Chris & Jasmina @ SaatchiNY
Chris Gonnella & Jasmina Almeda are both Assistant Account Executives at SaatchiNY. For more information on Chris you can visit his LinkedIn Page. For a bit more background on Jasmina, be sure to check out her page as well. Photographs taken by Beth Galloway, VP, Management Supervisor. You can see more of her work on her website.
WHAT DO YOU DO AT SAATCHINY?
AAE dynamic duo on Pillsbury
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
C: I worked on a construction site when I was fourteen years old carrying slabs of sheet rock to carpenters and sweeping floors. It was so awesome.
J: Secretary at a clothing manufacturer’s warehouse. I answered phones, helped out accounting
WHAT LED YOU ON THE PATH YOU’RE ON TODAY?
C: Seventh grade English class, my teacher Mrs. Duris made me read Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey. I fell in love with writing, books, and creativity.
J: All of the wonderful and influential people in my life… And a few years working in finance/consulting were enough to make me discover what path I didn’t want to be on!
IF YOU WEREN’T IN ADVERTISING, WHAT CAREER PATH WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO TRY?
C: Broke, aspiring novelist who lived in Brooklyn and worked as a bartender/private detective to pay the rent (see HBO’s Bored to Death)
J: Bikram Yoga Instructor or event planner (or both!)
TELL US SOMETHING SURPRISING ABOUT YOURSELF.
C: I have four siblings and for twenty three years in a row I’ve managed to ruin every Christmas card photo. If that streak doesn’t impress you, I’ve won my family fantasy league four years in a row.
J: I have 7 Godchildren, 3 of whom are halfway across the world!
WHAT ARE YOUR LOVEMARKS?
C: New York Yankees, Knicks, and Giants. Oscar Wilde. Kurt Vonnegut.
J: Apple, Bikram Yoga, Tastee Subs
FAVORITE CHILDHOOD TV PROGRAM? program?
C: Power Rangers
J: Boy Meets World – TGIF was the place to be on Friday nights
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE CREATIVE PURSUIT?
C: Fiction writing. I’ve written four novels, each equally unreadable…they now sit in neat stacks at the bottom of a trunk I use as my coffee table.
J: I only have enough creativity to dance! I leave the fiction writing up to Chris.
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN?
J + C: Bake Pillsbury products, especially Cookies, at home
WHAT BLOGS/MAGAZINES/BOOKS/PAPERS CAN YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT?
C: ESPN, Google, NY Mag, New York Times.
J: Pillsbury.com (duh!), postsecret.com, Google, WSJ
BOOK THAT YOU’RE CURRENTLY READING:
C: The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
J: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
A GUILTY PLEASURE FOR ME IS:
C: Cupcakes
J: Watching Biggest Loser while eating cupcakes
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE GREATEST INVENTION IN YOUR LIFETIME AND WHY?
J + C: The Internet and iPods
WHAT’S THE LAST GREAT TRIP YOU WENT ON?
C: 16 days, four countries, four cities: Barcelona, Lisbon, Rome, Prague
J: Austin, TX with college roommates
WHEN’S THE LAST TIME YOU GAVE A STANDING OVATION?
C: This past Saturday at the second to last showing of In the Heights on Broadway