Management and
Team

Michael D. Nieves is President and CEO of HITN, one of the first non-profit Spanish language television networks in the U.S. During his first two years at the helm (2015-17), HITN has added over 10 million new Latino households to its viewing audience and secured a partnership with Sprint Communications that will support HITN’s mission for decades to come. During the 2016 election, Nieves conceived the HITN original production, Tu Momento, a Spanish language television program explaining the US electoral process from state primaries and caucuses to Inauguration Day. The program was awarded the Social Good Leader Award of 2016 by Cynopsis Media, publisher of trade publications for the television, media, digital, and sports TV industries. Since Nieves' arrival, HITN has received three Emmy nominations, its first nominations since its inception in 1983.

For over 25 years, Nieves has helped build the political landscape in New York by serving as strategic and policy advisor and consultant to numerous elected officials and campaigns across New York City and New York State. Campaigns have included the elections of state and city representatives, borough presidents, members of Congress, and judicial candidates. Among those Mr. Nieves has served are Assemblyman and former Bronx Democratic leader José Rivera, Assemblyman Robert Rodríguez, New York City Council Member Robert Cornegy, former Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY), New York City Civil Court Judge Lisa Headley, and Transit Workers Union Local 100. In 2015, Mr. Nieves served as a key strategic advisor to the Chuy Garcia campaign in Chicago, which resulted in Chicago’s first-ever run-off election for the mayoralty.

Michael Nieves has a distinguished record in government service. He has served as Senior Advisor to the Majority Leader of the New York City Council; as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Council Speaker; as Director of State and Federal Affairs for the Council; and as Deputy Director of Council Services. In the latter position, he was responsible for overseeing the administrative functions and budget of the New York City Council and individual Council members. As Director of State and Federal Affairs, Nieves was the principal lobbyist for the New York City Council concerning all New York State related matters.

Among Latino elected officials, Mr. Nieves is renowned for his expertise in political strategy, public policy, and election law. From 1989 to 1999, before his government service, he was the principal and owner of Nieves Associates, a consulting firm instrumental in advising and consulting to Latino and other candidates and elected officials. From 2010 to 2015, he was CEO of Michael Nieves Consulting, continuing to share his expertise with both candidates and elected officials. Mr. Nieves is hailed by many as one of the top Latino political operatives in the State of New York, receiving, among others, “The Top 75 Political Consultants for 2022” Award, The 2022 “Power of Diversity: Latino 100” Award, and the 2022 “Brooklyn Power 100” Award by City and State Magazine. He has also served as an advisor on educational policy to the government of Puerto Rico.

Mr. Nieves’ numerous civic and community involvements include the boards of the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture in Chicago, the New York Puerto Rican Parade, and New York City Public Schools Community School Board #32. He and his family are active members of St. Barbara’s Catholic Church in Brooklyn, NY.

Alejandro comes to HITN with a wealth of experience in the non-profit and educational sectors. Alejandro has contributed to and in some cases, restructured organizational outreach processes and internal collaborative forms in different Latino communities and organizations across the country, such as New York, Hartford, San Francisco, and Chicago.

Alejandro leads the Administrative Team and is directly responsible for supporting the work of Michael D. Nieves, President, and CEO of HITN. He also co-leads, with Cynthia Rivera, “Tú Cuentas Cine Youth Fest”, now in its second year, slated to take place October 9-16, 2022. He has quickly become part of the HITN team, supporting, among others, production for several HITN collaborations on the census, and e-sports as it affects Latino communities. He is the lead for the 45th Anniversary Celebration of the founding of HITN, slated to take place in 2025.

He serves as President of the Board of Directors of Youth Connections Charter School (YCCS), and Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, both of which are located in Chicago.

Janet manages the administrative functions of senior officials within the organization, particularly the President and CEO. She is responsible for coordinating calendars, scheduling meetings, and acting as a liaison between management and employees.

Recently, Janet has served as a Community Assistant at Bronx Community Planning Board. She worked with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and also as Director of Constituent Services, Director of Community Outreach and Office Manager for the Majority Leader of the New York City Council.

