THE PRINCIPALS

Bob Lasiewicz has been at the forefront of the digital information industry for over 20 years. In 1982 he founded Media InfoSystems,Inc. to provide business and computing support to the entertainment industry. A variety of system design and support projects included a syndication management system for then Lorimar/Telepictures (now Warner Bros.) along with training services to Columbia Pictures and others. 

In 1983, Bob and his wife Nalini launched ShowBiz Expo, a trade show and conference that developed into the world’s premier entertainment production show during their tenure as owners. Through a groundbreaking consortium of 225 trade groups, unions and guilds and active support from trade publications and exhibitors, this industry gathering that heralded the age of digital convergence expanded to two bi-coastal annual events with 30,000 participants and 500 exhibitors at the Los Angeles confab.  While continuing to serve other clients, Media InfoSystems developed and maintained advanced custom tools for CRM, registration and marketing for ShowBiz Expo. 

In 1994 Bob led the profitable divesture of ShowBiz Expo to Advanstar Communications.  Subsequent projects included real estate ventures, M&A activities for select clients, and R&D on IP business systems.  In July, 2000 Bob joined the Hollywood business-to-business pioneer, Creative Planet, as Brand Manager V.P. for its’ Internet Production Showcase.  Restructuring and downsizing shuttered the division in 2001.  Recent Media InfoSystems’ projects have included installation/management of Salesforce.com for a distributed workforce and RFP/negotiation/selection of a hosted trade show/conference multi-departmental management system. 
 
A graduate of the School of Communications at Northwestern University, Bob enjoyed a multi-year stint in a family-owned Chicago based high-tech manufacturing business before moving to Los Angeles where he was involved in radio, record and television production as well as management of the Intersound post-production sound facility in Hollywood.

Born in Holland and raised in Hollywood, Nalini has worked with hundreds of small businesses and non-profit to improve their marketing, administrative and public relations profiles. Alongside her partner and future husband, Bob Lasiewicz, Nalini launched and produced the ShowBiz Expo, a tradeshow for the film and television industry. The event was held annually in Los Angeles and New York and Nalini was responsible for oversight of the Finance and Accounting staff as well as managing the Conference and the Marketing Departments for the ten years prior to its sale.

Nalini also pursues philanthropic goals under The Lasiewicz Foundation, a nonprofit corporation launched in 1993, dedicated to education and social action for human development. The Lasiewicz Foundation is a non-profit project that provides PR, marketing and organizational assistance to human rights, peace and independent media groups. and most recently has launched a project to promote and fund early childhood music education.

THE TEAM

Mary Anderson-Harris has been a public relations professional for over 25 years. Her current clients include the Los Angeles cluster of Salem Communications radio stations and the California Council for Interior Design Certification (CCIDC).

Mary’s association with Bob and Nalini Lasiewicz began fifteen years ago when they hired her as PR Manager for ShowBiz Expo. At boutique public relations firm, The Strickholm Company, Mary was part of the team that handled consumer and trade PR for the consumer products divisions of Viacom Entertainment Group and Artisan Entertainment. For five years, Mary served as Director of Publicity for leading event production and licensed merchandising firm, Creation Entertainment. In addition to consumer and trade publicity, she was responsible for corporate sponsorship sales as well as management and sales of the company’s extensive consumer databases. Prior to relocating to the Los Angeles area in 1982, Mary resided in Las Vegas where her PR clients included superstar magicians Siegfried & Roy.

With over thirty-five years of experience in the high tech community, Mr. Byers has been a key technical and design consultant on several Media InfoSystems collaborations since 1984. He has extensive experience with database management systems and helped pioneer a PC client/server database architecture. His programming design work is notable for it’s creative use of advance technologies to develop efficient software, both intuitive and easy to use, for maximum functionality.

Mr. Byers has held numerous positions of responsibility in the computer and communications industries including Ampex Corporation, Bell and Howell, the Georgia Tech Research Institute, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He has served on several government advisory panels for Communications and Data Handling, including the Select Panel on Data Handling and Avionics for the Space Shuttle and NASA's Planetary Data Systems Working Group. He was actively involved with the development of dBASE, and often acted as a spokesman for Ashton-Tate, prior to their purchase by Borland. As an independent consultant on micro-computer software, he developed mission critical applications for major corporations, including Nissan, TRW, JPL, Microsoft, Marshall Electronics, UniStar, Ashton-Tate and Quarterdeck Office Systems. He has developed vertical market applications software for the medical and retail and production industry communities.

