Hidden Talents | Company Bios

Founded by speaker and motivator Linda Richman, immortalized as the "Coffee Talk Lady" on Saturday Night Live, Hidden Talents is staffed by a team of professionals who boast years of experience in every aspect of real people work.

E-mail: linda@hiddentalents.com

Gerry Gartenberg brings a decade of work casting and directing real people commercials and other productions, and before that, years of work as a man-on-the-street reporter for television stations around the country. As a real people director and interviewer, he has asked the questions to bring out the best in people on dozens of testimonial projects for television, radio and the digital world. Gerry regularly consults with clients on how to work with real people talent, to make the storyboard come alive. He has a bachelor's degree from Columbia University, a master's in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and advanced training in psychology and psychoanalysis, all of which he says helps him tap into the hearts and minds of others.

E-mail: gerry@hiddentalents.com

Lois Braunstein is known for her ability to turn real people concepts into viable, compelling testimonial campaigns. A quick study, she is the go-to-person when it comes to conceiving, organizing and implementing the project, not to mention keeping it on budget. As such, she's usually the first call on any real people testimonial job, and the "first word" on how to formulate a casting strategy, and lay the groundwork for success. Lois has a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a master's in public health from New York University.

E-mail: lois@hiddentalents.com

Julia LaManna brings persistence, great research skills and a keen eye for casting to her work at Hidden Talents. She has had a lead role on numerous Hidden Talents real people projects, and prides herself on her ability to organize all facets of a real people project. She also has a knack for finding that hard-to-find person with the look, the sound and the personality to make a spot special. She's traveled in and out of the United States to coordinate extensive testimonial projects for Hidden Talents, bringing her fun professionalism to every job. Julia has a bachelor's degree in psychology from New York University and is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School.

E-mail: julia@hiddentalents.com

John Rinehimer specializes in recruiting real people talent-on-the-street, and in myriad other ways. He also provides audio and video expertise, for the recording and taping work we do with our real people talent, so that technology never gets in the way of a real people moment. He is especially adept at putting people at ease before an interview or shoot. John is a composer and conductor with classical musical training and experience. John is a graduate of Boston University School of Music.

E-mail: john@hiddentalents.com

Laura Sosa is our organizational guru, and although she doesn't look like it, resident computer geek (some would say, genius)! She has taken Hidden Talents into the digital age and beyond, organizing systems for clients, projects and operations faster than you can say cyberspace. When a project calls for multiple locations, or complicated research and follow-up, often involving hundreds of real-people candidates, she's an anchor, keeping the project on deadline and on track. Her fluency in Spanish doesn't hurt, either--it's a big world out there. She has also logged some time in London's trendy Soho district, where she fined tuned her operations skills---and ability to cross the street, despite all those cars driving in the "wrong" direction! In terms of more formal education, Laura has a bachelor's in Political Science from Binghamton University.

E-mail: laura@hiddentalents.com