Our Team

MJ has enjoyed a multi-faceted career in the non-profit sector, Corporate America, and as a successful textile artist. “Multi-faceted” is an apt word, given that she is now known for the giant diamond portraits she creates with fabric and paint.

For the past 25 years, MJ has guided programs and projects in the not-for- profit and private sectors. She led Louisville’s earliest self-sufficiency programs and served as one of the first Administrators of the innovative Neighborhood Place program, a collaboration of state and local agencies. MJ also guided development efforts that raised nearly $1 million for local organizations, as well as National Public Radio’s popular program, “This I Believe”.

After making the leap from the non-profit arena to the corporate world, MJ served as a technology project manager leading teams at a Louisville Fortune 100 company. Her teams implemented online systems, developed benefit programs, and participated in Merger & Acquisition efforts.

Concurrently with her 25-year tenure in the non-profit and business worlds, she developed her unique style of art quilts that look like faceted diamonds. In 2014, the call to the creative life became so deafening that she walked away from the lucrative corporate gig to pursue her artistic career on a full-time basis. Since then, her gems have been exhibited in galleries, museums, and national juried competitions. The Women’s Jewelry Association featured an exhibit of her work at their 2017 annual Awards for Excellence Gala in New York City. Her work has been featured in Quilting Arts Magazine and Quilting Arts TV, a program distributed nationally by PBS affiliates. She teaches around the country, is developing a line of fabric for quiltmakers, and has three books in the works with C&T Publishing. Since receiving the green light from curators at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, MJ has started working on a new series of gem art quilts inspired by the National Gem Collection including the Hope Diamond, the Blue Heart Diamond, the Janet Annenberg Hooker Emerald, and others.

Her gems are also part of numerous residential and corporate collections. Most notably, Maker’s Mark Distillery recently commissioned a major work for their permanent art collection. (If you visit Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, KY, you’ll see MJ’s work “Maker’s Flame” in the Star Hill Provisions restaurant.)

MJ returns to our Board of Directors after having served as Board President in 2016. During her tenure as President, MJ helped navigate the team through our rebranding effort, developed our organizational policies and procedures, helped us plan and host our first annual gala, and implemented our Customer Relationship Management software to track donations and improve our fundraising capacity.

MJ holds a master’s degree in Social Work Administration from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). She lives in Louisville with her husband Joe and their three pups, Lexie, Xena and Sherlock.

Andrew brings over 25 years of professional experience in advertising and technology. Starting at the age of 10 he taught himself computer programming, and he went on to get degrees in business administration and a bachelor of arts from Indiana University. Prior to founding Mediaura 16 years ago, Andrew launched two successful digital departments for other agencies. His vast knowledge of technology and experience in advertising steers the Mediaura ship in the right direction, creatively helping clients by using technology to enhance traditional advertising techniques.

The proprietary software solution known as ADBuilder (aka Pro Builder PDF) platform was created by Andrew and subsequently licensed to Community Health Systems. This system managed all marketing materials for hundreds of hospitals, assisting in multiple mergers and acquisitions to ensure all messaging was branded correctly and delivered in the appropriate format to the proper publications. This system was licensed to other brands, including LongHorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, and Einstein Brother’s Bagels.

Andrew innovated and patented a unique digital menu board software system that streamlined in-store messaging for over 1,000 displays in KFC restaurants nationwide, reducing operating costs and increasing revenue by showing the right message to consumers at the right time of day. This system was also licensed to other companies, such as Long John Silver’s and Back Yard Burgers.

Andrew also built an online ad approval software package to streamline ad approvals from hundreds of local agencies creating and advertising on behalf of franchisees for KFC. The corporate office wanted to reduce liability by having all appropriate parties sign off on correct materials in a digital format. This system aggregated content, assigned it to the appropriate people for approval, tracked revisions and feedback, and organized it all in an easy to use online portal. This system is still in use today for all advertising nationally and reduces the total time required to seek approval and has improved branding consistency.

Andrew developed an online coupon software platform and licensed it to KFC and Long John Silver’s to help with distributing offers to the appropriate geographically targeted areas. This portal has served millions of users annually and allows the brands to track their consumers, create additional touch points, improve lead generation, and ultimately increase revenue by driving sales with a system controlled and operated by Mediaura. This system is still in use today by Long John Silver’s.

In addition to these larger software projects, Andrew has personally developed and overseen hundreds of websites on a variety of platforms over the years. He was an original developer for the Joomla CMS and has developed custom plugins and software on the WordPress platform as well. Integrating various platforms and utilizing them in the most efficient and effective way is a hallmark of Andrew’s technical methodology. Being a developer first and an advertiser second, he has the vision to create a solid foundation that can be fine-tuned to maximize results.

Natalie is a teaching artist, musician, actress, and producer and in recent years has become an advocate for creativity as an effective mental health management tool.  She owns and operates Songbird Studios, offering voice and piano lessons to learners of all ages.  She also serves as Vice President of the Board for The Bridge Initiative, a theatre nonprofit promoting gender parity in leadership roles in the arts. While earning her B.F.A. at the University of Oklahoma she worked for the Office of Recruitment, gaining extensive experience in conducting interviews, database management and team building. She has also been a presenter at the Berklee City Music Summit hosted at Columbia College, where she spoke about her ongoing research collaboration Original Music Programming: Nurturing the Human Artist.

