Our Team

Mary Ellen Milanese-DiStasio

President

Mary Ellen began her career with Video Visions in 1997 as a Service Coordinator. Her enthusiasm to learn everything that she could about the professional A/V market, along with her dedication to her father’s company was evident from the beginning. Leadership abilities plus impeccable attention to detail helped secure a position as Operations Manager in 1998.

In her new position, Mary Ellen quickly developed close relationships with all of the major professional A/V manufacturers I the U.S. and beyond. Her marketing background combined with excellent people skills and her newly formed relationships pushed the company to excel in video wall and large screen display installations, because she was able to procure the best pricing for the specialty products that were sold regularly to Video Vision’s clients.

Although her title remained Operations Manager, in the 10 years between 1998 and 2008 Mary Ellen had her hands in many areas of the company: human resources, marketing, purchasing, project management, sales, accounting and risk management, to name a few. She was officially given the title, Vice President in 2008 and in 2009—before the untimely passing of her beloved father—was named by him to carry on his legacy as President of Video Visions.

Mary Ellen’s dedication and commitment to the organization has allowed for remarkable growth and respect within the pro A/V industry. After all, the company is not just her father’s legacy and her future, it is her life. An unhappy client is unacceptable, and she will go out of her way to make sure that every job not only meets but exceeds clients’ expectations.

When not hard at work, Mary Ellen’s greatest enjoyment is spending time with her young daughter, Hannah, and her husband, Vincent. She tries to make the most of every weekend with regular trips to places like Sesame Place, the Philadelphia Zoo and the Please Touch Museum, and she loves to vacation with her family.

Ted Manahan, CTS

Director of Sales & Systems Engineering

Ted Manahan is the Director Sales and Engineering at Video Visions. In early 2009 Ted joined our organization after a move back to the east coast. Ted brought a large volume of experience with him when joining our team. He has been in the professional audio visual business for better than 20 years. Ted is manufacturer trained on Planar Display Systems, Orion Plasma Display Panels, Christie MicroTiles, Panasonic Professional Display Systems, NEC Display Systems, RGB Spectrum Processing & ICS Technologies Processing to name a few. Ted is an Infocomm/ICIA CTS Certified Technician.

In his past experience, he has served as Director of Audio Visual and Convention Services at major Las Vegas Hotels including Mandalay Bay and Green Valley Ranch. He also managed their convention services, tradeshows, live corporate events and general sessions. In these positions, Ted was solely responsible for all audio visual products within the hotels.

Ted served as Vice President and General Manager of Mobile Wall One Inc., managing the sales, design and systems programming for the company’s west coast operations. A large accomplishment during his time at Mobile Wall One was the sale, installation and servicing of 4x20 Pioneer Videowall into the lobby of the MGM Hotel & Casino’s lobby.

Ted was also the Academic Director of Video at Live Production Institute in Las Vegas, a post-secondary technical institute for live AV production.

Ted’s career has taken him to over 350 arenas, stadiums, universities and convention centers throughout the country and world. His extensive experience in live production includes being a cameraman for every major sports championship in professional and intercollegiate athletics including the NFL Super Bowl (25 times), the NCAA Basketball Final Four (16 times), the NHL Stanley Cup Finals (8 times), the MLB World Series (4 times), the NBA Finals (4 times, the Olympic Games (3 times), the NBA All-Star Game, the NHL All-Star Game, Horse Racing Breeder’s Cup (13 times) and the PGA Golf Championship (6 times). He has covered the NFL as a cameraman for NFL Films for 38 years, network television for over 25 years and music videos for over 25 years. Ted has received three Emmy awards for cinematography and production as well as numerous other individual awards for technical achievement.

Some recent accomplishments of Ted’s would include the design & implementation of an 8 high x 10 wide Christie MicroTile Videowall display into the Hayden Planetarium at The American Museum Of Natural History as well as the implementation of all aspects of the new Student Center at Clarkson University which included an 8 high x 10 wide Christie MicroTile videowall among its many elements.

In his spare time, Ted is an avid golfer and movie lover, having thousands upon thousands of movies in his personal movie collection.

Vincent DiStasio, CTS-I

Vice President

Vincent DiStasio began his career with Video Visions in 1992 as an entry level Technician Assistant. It was quickly evident that his dedication and work ethic were going to make him a valuable asset to the organization. Vince rapidly worked his way up in the company, becoming a Technician, a Lead Technician and eventually becoming a Systems Designer. He was named Director of Systems Design in late 2008. Vince is an Infocomm/ICIA CTS-I Certified Technician.

Vince was involved with the early stages of the Videowall processors; he manufactured the Universal Basic & Universal Platinum Videowall processors from board level. This was one of the first Videowall splitters manufactured in the US. Through the years, Vince has been manufacturer trained on every type of Videowall processor as well as all types of Videowall display devices. Some manufactures include; ICS Technologies, Element Labs, Sony, ICT Split Machine & HR1500’s, Orion Plasma Display, Pioneer, NEC Display, Toshiba, Mitsubishi Data Wall, Christie MicroTiles, Gundermann, Barco, GVC, RGB Spectrum, Clarity/Planar, Jupiter, Hitachi, Dotronix, Christie/Vista Spyder & Hantarex. His experience in Videowall displays spans from the early days of stacking CRT monitors to the current cutting edge technology of LED displays, seamless plasma & seamless LCD displays.

