It’s safe to say that the illustrious Allison Dollar has had a huge impact on my professional career, beginning with assignments she gave me in 1993 and 1994 to write the annual Florida Regional Production Guides for the national film and television industry trade magazine “In Motion,” which was published by Phillips Business Information (PBI). Allison and I have kept in-touch over the years, and her unique expertise and first-hand knowledge of cutting-edge innovation across the media landscape is a constant reminder of how lucky I am to know her. Read on for more of Allison’s background, and to learn about a fascinating upcoming panel discussion she is co-hosting on 21 August through the Interactive Television Alliance (ITA), the non-profit she established in 2002 to represent the interests of companies that create, distribute and enable interactive programming.
A longtime champion of interactivity and a widely recognized digital media expert, Allison specializes is accelerating early stage ventures. As ITA’s CEO, she has built a thriving community around leading Fortune 1000 corporations in interactive television, spanning advertising, programming, technology and distribution. She has served several digital strategy clients as interim chief strategy officer, including Webcasts.com (IPO as iBEAM), WhiteBlox and GizmoLive, and her other clients have included AOL, IBM’s eBusiness (AmEx, Bell Atlantic, Mail Boxes Etc.) and Stan Lee Media, to name but a few.
Allison’s book “Interactive Television: Tracking an Emerging Market” from NAB’s Focal Press reflects her deep understanding of the television industry’s dynamic history, drawing on insights she gained as co-founder of eTV World and Hollyweb conferences.
Recent achievements also include chairing NAB’s Executive Committee to launch Multimedia World, sitting on the TV Academy’s interactive media peer group executive committee, and serving as executive director for the Mobile Excellence awards and as a Blue Ribbon juror for the ITV EMMY Awards. Previously, as PBI’s executive producer, she led online strategy for 40+ PBI media publications, including CableFax, Film&Video, Interactive Video News, and Interactive Daily. Having earned her M.A. from the University of Virginia, she has also contributed to the James Agee Film Project, CBS affiliate WBAL and the Maryland Film Commission. She regularly programs sessions for NATPE, NAB, CES and moderates at major industry events such as Digital Hollywood.
To Allison and the ITA – and to our mutual friend Debra Kaufman who does such a great job interviewing Allison in the video embedded above – please keep up your inspirational work!