Cynthia currently coordinates HITN’s Second Annual Tú Cuentas Cine Youth Festival (TÚ ‘22.) She has led the Administrative Team and worked alongside the Executive Team and with HITN Presidents/CEOs for 8+ years. As Website Editorial Manager, she works to enhance HITN’s web presence by assigning and curating content to the staff, marketing, and digital managers.

Cynthia has been responsible for the management of media production projects and budgeting. She serves as a liaison for HITN partnerships and organizations across national markets, including Puerto Rico, such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) & SOMOS, an annual conference addressing the needs of the Hispanic population.

Anthony is an Executive Assistant for special projects to the President and CEO, Michael D. Nieves. He joined HITN, first as an intern in 2016, then came on-board full time in June 2022. His work involves special projects such as promoting Latino civic engagement, business documentation, and special project support and compliance. He earned his B.A. in Political Science and Public Law from the University at Albany, and is currently pursuing law school.

As CLO and CDO of HITN, Maryann is responsible for guiding the development and alignment of HITN’s educational content – on the air, online, and on the ground – and for overseeing the acquisition and application of the critical resources to manage this work.
Before her work at HITN, Maryann held a range of senior administrative positions in both the private and public sectors, including her role as Chief Learning Office for Teachscape, Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Early Childhood and Special Assistant to the NYC Schools Chancellor.

Maryann holds graduate degrees from the City College of NY, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Teachers College, Columbia University.

Guillermo is responsible for the content, operation, distribution, and revenue generation activities of HITN’s linear channel as well for the preschool SVOD service EDYE, which he has led since inception. He is also in charge of the company’s digital properties including VidaySalud.com and HITNGo.
Guillermo has managed the only two Public Television Services in Spanish-language in the US (Vme and HITN). He was the General Manager for BBC Worldwide Channels for Latin America and the US Hispanic and many other key roles.
He is an Emmy nominated producer and has been a judge for the International Emmy Awards. In addition to being a frequent speaker at international media conferences, Guillermo was named one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in media in the United States.

As General Manager for HITN-TV, Eric is responsible for overseeing it’s operations, including television productions, program acquisitions, and cable, satellite and OTT distribution.Before joining HITN, Eric held senior roles in distribution at large media companies, helping launch multiple programming services in music, Hispanic, lifestyle and sports categories through long-term distribution agreements with top cable, satellite, and digital programming distributors.

Eric earned a BA in Communications from Marist College and attended graduate classes at Harvard University’s Business School. Before joining HITN, Eric held roles in business development and distribution with media companies including MTV, DMX Music, PlayNetwork, Food Network, and Tennis Channel.

Erika Vogt-Lowell is HITN’s Director of Programming and Acquisitions and is responsible for seeking content and creating a slate of unique, entertaining, and high-quality programming for HITN’s linear channel as well as its VOD service, HITN Go. In addition, Erika manages the acquisition programming for the company’s SVOD preschool service, Edye.
Previously, Erika played a key role in content strategy teams for major players in the media and entertainment industry. Erika has been a judge for the International Emmy Awards and has been honored as one of Cynopsis’ Top Woman in Media.
Erika is fluent in English and Spanish and holds a B.A in Communications and Hispanic Studies from Boston College, as well as an M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications from Florida International University.

Maximiliano Vaccaro is the Vice President of Digital and Design Services and manages the creation and execution of state of the art products in the digital world.
While working at Discovery Networks, he led the launch of countless websites, interactive games and videos, applications and OTT services for the company's brands. Maximiliano has worked on the creation of Wavemaker for Latin America, the content unit for agencies of the advertising group WPP. During that period he collaborated in creative developments for companies such as Netflix, Marriott, Hertz, and Sony PlayStation as well as pro bono campaigns for the NGO “Techo”.
Prior to joining HITN, Vaccaro worked on various digital literacy projects in Latin America with various NGOs. He is a graduate graphic designer of the University of Buenos Aires and has been a juror for many years of the Digital Emmys and Promax.

Mauricio Gallego as HITN’s Director of Content Operations & Creative Services is responsible for the overall management and operation of incoming and outgoing content, production and scheduling of On Air Promotion elements, production and post production of short and long formats in Washington DC and New York.

Mauricio’s main objective within the organization is to establish and maintain relationships with multiple cross-functional teams including internal and external production partners, finance, engineering, marketing and sponsorship teams.