The larger the hurdle, the more Vince enjoys the task! In 1992 during his apprentice days, he was involved with a national roll out for Wet Seal, installing 4x6 Videowalls of 27” CRT monitors with processors across the US – from California to Florida – and everywhere in-between. In 1995 Vince was a part of the team that installed a Videowall including 144 27” CRT monitors with nine Universal Videowall Processors into the NCAA Hall of Fame. In 2007 Vince lead the team that installed the largest Versa Tile screen in the US into an elite Philadelphia night club. He was one of the first non Panasonic technicians to install a 103” plasma panel, and is one of the only non Sharp technicians to have installed a 108” LCD panel. His experience is second to none in large screen displays and Videowall display systems. Throughout his nearly 20 years with the company, he has traveled across the entire United States and through most of Europe either installing audio visual equipment into client’s facilities or attending manufacturer training sessions.

As a Systems Designer Vince has worked on projects ranging from military installations such as Kennedy Space Center to retail stores such as Versace and Jones Apparel. A few recent accomplishments were leading the team that allowed the Major League Baseball Network to launch on time; he was hands on involved with every aspect of their AV System & being the first field Systems Designer to successfully install a Christie MicroTile Videowall Display without manufacturer involvement.

Beginning his career in the field, his knowledge of the professional audio visual industry is vast as he truly understands every project that he designs with our sales team. He still enjoys being a road warrior and getting his hands dirty out in the field with our installation crews. He works with our sales team on a daily basis to help them achieve their client’s goals. His commitment to his clients is often referred to as above and beyond.

In his spare time, Vince enjoys spending time with his family, including his wife Mary Ellen & their daughter Hannah. He enjoys bowling, golf, fishing, baseball, hockey, football and any other sports you can think of!

Joseph McConahy

Regional Sales Manager

Joseph McConahy is our Florida based Regional Sales Manager. He has worked for Video Visions since 2001. Joe specializes in Videowall applications and large screen displays. He is especially involved in the government & military industries as well as with retail chain corporations. He is well versed in cutting edge technologies, being on the forefront of the 103” plasma display panels, digital signage, Holopro technology, Plasmaxx display systems and all forms of Videowall technology including DLP, LED, LCD & plasma based.

Prior to Joe joining Video Visions, He worked for ICT of North America in their Orlando, Florida office. ICT is a world renowned German based manufacturer of Videowall processors, control systems and media presentation devices. He began his career with ICT as an Account Manager and worked his way up to Director of Sales. When ICT closed their Orlando, FL North American office, Video Visions was delighted to bring him on board as an addition to our sales team.

With 15 plus years experience in the professional AV market, Joe’s background in both the rental and permanent installation market add a great value to his sales abilities. He is well versed in all aspects of a job ranging from union requirements, labor scheduling, shipping management and show support. His dedication to his clients is evident, as most of his clients build a relationship with Joe that leads to multiple sales.

Joe annually attends Infocomm & attends any sales classes offered by ICIA. He is Panasonic, Extron, Planar and Mitsubishi trained.

Joe graduated Cum Laude from the University of Central Florida in 1997 with a major in Finance and a minor in International Business with a Russian emphasis.

In his spare time, Joe especially enjoys Football and is a loyal Dallas Cowboys fan. Joe and his wife Marina are always busy, chasing around their three year old triplets!

Jeffrey Pasteranak, CTS

On Site Project Manager - Lead Installer

Jeff’s professional career was founded in Out of Home Advertising starting in the transit and Billboard industries working as the Transit Operations Manager for TDI (Transportation Displays Inc.) in Philadelphia and later progressing his career in OOH to Director of Transit Operations for P&C Media. While working in the Out of Home Industry in the early 90’s, Jeff realized the value of digital content delivery. This inspired him to make the move into the digital market, becoming the technical project manager for i-Open Inc., a fledgling Digital signage provider based out of Eddystone, PA . During his tenure at i-Open Jeff deployed digital content solutions for many companies throughout the US including: Bloomingdales, Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreen’s. This is where Jeff found his niche, working in the digital age with state of the art display technology and content delivery systems.

While working with i-Open, Jeff performed many projects with Video Visions, Inc.. With the rapid development of display technology Jeff later found himself moving on to work for Video Visions Inc. as a full time employee. This is where Jeff was exposed to truly cutting edge audio and video systems and the training and certification(s) to keep him versed on the installation and operation of these systems. During his first stint at Video Visions Jeff traveled most of the continental US, working on many high-end projects in multiple industries ranging from retail facilities such as BJ’s Wholesale Club and Puma to government facilities such as Fort Hood & Fort Polk to corporate offices such as Comcast Cable Communications & Royal Bank Of Scotland along with numerous trade show environments.