The author of approximately 50 technical papers and 10 best selling computer books, he also holds a U.S. Patent on Distributed Signal Processing. His Everyman's Database Primer, which was among the all time best sellers, became a standard and was translated into several languages. An engineer by training, he has a B.S.E.E. from the California State Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo , a M.S.E.E. from the Georgia Institute of Technology, with additional post-graduate work at the University of Southern California.

Bob contributes to the MIS team with over 20 years experience producing, managing, and marketing tradeshows and conferences (primarily in the technology space), as well as theatrical and arts-oriented events. His initial project with Bob and Nalini Lasiewicz was as a marketing manager for the ShowBiz Expo project.

For over a decade, Bob has been an Internet developer and activist, having helped to build communities of affinity on The WELL, America Online, and elsewhere on the Web. His skills include product and channel management, user interface development, and interactive content development.

Bob is the author of the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s guide to online safety, freedom, and privacy (Harper Collins), and has also served as a contributing editor to InterActivity, Keyboard, and other technology publications.

Bob O'Haver has been working in the entertainment industry for over 20 years. He has worked on many feature films, national commercials, music videos and motion-based rides with a variety of notable directors such as Doug Trumbull, Roland Emmerich, and Renny Harlin. His most recent feature film credits include: Production Supervisor for Disney’s Dinosaur and Visual Effects Producer for such films as StarGate, Last Of The Dogmen, and CutThroat Island . He is experienced in optical effects, digital animation, models, miniatures and plate photography.

Bob has already spent over a decade creating on-line communities for creative exchange and business applications. In 1994 Bob co-founded visualfx.com, a successful website for Visual Effects professionals. In 1999 Creative Planet purchased visualfx.com and brought Bob on as Web Publisher, Community Liason and Marketing Executive where he worked with Bob Lasiewicz who was also working with Creative Planet, as Brand Manager V.P. for its’ Internet Production Showcase. When the company downsized, the two continued their business development projects which has led to a productive collaboration in building on-line communities.

Bob enjoys teaching and sharing his knowledge of the Effects Industry. In addition to his other projects Bob has taught ‘The History of Visual Effect’ for Gnoman School and ‘Magic of Visual Effect, an Executive Overview’ for Evolution Media.

Allanna Wayne’s experience in the fields of education and research includes psychological data collection and analysis, curriculum development, educational consulting, elementary education, adult education, ESL instruction, academic advising for homeschool parents, teacher training, tutoring, and educational video production.

Allanna found a passion for education which was sparked while working as a Research Assistant on the Fullerton Longitudinal Study, an 18-year research project that collected and analyzed data on all aspects of child development and academic achievement. She has taught various subjects at multiple grade levels, both locally and internationally. As Director of Education for Educationtalk.com, an online academic assistance company, she assisted in the conceptualization and development of the business model, created a tutor certification and training process, and designed parent, student, and tutor profiling systems. She currently works as a Design Team Leader for Laureate Education, Inc., a leading provider of high-quality professional development and graduate degree programs.

Allanna is chiefly responsible for leading teams of course developers, writers, and video producers in the creation of distance-learning courses in K-12 education at the Master’s and Doctoral level. She also works as a consultant for a community mentoring program.

Michael has over 30 years of education and training experience, with the last 15 years focused on multimedia and online applications. His expertise is in the area of strategic planning and implementation of learning systems and courses. He is also an expert in the area of interactive course design.

He is the founder of Digital Directions International Inc., a premiere provider of online learning in partnership with PBS stations and program producers nationwide. Prior to founding DDI, Michael served as president and COO of Paragon Solutions, a Chicago-based developer of online learning and learning management systems; President and COO of Digital Creators, one of the first highly successful online learning companies specializing in higher education and corporate training applications; Group Vice President of Production and Development for Jones Education Networks and Knowledge TV; and Vice President of Production for Philips Interactive Media.

He is currently on the faculty at the University of Denver, and has served on the faculties of the University of Colorado and the University of Southern California.