People

Marc Hand , of Yountville, is CEO and Board Chair. He is CEO and founder of Public Media Venture Group and co-founder and board chair of the National Trust for Local News. He was the former CEO of Public Media Company (PMC). Hand has more than 30 years of media experience, including serving as Managing Partner and co-owner of a group of commercial radio stations in Colorado, and as an associate with two national media brokerage and investment banking firms. In 2021, the National Trust for Local News acquired Colorado Community Media, the owner of 24 newspapers in the Denver area.

Larry Kamer, also of Yountville, is a 40-year veteran of the communications industry and owns a marketing and management consulting firm in Napa. He teaches communications at University of San Francisco and Carnegie Mellon University and is active in volunteer and community work throughout the Valley. He serves Vice Chair of the Board of Highway 29 Media.

Paul Ingalls, of Calistoga, a retired Senior Editor at the Press-Democrat of Santa Rosa, where he oversaw the paper’s local news operation during the week. Prior that, , Ingalls served as the paper’s night assistant city editor, then as day assistant city editor, and finally as political editor. He began at the Press-Democrat as a reporter, spending 12 years covering various government beats, from Santa Rosa City Hall to the State Capitol. He is a fourth-generation resident of Calistoga, where he was born.

Board of Directors

Joining Chair Marc Hand and Vice Chair Larry Kamer on Highway 29 Media’s Board are:

Frances Dinkelspiel is an award-winning journalist and co-founder and former executive editor of Cityside, the nonprofit news organization behind Berkeleyside and The Oaklandside. Her journalism has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Daily Beast, People magazine and elsewhere. Her first book (Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California) was a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller and chosen as a best book of the Year by the Chronicle and the Northern California Independent Booksellers’ Association. Her second book (Tangled Vines: Greed, Murder, Obsession, and an Arsonist in the Vineyards of California) was a New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle bestseller and was named a best wine book of the year by the Wall Street Journal and Food and Wine magazine.

Will Marcencia is committed to approaching traditional media in nontraditional ways. He is the owner-operator, with his wife Julissa Marcencia, of Wine Down Media, Napa Valley's flagship radio stations, KVON 1440-AM "MegaMix" and KVYN 99.3 FM "The Vine". The Marcencias started their media entrepreneurial journey in 2017 and have extensive experience in leadership, operations, and branding solutions. Prior to Wine Down Media, he worked at Univision Communications, Inc. In addition to Highway29 Media, Will serves on the board of directors at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Friends of Napa County Animal Shelter, Napa County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and as Vice-Chair of Collabria Care.