

Membership Chair Allison Violette
Senior Resource Coordinator at ESPN
Allison leads ESPN’s Remote Operations Third Party Resource Team. Her role is to manage the multiple agency populations that fall under the Remote Operations third party umbrella including, but not limited to, day count tracking, payroll processing, personnel troubleshooting, invoice payment, and database coordination. Allison also volunteers for her department’s Library Committee and is a proud member the Women’s Multicultural Network, an internal ESPN team focused on recruiting, retaining, and elevating women of color within the company. Prior to her joining ESPN in 2014, Allison’s primary experience was in small business management.
Email: allison.violette@espn.com
Phone: 860-549-7701
Bio: Allison Violette

Marketing Chair Tania Eicoff
Studio Operator II at ESPN
Tania Eicoff is a Studio Operator II at ESPN. She is a video, camera, and jib operator for most shows at ESPN. Prior to relocating to Connecticut, she worked at NECN. She grew up in the Boston area, which helps explain her passion for all Boston sports.
Email: tania.eicoff@espn.com
Bio: Tania Eicoff

Marketing Director Kimberly Webber
Senior Marketing Communications Specialist at Cox Media
Kim is a Sr. Marketing Communications Specialist at Cox Media, responsible for internal & external communications, project planning, promotions, and events.
Email: kimberly.webber@coxmedia.com
Bio: Kimberly Webber

Marketing Director Elizabeth Walden
Senior Manager, Public Relations at Comcast Western New England Region
Elizabeth Walden is the Regional Senior Manager of Public Relations for Comcast. She is responsible for helping shape the company’s image with external audiences in Connecticut, Vermont, Western Massachusetts, Western New Hampshire and Carmel, N.Y.
Email: elizabeth_walden@comcast.net
Phone: 860-505-3445
Bio: Elizabeth Walden

Mentor Director Sara Dionne
VP, Human Resrouces at Comcast
Sara Dionne is Vice President of HR for the Greater Boston Region at Comcast. In this role she provides strategic leadership and direction for three key functional teams: Human Resources, Employee Relations and Talent Acquisition & Management.
Email: Sara_Dionne@cable.comcast.com
Email: 617-279-5925
Bio: Sara Dionne