Yianni Stamas heads up an ever growing panel of experts who have the commitment to serve the community

About Us - Meet Our Team - Yianni the Producer

John "Yianni" Stamas, Jr. CEO, Filmmaker, Magician & Beauty Web Pioneer

Yianni began his career as an apprentice for three years at Zoetrope Studios headed by "Godfather" filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola in Hollywood then a few years later moved to New York City and became - as Dramatics NYC founder calls him - "the beauty web pioneer". And now for more than a decade Yianni has been the marketing manager of a variety of beauty, entertainment and education clients including Dramatics NYC through his Video FIlm Web Studios incorporated in 2001 which is a NYC Department of Education vendor. Yianni empowered Dramatics NYC to become Manhattan's most successful salon chain with 9 locations throughout NYC. He is the creator and founder of the "Beauty Meets Entertainment" salon marketing and publicity product as well as is the producer of important Tri-State area North East projects and events including the New York Public Library's Lights Camera Read, the review site for getting Pia nominations entitled Review Me NYC as well as the prestigious Platinum Pias Awards. Yianni keeps his roots as an actor and performing magician alive as co-artistic director of the Magic Neighbors troupe as well as can ride a unicycle while juggling (just as he juggles multiple projects).

About Us - Meet Our Team - Rodger the Librarian

Rodger Taylor, Supervising Librarian and Author
Rodger Taylor is the Supervising Librarian of the Teen Central program at the Grand Central Branch of the New York Public Library in Manhattan, a program that serves the approximately 90 branches throughout NYC in partnership with Yianni's Lights Camera Read Platinum Pia contest and workshops and helps to facilitate the Summer Reading NYC Platinum Pias semi-finalist regionals portion of the competition.

Rodger is also an author, having co-written the critically acclaimed book "Einstien on Racism". His articles on city life, jazz, early African American New York, and the African Burial Ground have been published in local newspapers and magazines, including several in "New York Newsday". He also oversees teens who author content for the over 70 publications of the Platinum Pias publishing network. Rodger received a grant from the Animating Democracy Initiative.

About Us - Meet Our Team - Alex the Entertainer

Alex Corrado, actor, director and Platinum Pias Awards host
Probably best known as the guy who stuffs Anthony Hopkins in the back of a van in "Hannibal" (and then gets eaten by wild boar at the end of the movie) Alex was also one of the leads in the landmark NBC reality show "The Restaurant" with Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito that revolutionized the dining industry. And now Alex and Yianni are developing the web reality show "Beauty Meets Entertainment: Battle for the Pia" that is beauty, entertainment and education. You can see Alex interviewing the next batch of Pia hopefuls consisting of salons and reality stars (including Jacqueline Laurita from "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" and Tracy DiMarco from "Jerseylicious") in a video shoot at the Tri-State area's biggest North East beauty show Emiliani Beauty Expo. Who will win the next Platinum Pias? No one knows for certain until the celebrities make their decisions at the nationals. But one thing is for sure, Alex will be onstage as the Platinum Pias host!

About Us - Meet Our Team - Alina the Magazine Editor-in-Chief

Alina Bloomgarden, Editor-in-Chief of the over 70 Media Space NYC Publications
Alina Bloomgarden made history when she co-founded Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis. She also produced the most successful kids show in the history of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in conjunction with the Film Society of Lincoln Center called "Reel to Real for Kids" - which is how she met Yianni and they became friends over a decade ago.

Alina currently is the Editor-in-Chief for the over 70 Platinum Pias publications nown as Media Space NYC which is a network of internet magazines in a variety of niche topics and interests that are Google keyword optimized and feature stories on celebrities, role models, achievers and other participants in the the build to the next Platinum Pias Awards. This Pias network is also the basis for taking VFW Academy (Video Film Web) to the next level. This is being implementedl by making the already accredited Digital Communication Arts internship program into a full media certification training endevour for those maintaining and writing content for the various online publications.