Meet the Team
LAURIE SCHACHT
In addition to founding Blogger Bash and Sweet Suite, Laurie Schacht is President and Chief Toy Officer of Adventure Publishing Group, the leading publisher of magazines servicing the toy and licensing industries since 1983. Based in New York City, Adventure Publishing Group produces The Toy Book, The Licensing Book and the Toy Insider, which provides parents, grandparents, and other gift-givers with the most up-to-date info on the hottest toys of the year.
Laurie has more than 20 years of experience in the toy industry, reporting on and overseeing changes and trends in the business. She has been quoted in major broadcast and print media outlets such as The Today Show, The Wendy Williams Show, ABC World News Now, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg News, Excite and Yahoo! Finance.
Laurie provides toy advice to parents and bloggers on a regular basis. She is the contributing toy editor to Grandparents.com, and is a regular contributor to Huffington Post, and FoxNews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ToyInsiderMom.
CHARLENE DELOACH
After writing laws for 15 years, Charlene DeLoach now blogs about whatever she wants; specifically, fabulous things like technology, travel, social media, fashion, and fitness. She has worked for the White House, the Massachusetts Legislature, and big-name Insurance companies and State Agencies as an attorney. Charlene blogs about luxury travel, fashion, and beauty at CleverLuxe.com and about toys, fitness, and family products at CharleneChronicles.com, and activities and baby gear at MetrowestMamas.com. She also still consults on health care issues and assists bloggers with legal contracts. She has been featured on Fox25 Morning News, the Boston Globe, Boston.com, Boston Herald, and Parents.com. In her downtime, she loves decorating and visiting consignment shops. Charlene lives outside of Boston with her husband, preschooler son, toddler daughter, and two teeny, tiny dogs. Follow her on Twitter at @CharleneDeLoach
MARISSA DIBARTOLO
Marissa DiBartolo is a senior editor at Adventure Publishing Group. She contributes feature-length articles to leading toy industry trade magazines The Toy Book and The Licensing Book, providing retailers, manufacturers, and licensors with information on the latest in toy news.
In addition to traditional printed content, Marissa is the co-manager of digital and social media for leading consumer holiday gift guide The Toy Insider and blogger and press conference Blogger Bash. As professional toy reviewers and industry experts, she consistently reports on toy trends and hot products. A board game fanatic and Mario Kart enthusiast, Marissa has been featured on Good Morning America, NY1, World News Now, and Arise News. Say hi to her on Twitter at @MarissaDiBartolo!
ALI MIERZEJEWSKI
Ali Mierzejewski is a senior editor at Adventure Publishing Group. She contributes to leading trade magazines The Toy Book and The Licensing Book, as well as the consumer holiday resource The Toy Insider, featured annually in Woman’s Day magazine.
On the digital side of things, Ali is a co-manager of social media and community building for The Toy Insider. During her time as a professional toy reviewer, she has built an impressive amount of Lego sets and has grown particularly fond of all things Nerf guns and superhero toys. If she had to pick a superpower, she’d have a lot of trouble choosing between flying and invisibility, so she’d probably pick “something close to the skill set of Wonder Woman.” Tweet her terrible jokes filled with puns @ohsotrendy.
MADDIE MICHALIK
Maddie Michalik is the editorial assistant at Adventure Publishing Group. When she’s not busy keeping up with The Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht, she helps the editorial team on leading trade magazines The Toy Book and The Licensing Book.
Her love for consuming media is surpassed only by her love creating it, and she truly believes that the world would be a better place if everyone just played with a toy for 15 minutes a day. You can often find her rereading the Harry Potter series with a cup of coffee in her hand and patiently waiting for The Lego Moviesequel to come out. For more of her antics, follow Maddie on Twitter @MaddieMichalik.
STEPHANIE GLOVER
Stephanie Glover started blogging back in 2007 when she was preparing for the arrival of her first child. Since then, she has expanded A Grande Life to cover all things parenting and lifestyle, including yummy recipes and info on the hottest toys! When she’s not blogging, you’ll find her enjoying a hot cup of coffee and living a boy mom life. Stephanie is also freelance writer and photographer, community manager, and brand ambassador. She currently sits on the Toy Insider Parent Advisory Panel and is the Social Media Manager & Content Creator for ListPlanit.com. She is also a contributing writer for 5 Minutes for Mom and XOJane.com. She has been featured on Buzzfeed, SoFab Food, PopSugar, and Parade Magazine. Follow her on Twitter at @TheStephGlover.