Silvia Schencker
President, Newspaper Target Marketing Coalition, Inc.
Direct Marketing Sales Manager, Miami Herald
Phone: (305) 376-2708

Silvia is a graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising from The University of Florida. She began her career in Advertising and Marketing in 1987 as an Account Executive for The Miami Herald. In 1988, she left The Herald to work for Inside Books Magazine as Associate Publisher and then in 1990, she rejoined The Miami Herald's Direct marketing division. In July 2001, she was promoted to Direct Marketing Sales Manager, responsible for all printing and TMC products and in October 2004, she took over additional responsibility for data base marketing, solo mail products and niche publications

John G. Wulfert
Vice President, Newspaper Target Marketing Coalition, Inc.
Direct Marketing Sales Manager, Tampa Bay Direct, St. Petersburg, FL
Phone: (727) 893-8476     

John Wulfert is the Direct Marketing Sales Manager for the St. Petersburg Times. John joined the St. Petersburg Times in 2004, charged with developing a direct marketing operation from the ground up. Today, Tampa Bay Direct represents a vibrant and rapidly growing product line which enables The Times to provide a full range of direct mail and database marketing services to customers and businesses throughout the greater Tampa Bay area and beyond. An accomplished public speaker, John has a vast array of experience from acting as Campaign Manager for a candidate for the United States Congress (Linda Vogt, 9th District - Missouri, 1998), as Sales Manager at Valpak of Peoria (Illinois), as Direct Marketing Manager with The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, TN, to teaching numerous professional continuing education opportunities. Additionally, he holds a seat on the Board of Directors at the Newspaper Target Marketing Coalition (NTMC). Originally from Peoria, Illinois, John earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Laura Tarabini
Secretary, Newspaper Target Marketing Coalition, Inc.
Direct Marketing Manager, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Phone: (619) 293-1484   

Laura worked in research, marketing and sales for ADVO, Inc., and for The Baltimore Sun and The Sacramento Bee. At the Bee, she managed the conversion of their TMC program from carrier-thrown delivery to shared mail. At the San Diego Union-Tribune she has launched a direct marketing agency that provides database, print and mailing services. She has been a member of the NTMC since 2000, and now serves as its Secretary. Laura has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from San Jose State University.

Jane Comfort
Treasurer, Newspaper Target Marketing Coalition, Inc.
Niche Division Manager, The Post and Courier
Phone: (843) 937-4808 

Jane Comfort is the Niche Division Manager of The Post and Courier, the south's oldest daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. The Niche Division is a full service niche product, custom publishing, direct marketing and publications department. Prior to doing a start-up on this division 5 years ago, Jane was Outside Classified Manager and Marketing Manager for the Advertising Department. Prior to Jane's newspaper life, she served as a Media Director for various advertising agencies in New Orleans and Charleston. Jane has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Loyola University.

Gary Shaffer
Board Member, Newspaper Target Marketing Coalition, Inc.
General Manager, Oklahoman Direct
Phone: (405) 475-3573

Gary Shaffer is the General Manager of The Oklahoman Direct, a division of The Oklahoma Publishing Company, which also produces The Oklahoman, the state's largest daily newspaper. The Oklahoman Direct is a full service direct marketing company with it's own in-house design team, printing capabilities, database analytical services and letter shop. Gary is also responsible for the Total Market Coverage team at The Oklahoman, commercial printing and the sticky notes program. At The Oklahoman he has been an account executive, co-op advertising manager, retail sales manager and direct marketing sales manager. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Communications from Washington and Lee University.

Keith Gilpin
Board Member, Newspaper Target Marketing Coalition, Inc.
Director of Direct Mail, Orange County Register 
Phone: (714) 796-3578

Keith is Vice President of Advertising Distribution for the Orange County Register, owned by Freedom Communications Inc.

The past 10 years of his 32 year advertising career have been focused on direct mail, database marketing and targeted distribution. He started direct mail programs at the Arizona Republic and Orange County Register and has managed partnerships between ADVO and several newspapers including the Detroit Newspaper Agency, LANG and the Register. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Northern Arizona University.

Chris Trares
Board Member, Newspaper Target Marketing Coalition, Inc.
Director of Target Marketing, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Phone: (314) 340-8588

Chris Trares is the Director of Target Marketing for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  He joined the Post-Dispatch in March of 2007, after 7 years with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he held various sales and management positions.  Chris has been active in NTMC since his role as Direct Mail Manager began in 2004.  In his current position in St. Louis, Chris oversees Local Values, the #1 shared mail platform in the area, as well as the development of Direct Mail and Database Analysis solutions for advertisers.  In addition to his work at the newspaper, Chris serves on the Board of Directors for the Direct Marketing Association - St. Louis Chapter.  Originally from Belleville, IL, Chris earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and enjoys spending his summers cheering on the best team in baseball - the St. Louis Cardinals.

Mark Lamar
Board Member, Newspaper Target Marketing Coalition, Inc.
TMC Manager, Cincinnati Enquirer
Phone: (513) 768-8113

Mark Lamar is the Distribution Sales Manager for The Cincinnati Enquirer, a Gannett newspaper.  His responsibilities include Total Market Coverage, Target Mail, sticky notes, polybags and comics.  Mark began his career in 1985 with The Dallas Morning News and has held the positions of Account Executive, TMC Neighborhood Shopping Coordinator, and TMC Sales Manager.  He has also been the Advertising Director for WNI, a newspaper group held by American Consolidated Media.  Mark was a founding member of the NTMC in 1998 and served as the first Secretary.  This is his second term on the NTMC board.  Mark earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and Management from Dallas Baptist University.

Philip Brown
Executive Director, Newspaper Target Marketing Coalition, Inc.
Phone: (202) 386-6357 

Philip is the Executive Director for the NTMC, succeeding Angela Thomas in October 2008.  He is a 1972 Bachelor of Arts graduate of the University of Florida.  After a year in Circulation with the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, he worked in Circulation and Advertising for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from 1974 until retirement in 2008.  At the AJC he helped develop and implement the REACH/TMC shared mail program in 1981 and managed the AJC’s target marketing, newspaper insert and direct mail operations.  He has been active in the NTMC since its inception in 1998 as one of the founding members of the organization.  He implemented the NTMC email list serv in 1999 and served on the executive board as Treasurer from 2000-2002 and as At-large board member from 2004 until March 2008.  He and his wife Faye were married in 1973 and currently reside in Decatur, Georgia.