On his latest role as Director of Operations at Mundomax (formerly MundoFox) in Los Angeles CA, Mauricio was responsible for overseeing the national broadcast & media operations, post production and content syndication, Master Control and On-Air promotions operational processes and workflows. Past industry experiences on both creative and broadcast management roles include Vme TV, Vme Kids, Current TV, AP and RCN Colombia.

Adalberto Jule brings 20 years of creative editing to HITN’s On Air Promotions department. As Senior Editor, Adalberto ensures that all original productions, short and long format, follow HITN's standards for linear channels and digital media outlets.
Adalberto is also the Technical Producer at our studios in Brooklyn NY, overseeing all Original Productions including Estudio DC and many more. His skillset includes the creation of informational pieces for commercial, social and community campaigns.

Alex is a Producer/Editor for the Government Affairs and Community Relations department. His background as Producer in film and TV gives him the necessary experience to identify core values in stories, creating pieces that promote educational and social equality, an essential part of his work at HITN.

Alex holds a B.A. in Studio Art, in which he specialized in Web Design and Digital Art. He also holds an M.F.A. in Film Production from Florida State University, with a specialty in Directing and Producing Film & TV.

Aura María handles all the incoming video content that runs on HITN’s linear channel and OTT platforms. As part of the Content Operations department, Aura Maria ensures that broadcasting industry standards are adhered to. She also serves as the Unit Production Manager for original productions in the Eastern Region.
Aura María is an excellent problem-solver, well-versed in technical concepts, and possesses first-rate written and verbal communication skills. Aura Maria is also an enthusiast athlete, having participated in different athletic events such as IRONMAN 70.3 2021, and the SHAPE + Health Women’s half marathon in 2022. In 2019, Aura created the first-ever HITN soccer team, and since then, HITN has had a space for its employees where they can participate in sports every year.

Benjamin is in charge of Operations/Scheduling/Promotion for HITN. He also played that vital role at V-me TV, and AT&T/DIRECTV-Latin America. Obtaining a B.S. in Communications, he developed a broad interest in radio production, photography, audio visual production and media in general. After freelancing in the video/film production landscape, he became a producer focused on non-profit/educational and corporate video projects, Ben later switched gears to the TV industry, where he has worked for 15 years.

As Digital Project Coordinator for HITN, Carolina coordinates, develops, and delivers projects. She manages the marketing to creative and production teams workflow. Carolina oversees the development of multiplatform projects for Digital, Marketing, Government & Community Affairs Departments, and the office of the President and CEO, from briefing to final production and delivery, ensuring best practices are maintained throughout the entire process.

For the past 2 years, Carolina has coordinated and produced the digital and On Air materials for EDYE.

As well, she coordinates the On Air promotion team. Carolina holds a Cinema and TV Integral Production degree from Centro de Investigación Cinematográfica in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Constantine Costopoulos, aka “Kosta,” is the Digital Services Manager for HITN, with over 20 years of experience. As such, Kosta is responsible for planning and maintaining HITN's digital assets, and monitoring security and web traffic. Kosta is accountable for maintaining virtual and cloud-based servers and managing backup servers and failover. He continuously searches for ways to improve functionality and usability. He is also responsible for gathering and analyzing requirements for new projects, such as scoping and implementing partner integrations for HITN's Apps, HITN Go, and Edye on mobile and Connected TVs. He also monitors quality control of UX/UI for digital products, and custom reports for different stakeholders.

Born, raised, and educated in Mexico, Fernando moved to New York over 15 years ago. By combining his professional career in media and his vocation of being a university professor, he has worked in every medium including print, digital, radio and TV. While in Mexico, he was the publisher for the nation’s Electrical Power Research Institute.
During his tenure in the USA, he launched V-me (Spanish Public Television) collaborated with Nielsen studies to rate Hispanic television and later became a Digital Producer for NY1 Noticias.
It was in this, New York, local channel where he created the segment Escenario, dedicated to cover the Latin presence on Broadway. Due to its success, Escenario soon extended to cover all the Hispanic theater and culture in the Big Apple.
After devoting over a decade covering stage stories, Fernando is now the editor-in-chief of Spanish website La Guía Cultural (The Cultural Guide) and has worked as an Executive Producer for Univision 41 New York. In addition, Fernando is dedicated to teaching journalism at CUNY’s City College of New York.

