Master’s Mentors Committee
The MCMI Mentors Committee is a select group of distinguished Annenberg alumni and media industry leaders who play an integral role in shaping the professional trajectories of students in the Master of Communication and Media Industries program. Drawn from a range of sectors including journalism, entertainment, technology, marketing and advertising, and strategic communications, mentors bring diverse expertise that reflects the breadth of career paths available to MCMI graduates. Each mentor is paired with a small group of 3-4 students per cohort, fostering the kind of close, sustained relationship that makes a genuine difference at the start of a career.
Mentors meet with their student groups regularly throughout the academic year to offer guidance on coursework, career planning, and professional development. They share industry expertise, provide candid advice about navigating the media and communications landscape, and serve as a sounding board as students develop their capstone projects. Beyond the classroom, mentors help open doors by making introductions, identifying internship and job opportunities, and leveraging their networks on students’ behalf. The expected time commitment is modest: one in-person meeting in Philadelphia during the academic year and two to three additional meetings held via Zoom.
MCMI mentors are active, engaged partners in student success, and their involvement is a defining feature of this graduate program at the Annenberg School for Communication.
Karin Gilford
SVP, Digital Media & GM, Movies Anywhere
The Walt Disney Company
Karin Gilford is Senior Vice President, Digital Media and General Manager of Movies Anywhere at The Walt Disney Company, where she leads an organization spanning digital content strategy and distribution, FAST channels, social media, eCommerce, advertising, and the Movies Anywhere multi-studio platform. She serves as Disney’s senior digital executive embedded within ABC News, with direct relationships across Good Morning America, The View, World News Tonight, and ABC News Live.
Over a 25-year career in digital media, streaming, and entertainment distribution, Gilford has built a reputation for translating market shifts into business results — identifying where the industry is headed and shepherding complex, cross-functional initiatives from concept through operational excellence. At Disney, she has led the expansion of ABC News into new formats and platforms, including social media and vertical video strategy, pushing a legendary news brand forward while honoring its editorial standards and legacy. She also originated Disney’s FAST channel offering, now scaled across both entertainment and news. Prior to Disney, she held senior roles at Yahoo! and Comcast.
Gilford is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
Amie Hadden, B.A. '89
Executive Creative Director
Amie Hadden is an Executive Creative Director who has worked at some of the world’s leading advertising agencies including Wieden & Kennedy, Fallon McElligott Berlin, J. Walter Thompson, BBDO and Publicis. Clients’ demand for creativity has taken Amie to agencies in the U.S. and Europe, developing campaigns for global brands such as Nike, Heineken, Coca-Cola, and BMW. Her iconic work transcends cultural and language differences while resonating with consumers in more than a dozen countries.
Amie’s relentless pursuit to discover a brand’s truth informs her creative process and had led to award-winning work for iconic brands such as Nikon, Old Navy, Miller Genuine Draft, Coppertone, Yoplait, Zappos, Avon, and the NBA.
Most recently, as a creative & branding consultant, Amie’s ideas are guiding life-saving pharmaceutical and biotech companies. At ViroCell Biologics, a viral vector manufacturer that enables novel cell and gene therapies to enter clinical trials, she helped to create a distinctive voice and unique presence in the marketplace.
Amie believes that advertising can do more than sell products, it can effect change in the world, which is why today she brings her thinking to brands and causes alike.
Nikhil Sinha, Ph.D. '91
CEO, GSVlabs
Partner, Global Silicon Valley
Nikhil Sinha is Chief Executive Officer of GSVlabs, a global innovation platform and Partner at Global Silicon Valley, a leading venture capital firm. Prior to joining GSVlabs as CEO in May 2018, Sinha served as the Chief Business and Content Officer at Coursera, the world’s largest higher education platform. Sinha is a leading international expert on the information and communication technology industries and has extensive experience as an academician and corporate executive.
In his academic career, Sinha was the founding President of the Shiv Nadar University from 2011 to 2015, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Texas from 2002 to 2005, and a faculty member at the University from 1991 to 1999.
Outside the academy, Sinha has served in senior positions in several organizations. In the past he has been President & Co-CEO of Silverskills, Executive Vice President of eFunds Corporation, President & CEO of iDLX Technology Partners, and a Venture Partner at Adams Capital Management. Sinha began his professional life in the Government of India’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in 1983.
Sinha serves on several corporate and non-profit boards. He is Chairman of the Board of HCL Infosystems, a Director of Silverskills Pvt. Ltd., and a member of the Alumni Advisory Board of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Director Emeritus of the US-India Business Council and a member of the Higher Education Committee of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Sinha has an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. (Honors) from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University. He has published numerous articles and papers in scholarly journals and conferences and has been awarded a number of research, publishing, and academic grants and awards.
Amy Jo Smith, M.A.C. '88
President & CEO
DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group
Amy Jo Smith serves as president & CEO of DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group, the leading trade group for digital media focusing on bringing content to consumers. DEG representing the interests of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies, consumer electronics manufacturers and platform providers. A former White House communications advisor, Smith, since 1997, has led the industry-funded group’s efforts to enhance and promote home entertainment during its wholesale evolution from videocassettes to DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, and today’s digital age. Today, DEG is firmly established as the industry’s leading authority on home entertainment trends, including both transaction entertainment to consumers as well as the burgeoning direct-to-consumer subscription offerings.
Mentors meet with their student groups regularly throughout the academic year to offer guidance on coursework, career planning, and professional development. They share industry expertise, provide candid advice about navigating the media and communications landscape, and serve as a sounding board as students develop their capstone projects. Beyond the classroom, mentors help open doors by making introductions, identifying internship and job opportunities, and leveraging their networks on students’ behalf. The expected time commitment is modest: one in-person meeting in Philadelphia during the academic year and two to three additional meetings held via Zoom.
MCMI mentors are active, engaged partners in student success, and their involvement is a defining feature of this graduate program at the Annenberg School for Communication.