Christine Zeller
President & CEO
As president and CEO of Innovate News Service LLC, Christine Zeller works hard to maintain Innovate Long Island’s well-earned reputations for balanced journalism and socioeconomic progress.
As the Salesforce Platform Manager for Marsh McLennan Agency, the Triple-Star Salesforce Trailhead Ranger also leads CRM operations for a thriving global insurance company.
A seasoned IT administrator with an impressive 15-year career in customer-relationship management systems, Christine has unquenchable thirsts for unbiased reporting, scientific fact and social justice – and relishes the challenge of expanding Innovate Long Island’s content and coverage areas
Gregory Zeller
Editor, Publisher & COO
Award-winning reporter Gregory Zeller has spent 35 years honing his skills as a professional journalist, including a decade-plus as the primary writer and chief editor of Innovate Long Island.
Taking the baton from founder John Kominicki, Gregory has crafted a must-read resource for regional educators, lawmakers, investors entrepreneurs and executives.
He manages all newsletter and website content, supervises the incredible Voices rotation, hosts “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast,” works directly with sponsors on their advertising content and leads the charge as Innovate Long Island doubles down on its regional coverage – and Innovate News Service LLC expands into new markets.
Arthur Germain
Creative Director
As Creative Director for Innovate News Service LLC, Arthur Germain manages and produces special projects including “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast.”
He is the founder and “chief brandteller” at Brandtelling (www.brandtelling.com), an East Northport-based marketing boutique known for laser-focusing great brand stories.
A prime marketer, author, strategist, podcast producer, layout master and self-described “tech geek,” Arthur has crafted a long career as a copywriter, technology and business editor, public speaker, podcast host and public relations professional, supervising many in-house, agency level and corporate communications teams along the way.
Marlene McDonnell
President Emeritus
Marlene McDonnell served as president of Innovate Long Island from December 2017 to September 2025. Taking over from late, great founder John Kominicki, she managed day to-day operations, contributed to the publication’s popular newsletter and worked directly with sponsors to shape the content and scope of their marketing campaigns.
The savvy executive and consummate networker is also well known to colleagues orbiting the influential Long Island Business Development Council. She is the LIBDC administrator and a longstanding member of the Executive Board of Directors, and producer of the council’s hot-ticket annual conference.
As the founder of boutique event-management company EventWorxx, Marlene is intimately familiar with challenges facing startups and small-business owners – knowledge and experience she welded into Innovate Long Island’s structure and core mission. Her tireless business-development, content-creation and brand-building efforts were the foundation of the publication’s first successful decade.
John Kominicki
Founder
1955-2017
John Kominicki was the founder and original publisher and editor-in-chief of Innovate Long Island – an ambitious digital quest he began after a long print-journalism career.
John’s incredible experiences included 15 years as a Europe based foreign correspondent for The New York Times, USA Today, European Stars & Stripes and many other publications. He also spent more than a decade as the editor and publisher of regional print publications, including the Long Island Press and Long Island Business News. He was co-chairman of the Long Island Business Development Council and served on the boards of the Real Estate Institute, the Long Island Association, Vision Long Island, Suffolk County Community College and several other regional nonprofits and business organizations.
The lifelong student of theater, history and culinary arts passed away in 2017, just two years after founding Innovate Long Island. But his vision – part news website, part indispensable innovation-economy toolbox – guides our course to this day.