After several years of traveling, Jeff was recruited by La Salle University to assume the position of Senior Engineer of Multimedia Services. In this role Jeff was responsible for the development and research of all classroom technology, along with the content development, video editing and large format printing. During his time at La Salle University Jeff developed and integrated classroom technology for the School of Nursing (St. Benilde Tower), the entire Science and Technology Center (Holroyd Hall), and he designed and engineered the technology for the Dan Rodden Theater. This was a very rewarding experience as it allowed Jeff to utilize his vast knowledge of Audio Visual and IT systems to help faculty better communicate to the students. As funding for new projects and development started to diminish Jeff found himself in a position to look for a role that would challenge his abilities again. When the offer to return to Video Visions (quoted by Jeff as “his second family”) was made it was a very easy decision for him to return to the fast paced cutting edge environment that Video Visions could offer to him. After a 4 year break, HE’S BACK!!

Jeff has been manufacturer trained on all of the large named manufactures in the Pro AV industry. Including but not limited to, Crestron DMC-E, Christie Digital, Jupiter, Barco, Vista Systems, ICS Technologies, Planar, NEC & Sharp. His ability to think fast on his feet & to be able to troubleshoot any/all problems in a timely productive manner combined with his excellent communication skills make him a valuable asset to Video Visions, Inc. & we were happy to welcome him back to our “family” in mid 2011.

In his “spare” time he enjoys spending time with his beautiful daughters Jesse and Jordan. He also enjoys hiking, camping or simply hanging by the pool.

Alex Tilghman, CTS

Installer

Alex Tilghman began his career with Video Visions in early 2010 as an entry level installer. Alex’s previous years of experience in the AV rental market allowed for him to quickly progress within our organization as he was already very familiar with all of the equipment and he was used to thinking fast on his feet for live trade show applications. He has been working in the Professional AV field for close to ten years.

Prior to joining the Video Visions team, Alex worked for AV Dimensions as a lead field technician for some of their largest trade show clients. He traveled heavily throughout the United States and was accustomed to always working under a deadline to achieve the client’s goals.

After joining Video Visions, Alex has been manufacturer certified and trained by Planar Display Systems, Christie Digital, NEC and Panasonic Professional Display Company to name a few.

It is not uncommon for client’s to request that Alex be sent out on their jobs! He is dedicated to every job he works on. His peers thoroughly enjoy working with him as he is always enthusiastic & is willing to go the extra mile to help complete a job to meet the client’s needs, on time & in a very professional manner.

Outside of his love of AV Alex enjoys spending time with his fiancé and traveling the world.

Vince Faville, CTS, DSCE

Account Relationship Manager

Vince joined Video Visions in February of 2013 as an Account Relationship Manager. Prior to joining the Video Visions team, Vince had a long standing relationship with Video Visions. They were an account for him while he was a manufactures representative and he worked on many successful projects with them. Vince also maintained a working relationship with Video Visions when working with another local audio visual integrator in the area. Vince began his career in the audio visual world at a very young age. Repairing broken VCR’s and splicing damaged video tapes back together proved to be a good opportunity to make money! And while in college spending money was earned by helping all of his fellow students set up their video equipment in their dorm rooms. While still in college Vince began working at Peirce-Phelps Inc., one of the largest system integrators in the US for videoconferencing. This is when Vince realized that the audio visual world was where he wanted to make his career. Vince started off working on bids and learning about the audio visual industry and quickly moved into an inside sales position and then into an outside sales position. Sales proved to be Vince’s forte, with his primary focus being the Fortune 500 marketplace Vince won the Achiever’s Circle Award! After graduating from Saint Joseph’s University with a bachelor’s degree in Management & Information Systems and with some work experience under his belt, Vince decided he wanted to see the world. This led him to a position as a manufactures representative with SYMCO. During his tenure at Symco he covered the Pennsylvania and Upstate New York territories, representing over 60 manufactures to systems integrators. Vince held the position of Territory Manager with Symco for 8 years. Once Vince met his wife and started a family he decided that a life behind a windshield was not as exciting as it used to be and he then pursued an opportunity to work as an inside sales associate specializing in Digital Signage for Advanced Audio Visual. Vince brought his expertise of digital signage to their expanding systems integration corporation and was in a supporting sales roll for all digital signage opportunities. While working at Advanced AV, Vince was involved in roll outs at The University of Pennsylvania, Astra Zeneca, Johnson and Johnson, Covance and SCA. He also won a DigiAward for a project with Swiss Farms. In early 2013 Vince decided it was time for a change as he wanted to further grow his AV portfolio and decided to join the team at Video Visions. In his spare time Vince enjoys spending time with his wife and his 3 beautiful children. When he can find any other free time he is pursuing a black belt in Kenpo Karate to compliment his existing black belt in Tae Kwon Do.