The Mentors Who Shaped Us: Alyssa Fishman and Katie Jensen, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York

By Alyssa Fishman & Katie Jensen

These reflections celebrate the coaches, and collaborators whose belief, guidance, and occasional tough love helped define the careers of the women they mentored.

Behind many successful careers in advertising are the mentors who quietly shaped them—leaders who challenged, encouraged, and helped others find their voice. In this edition of Mentors Who Changed My Career, Alyssa Fishman, Creative Director at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, and Katie Jensen, Executive Creative Director at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, share short tributes to the people who guided them early on, proving that great leadership is as much about humanity as it is about the work.

Alyssa Fishman
Kevin Daley was my first boss. At 6’3”, Kevin towered over nearly everyone at the agency in height and awards, especially me with my below average 5’4” stature and total lack of shiny advertising hardware. In other words, he was intimidating—until you got to know him. Kevin is your classic Irish Catholic Bostonian in that he excels at masking any emotion to a robotic propensity and exhibits an amusingly dark sense of humor, both of which I admired. As robotic as he could appear (in five years, I only saw him get rattled once), he was really a softie underneath his hardened exterior.

Back when ECDs had time to sit with their employees long enough to teach them the art of craft, Kevin was the one who taught me the ins and outs of typography and creative ideation—we’re talking kerning, leading, tracking, the works. On paper, Kev was my boss. Off, he was my unofficial creative guru. I would not have made it where I am today, with the foundational skills, experience, and achievements I now possess, without Kevin’s investment and encouragement. Over time and after many rounds of creative effort and success, I like to think I became Kevin’s right hand. He entrusted me to independently co-steer campaigns and lead social content for clients long before I thought I could. From boss, to coach, to friend, I’m lucky to say he’s been in my corner since the start, and I’m so grateful for the five years I spent in his gargantuan shadow. And on my last day working with him, I could’ve sworn he shed a tear.

Katie Jensen
I’ve always believed the key to being happy in this business is simple: follow good people. The ones who make you laugh, make you feel at ease, but also the ones who push you to do the best work of your life.

That’s Derek Barnes and Lisa Topol for me.

I’ve worked for them, by choice, at two agencies, which probably tells you everything. Together they taught me that being yourself is enough. That you don’t need to fit into a mold to succeed in this business. In fact, the things that make you different are often the things that make you better. They gave me the confidence to be the leader and creative I am today.

They also showed me that advertising can do more than just sell a product. It can create real change. The kind of change that fights for women, mothers, underdogs, and anyone overlooked. They taught me not to accept no, but to keep finding another way until it becomes a yes.

They are the rare combination of wildly talented and deeply human. Over the years they have come up with ideas that make me so jealous it is almost rude.

Also, we still send each other weird TikToks, which feels equally important.

I’ve always believed the key to being happy in this business is to follow good people. I’m lucky I found two of them.