Board of Directors

Andrew Slack

Andrew, 29, is a teacher, social organizer and human rights activist, comedian, actor, and writer. He spent years performing sketch comedy for hundreds of colleges across the US only to stop touring so that he could devote himself full time to the HP Alliance which he co-founded in 2005. Andrew has also co-written, acted in, and produced online videos that have been viewed more than six million times and continues to perform stand up comedy in the Boston area. He has trained at an acting conservatory in London and studied under peace and civil rights activists in both Northern Ireland and the United States. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brandeis University, Andrew is dedicated to learning and extrapolating how modern myth, new media, and expressive therapy can transform our lives both personally and collectively. He is incredibly grateful and humbled by everyone who has helped the HP Alliance come into existence and continue to work toward putting the magical lessons that we have learned from Harry, Hermione, and Ron into our world.

Melissa Anelli

Melissa Anelli is a writer from New York City who runs The Leaky Cauldron, co-hosts PotterCast, and has spent most of the last decade reporting about Harry Potter. She has written a book chronicling the Harry Potter phenomenon, loves peanut butter and theater, and thinks the HPA is the best thing to happen to fandom since the invention of the midnight release party.

Paul DeGeorge

Paul co-founded the HPA with Andrew Slack in 2005 and currently serves on its board of directors. In 2002, Paul and his brother Joe started the band Harry and the Potters. They have spend much of the last 5 years touring the country, performing in libraries, and promoting the powers of love, reading, music, and enthusiasm. Paul also founded the Wizard Rock EP of the Month Club, a charitable project which offers exclusive CDs from different wizard rock bands each month. In 2007, the club raised $13,000 for the First Book organization. Paul also has a blog about eating hot dogs and his high score at Ms. Pacman is 211,600

Matt Maggiacomo

Sarah Newberry

Sarah is a board member on the HPA and became involved a few years ago when Andrew first had the stirrings of the idea to link up his passion for social justice and his love for Harry Potter. Prior to meeting Andrew she had read the first two books, he encouraged her with his passion for Harry Potter to dive into the rest. She was instantly drawn in and quickly became one who went to wizard rocks shows and waited at midnight for the last few books. As a close friend to Andrew, she is a sounding board, editor, and advice giver for many of the ideas that go into or end up not going into the organization. She worked for years in the music business and now has recently earned a master's degree in mental health counseling and music therapy and hopes to take her skills using the arts and healing abroad to an area of need in the world. Her favorite things are singing, traveling, reading, sleeping, painting, camping, hiking, learning the ukulele, riding her motorcyle, and chillin' out with Slack.

Seth Reibstein

Seth is a co-founder of the HPA, and currently spends his time on its board of directors. In 2000, while at Brandeis University, he co-founded sketch comedy group the Late Night Players along with Andrew Slack. Together, they have produced, written, and performed in online videos that have been seen over six million times, as well as performed hundreds of shows live in front of tens of thousands of audience members. Seth runs a blog about basic homesteading, and is also the creator of sethTV, which is really just videos of him goofing off. Videos from sethTV are currently being featured on MTV in both Europe and Asia.

As long as there are those that are aware that the weapon we have is love and that more than ever, it's time to use that weapon.