Laura joined HITN in 2017 and presently works as Executive Producer. She works to develop all HITN original programming and special events and works with other producers to make sure work is completed on time and on budget. Laura co-produced Fauci, the Virus Hunter, along with HITN and PBS, as well as multiple live streams on COVID. With Ron Magill, she produced three seasons of Mundo Salvaje series. She also collaborates with NASA for HITN science and technology segments.

As an Executive Producer, she worked on projects with Fremantle Media for Project Runway Latin America (Turner), El Factor X (Fox), Con Gusto y Sazón (Discovery) Let's Celebrate This Christmas Together (Telemundo), and Univisón Deportes. She graduated from ENERC | National School of Cinematographic Experimentation and Production in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Milagros, a key player within the Content Operations team, applies her personal values and passion for digital storytelling to every task at hand. As Producer and Editor, Milagros contributes to short-form and long-from productions alike - from pre- to postproduction and through delivery.
Milagros’ production footprint covers HITN’s On-air, Online and OTT media outlets.

Miriam assists the Programming Operations Manager and the Senior Manager of Programming scheduling by creating daily traffic logs for HITN’s linear channel as well as for other media platforms, using multiple information sources. In addition, she is responsible for designing and implementing an on-air promotions strategy that supports HITN’s ratings and viewership goals. Miriam also suppports Programming with operations, scheduling, promotions, and closed captioning.

Sandra’s principal responsibility is the daily scheduling and execution of the station's programming. As a veteran on media acquisition and content distribution, Sandra keeps track of all HITN content acquired properties distributed throughout HITN TV, HITN GO and multiple OTT platforms nationwide.

Sandra’s extreme attention to detail makes her an invaluable asset in the continuously changing world of TV and digital media outlets.

Sonia Moreno, works with the Miami and New York teams, organizing logistics such as calls, coordinating meetings and travel arrangements. She is in charge of tracking all production costs, coordinating expense reports for every production, as well as for marketing events.

Sonia is a versatile and committed professional with over 20 years working in the media and entertainment industry, and has worked with Senior Executives at Univision, FremantleMedia Latin America. She is passionate about the industry and is known for her attention to detail, and organizational, analytical and interpersonal skills.

Associate Producer Ysabella joined HITN in 2021. She originally came to HITN from Forham University as part of it’s intern pipeline program. As part of the TV and Digital Team, she works on the pre-production, production, and post production of HITN’s “Estudio DC”, booking guests, scheduling, and continuing contact during the recording of the show.

As Director of Information Technology and Broadcast Operations for HITN, Pedro is responsible for the strategic technological direction that supports the goals and operations of HITN’s non-commercial television network, educational digital media applications, community-based initiatives, and technology-based programs online and over the air. An industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience, Pedro has focused on using computer technology to address the management and dissemination of information within the not-for-profit, private, and public sectors.

Prior to working at HITN, Pedro held senior positions in Technology in multiple industries including Education and Entertainment. He has led many initiatives involving the definition of strategy, design, implementation and integration and support of enterprise-wide solutions.
Pedro holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science from Saint Peter’s University.

Noel is a senior engineer at HITN. He is knowledgeable in all areas of technical production, repair, configuration, and operation with all studio production equipment including Broadcast Audio, Video and Control Systems, Video Servers, Storage Area Networks, RF Systems, Editing, and Post Production Systems.

Noel graduated from Technical Institute with a B.A. in Radio and Television. He also graduated from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala City as an Engineer.

Antonio is a 20 year veteran of Master Control at HITN, responsible for monitoring and maintaining the ON-AIR SIGNAL. He also ensures daily programming is ready to air as scheduled, assures that daily programming airs continuously and normally, according to FCC regulations.

Antonio has a BA from the Manhattan School of Computer Technology, with prior work experience at Cenpro Televisión in Colombia, and Brooklyn Community Access Television (BCAT).

Rodrigo, who joined HITN in 1995, is a TV veteran with over 30 years of experience in broadcasting and TV production. As HITN’s Senior Studio Technician, Rodrigo provides technical operational support to our state-of-the-art TV studios and control rooms. His main role is to ensure that all production needs for live and pre-recorded programming meet the standards for content distribution and broadcasting requirements.