Natalie’s knowledge and personal practice of treatment modalities developed out of necessity when she began her own healing process in 2014 and includes yoga, Somatic Experiencing (SE), theatre and music, movement, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and mindfulness. Having been through the therapist search both for herself and others, Natalie understands how difficult and important it is for vulnerable individuals to find good care.   Natalie resides in Phoenix, AZ with her husband Brian, and her two cats, Ophelia and Pierre.

Jeff has over 20 years of leadership experience designing, developing and administering services within the non-profit, behavioral and mental health treatment field.

He created a Community-Based Treatment Services Division for the Home of the Innocents, and established one of Kentucky’s largest in-home treatment programs for child victims of abuse and those with developmental disabilities.

For eight years he served as the Chief Executive Officer for Boys and Girls Haven, one of the Kentucky’s premier providers of mental health treatment services for children in the child welfare system. During that time, Jeff became a public policy advocate and change agent for issues affecting funding for health care services for Kentucky’s most vulnerable children.

Jeff is now parlaying the management and new initiative creation skills that he developed in the social service arena with a move into the entrepreneurial ecosystem.  As Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Venture First, a leading financial services group, Jeff is adapting innovative strategies and business solutions to tackle complex problems within social impact groups. Jeff is leveraging his executive leadership skills and the business management principles he developed with his Entrepreneurship MBA from the University of Louisville, as he helps to affect lasting change via innovative companies and organizations.

Judy received her B.S. in psychology from the University of Louisville, and later went on to obtain a M.S. in clinical psychology.  Her studies in psychology included a concentration in addiction, which led to the question of how nutrition effects cognitive and emotional behavior.   This, coupled with her love for cooking, has recently caused her to take a more holistic approach to eating and food.  She is currently attending school in Berkeley, California, and will graduate this fall with a natural chef certification.   In addition, she is pursuing certification as a nutritional consultant and will graduate in 2020.   Her intention is to educate individuals with health issues who are looking for an alternative to prescription drugs, through personal chef services and cooking classes, by improving their quality of life by using nutritional food as a medicinal remedy to their symptoms.  When Judy isn’t cooking, she enjoys kickboxing, skydiving, cycling, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Laura has 20+ years of experience in the behavioral and mental health treatment field. She is Executive Director-Kentucky for Omni Community Health; Board Chair for Children’s Alliance Kentucky; Partner in Solutions: Your Guide to Kentucky Mental Health Services; Event Committee member for the Bridge to Light Awards; Presentation Academy Alumni Board Member and Ascension Festival Chair.

Laura created Transformations, with her business partner, in 1998 to serve those most vulnerable with intensive in home services to reduce the need of out of home care and/or psychiatric hospital admissions. In 2013 she partnered to create Ability! to provide conflict free case management for the Supports for Community Living & Michelle P Waiver recipients. She actively worked as a partner until accepting the role of Executive Director of Omni Community Health in January of 2019.

Identifying the need for access to resources & supports she partnered in 2014 with Road to Recovery (adult nursing home resource magazine) to create Solutions: Your Guide to Kentucky Mental Health Services in order to establish a free, easily accessible guide for those seeking help. Laura continues to work on the success of Solutions, and its collaborative partnership with Bridgehaven, to hold the annual Bridge to Light Awards recognizing providers across the state who excel at supporting providers making a difference in the lives of others.

Most importantly- Laura can always be found on the sidelines cheering on her amazing kids as they do what they love most!

Jessica Mastro is a story teller. She explores the human experience through a wide array of lenses, ranging from absurdist to realist. She experiments with many different mediums, including: film, screenwriting, playwriting, photography, songwriting and painting. She often uses her own life experience as inspiration, touching on feminist issues, childhood trauma, and romantic relationships. Jessica’s primary goal is to use art to create a more empathetic world.

Kelly is an attorney for the Oldfather Law Firm and a graduate of the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. While in law school, Kelly co-founded the Veterans Advocacy Organization and was appointed President of the Moot Court Board. She is military veteran who served in Kentucky Army National Guard for seven years as a military police officer and legal specialist. As an Iraq War Veteran who also deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kelly has witnessed the impact of trauma and PTSD on her fellow veterans. Kelly was honored as the Soldier of the Year for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and was also awarded First Runner-up in the Southeast United States Soldier of the Year Competition which included soldiers from eight states and Puerto Rico. Kelly enjoys traveling, meeting new people, trying new recipes, and taking her dogs for long walks through the parks of Louisville.

Lauren Sowa is an independent filmmaker. In 2016, she co-founded Form & Pressure Films to tell stories that inspire and provoke thought, while encouraging diversity and equality on set and on screen. Producing credits include: Marisol, directed by Zoé Salicrup Junco which is now on HBO, Shield, written and directed by Danielle Eliska Lyle, Stray, directed by Nora Unkel, and Show & Tell, directed by Sakshi Gurnani, among others. Directing credits include: Midsummer 3.2, In Development, LinkedOut, and To Be in America. As an actor, Lauren has been featured in the films 42 Seconds of Happiness (now available on Amazon Prime), Café Artist, The Rainbow Experiment (Slamdance 2018), and The Devil’s Well. Upcoming: Paris is in Harlem. She received her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Proud member of SAG-AFTRA.