FUNfluential is brought to you by the toy industry experts at Adventure Media & Events with more than 100 years of combined experience in the toy industry. We know play.
Our Brands
Sweet Suite & Holiday of Play – Toy Industry Trade Shows – by invite only
Executive Bios
Deborah Stallings Stumm |
Co-Founder and Chief Fun Officer
Deborah Stallings Stumm is a toy industry and media trailblazer with expertise in the lifestyle, consumer products, and parenting markets. She has served as a senior executive in sales, marketing & PR at multiple toy companies including JAKKS Pacific and Bonkers Toys, building their brands from unknowns into some of the fastest growing companies in the business. Her entrepreneurial spirit also led her to build a software and publishing company, Party Plan-It, Inc., which blossomed to include divisions for weddings, corporate events, and families. During her career, she has been featured over 250 times on The TODAY Show, Access Hollywood, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW and KTLA and is highly sought after for her colorful and creative segments for parents and families. Deborah is uniquely qualified to build, brand, and head business development for FUNfluential with her expertise in the toy industry, influencer market, and software development.
Laurie Schacht |
President and Chief Toy Officer
Laurie Schacht is President and Chief Toy Officer of The Toy Insider, the No. 1 resource for parents, grandparents, and any gift-giver looking for the perfect toys and gifts for the kids in their lives.
Laurie has more than 25 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, Sherri, ABC World News Now, Fox & Friends, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg News, and Yahoo! Finance.
Jackie Breyer |
Vice President and Group Publisher
Jackie Breyer is the vice president of Adventure Media & Events, and group publisher of The Toy Book, The Toy Insider, and The Pop Insider. She has been reporting on retail and toy industry trends for more than 20 years. Jackie has been featured in the Netflix series The Toys That Made Us, The History Channel’s The Toys That Built America, and Nat Geo’s The ’80s Top 10: Toys, as well as The TODAY show, CNBC’s Power Lunch, NBC News, CNN, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and more. Jackie is the 2012 recipient of the Wonder Woman in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment Award in the field of Journalism & Social Media.
A true ’80s kid, Jackie is a fan of Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Super Mario, Care Bears, My Little Pony, and Archie Comics. Her first Cabbage Patch Kid was named Cecily Aretha. She still has her charm necklace, and her Garbage Pail Kid card collection is bigger than yours. Jackie has successfully trained her kids Lena and Henry to be Mario Kart experts.
Marissa Silva |
Editor-in-Chief
Marissa Silva, AKA That Toy Girl, is the editor-in-chief at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider. With more than a decade of experience in the toy industry, Marissa is a trusted toy expert, providing parents, gift-givers, retailers, manufacturers, and licensors with information on the latest news related to toys, games, kids’ products, pop culture collectibles, and licensed merchandise for adults.
A board game pro and puzzle queen, Marissa spends most of her free time shopping for superhero T-shirts, dominating at Mario Kart, and anxiously awaiting her Hogwarts acceptance letter. She is also a new mom to her baby girl Lucy Jo and has quickly become an expert in high-contrast cards, wooden toys, and plush.
Marissa has been featured on the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, the Tamron Hall Show, Access Hollywood, Fox & Friends, ABC World News Now, MSNBC, CBS, NY1, WPIX, and more.
Ali Mierzejewski |
Editor-in-Chief
Ali Mierzejewski is the editor-in-chief at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider. With more than a decade of industry experience, Ali is a trusted source for parents, gift-givers, manufacturers, retailers, and more on the latest trends and hottest products. Whether you’re shopping for the best toys for kids — or looking for the latest in geek culture and entertainment for yourself — Ali’s expertise has you covered.
When she’s not building LEGO sets or unwinding with a puzzle, Ali is obsessing over the latest season of The Bachelor, scrolling through Gritty’s Twitter, or rewatching The West Wing (for the 100th time). She is also a self-proclaimed expert on the history and lore of the entire Bachelor franchise.
Ali has been featured on TODAY, The Wendy Williams Show, Fox & Friends, HLN, The Weather Channel, ABC World News Now, and more.
James Devin |
Executive Director of Sales and Marketing
James, or JD, is the Executive Director of Sales Marketing for The Toy Insider, The Toy Book, and The Pop Insider. James loves sports, movies, music, stuffed animals and “big kid” LEGO sets. A graduate of Marist College, James has been fortunate to work in the movie and toy industries for his entire career. A father of 3, he spends his time outside of work making movies with his kids, learning languages, and planning trips with his wife.
Stephanie Infantino |
Sales Executive
Stephanie is the Sales Executive for the Toy Insider, the Toy Book and the Pop Insider. She went to fashion school and ended up working in the toy industry for the last 8 years. She has traveled to over 15 countries including Egypt, Iceland, Costa Rica, Portugal and Italy. Stephanie loves skiing, hiking and hanging out on the beaches of Long Island. Her pride and joy is her Siberian Husky, Rambo. Out of the office, you can find her workin’ on her fitness at HIIT classes or finding new recipes on Instagram.
Bill Reese |
Business Operations Manager
Bill Reese is Business Operations Manager at Adventure Media & Events, where he’s worked since 2014. A former editor at Playbill and graduate of SUNY–Purchase, he spends most weekends rooting for the New York Red Bulls pro soccer team and playing model trains with his little boy Jonah.