Rodrigo also collaborates daily with IT and Engineering divisions on daily operations to keep the network running.

With over 14+ years of experience in Information technology, Richard is responsible for maintaining and developing HITN’s network infrastructure, ensuring network accessibility between the various HITN offices in New York, Miami, and Puerto Rico. Richard also is responsible for the creation and implementation of company standardized network/application/security protocols and processes, as well as user training and desktop support to assure seamless connectivity.

Richard has worked with various companies such as ShutterFly, NY Stock Exchange, Tribune Media, NBC, Disney, and Ardian Private Investments, among others. Richard holds a B.A.S in Computer and Electrical Engineering Technologies.

As Manager of IT Infrastructure for HITN, Jaime is responsible for HITNs server infrastructure & data center operations management, and the development, implementation and management of information technology systems that improve accessibility and resolve hardware, operating systems and networking issues.
Prior to working at HITN, Jaime held positions in Network Engineering in multiple industries including Advanced Technologies Information Security Aerospace Defense and Healthcare. Jaime holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Interamerican University in Puerto Rico, as well as multiple industry certifications.

As part of the IT department. Chad works to diagnose, repair, and maintain hardware and software to ensure the smooth running of computer systems, with an emphasis on printers. He is working on a Macintosh specialist certification. He is presently completing his computer science degree at BMCC.

As part of the IT department, Tomas works to diagnose, repair, and maintain hardware and software to ensure the smooth running of computer systems.

Tomas also does codingfor app and web development when needed, as well as any non-IT-related requests that come up.Tomas graduated with an Information Technology degree and a sports management minor from St Francis College. Then he also finished his master’s with a dual concentration in Business and Project management from the same school.

Román joined HITN in May 2018 as a Master Control Operator, where his responsibilities include the monitoring and maintenance of the On-Air signal, ensuring continuous transmission at all times and daily programming is ready to air as scheduled, and checks daily programming airs normally. He also troubleshoots incoming broadcasting or related issues. With the implementation of a new Polaris broadcast playout software system, he also monitors that it airs content properly; transferring content, and playing programming as current playout system airs it. Román possesses a B.A. in Computer Science from Universidad de Oriente, El Salvador.

Veronica Santos is a master control operator at HITN and responsible for maintaining the regularly scheduled programming through manual uploads, working alongside team members to ensure a smooth on-air viewing experience, troubleshooting hardware issues and ensuring the responsiveness of systems on a daily basis.
She holds a degree in English and is a self taught web designer.

Angel Jimenez is a Master Control Operator at HITN, and is responsible for monitoring and maintaining the ON-AIR SIGNAL. He also ensures daily programming airs continuously and as scheduled, according to FCC regulations. Angel holds a Degree in Audio Technology and Music Production. As a Producer Engineer, he has work with top billboard artists.

Attorney Hernández is in charge of HITN's operations in Puerto Rico, overseeing business development initiatives with the Television, Digital Services, Learning and Community Departments of the corporation. He also works together with the Government Affairs and Community Relationships office as well as creating alliances with the local non-for-profit sector. He is a member of the Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce.
Presently, HITN is works closely with telecommunications companies Claro, Liberty, ABC 5 Puerto Rico and WIPR, to make HITN content (including Edye), available to a broader sector.

Sylvia López Toledo is the Sales and Marketing Manager for HITN in Puerto Rico. She is the lead planner for the execution of sales strategies. A highly driven professional has represented HITN at national conferences, and workshops, and builds alliances with public and private school districts, government agencies, and non-profits.
Her prior experience was marketing and selling the first digital media and technology-based after-school program to the public school system focused on enhancing the educational experience of students in areas of Math, Spanish and English.

Yanira Meléndez is the Funds Initiative Manager for HITN Operations in Puerto Rico and is responsible for the administrative management of educational programs that help train teachers integrate bilingual programs and technology. She coordinates educational workshops, events and presentations which increase awareness of educational programs, that build strong relationships with local schools and community organizations.
Yanira volunteers for Special Olympics Puerto Rico, helping to make inclusion a reality on and off the field of play. Yanira is bilingual and has a BA in Elementary Education (K-3) and Educational Technology, a minor in Special Education and a Master's degree in Management and Strategic Leadership.