Kara Oliver

“The Boss

Kara eats, sleeps, breathes, and dreams Disney, and has been a super fan since her first visit in 1977! She knows a dream is a wish your heart makes as she is in her 5th year as a travel agent specializing in Disney, thrilled to help hundreds of families add value, not cost to their Disney vacations. You’ll find her on Facebook and Instagram at Fairytale Journeys by Kara, and in Disney World 4-6 times a year with her husband and 2 boys. A long-time trivia buff, Kara has been with Trivia AD since 2010 when she met the owner, marrying him in 2011. Originally from upstate NY, Kara has lived in the NYC area for 20 years, and considers winning Cash Cab the highlight of her trivia “career.”

Edan Stanley

Jersey Girl

Edan is a born and raised Jersey native and proud of it. She uses her blinker on every jug handle and feverishly defends taylor ham. By day, she’s an editor and will annoyingly correct your grammar. But by night she will also correct your grammar while cooking up a tasty meal because hosting is one of her favorite things to do. At home with her ferocious mini house panther, a delightfully tubby cat named Willa, she can be found binging television shows and movies in unprecedented timing. All time favorites include Gilmore Girls, Harry Potter, Parks and Rec, and obviously, Twilight. Go ahead and @ her. #TeamEdward4Life. With Trivia AD, Edan embraced her inner theater kid and found the perfect balance of being a super fan and an insufferable know-it-all. She is thrilled to be a part of such a great team and hopes to bring some joy to the events she works.

Tom O’Beirne

Master of Domain

Tom passed his dreams so long ago, they’re now chasing him. He has a 3rd place trophy for “competitive jogging in place” and countless participation ribbons. He’s been fired from more jobs than he’s been hired for and was recently allowed to sit at the adult table at his family’s Thanksgiving. In addition to being hilarious and charming, he’s hilarious and charming. His retention of Seinfeld knowledge exceeds anything he learned anywhere, ever. A reformed Van Buren boy, he is currently aspiring to the level of enlightenment only attainable by completing the Ron Swanson “Pyramid of Greatness.” He is currently on “Skim Milk: Avoid it.” Tom read a book once. Yada yada yada – and then he joined Trivia, AD.

Genna Matarazzo

MCU Supernerd

Genna attended her first Trivia, AD event in the fall of 2018, was immediately hooked, and joined the hosting team a year later. She watches too much TV and an excessive amount of movies, but claims it’s “research” since she holds a degree in film production and works as a freelance writer. Genna loves musicals, is a huge Disney fan, a proud Ravenclaw, an MCU supernerd, and a member of house Stark (according to a Buzzfeed quiz). She loves food and sometimes wishes she was a hobbit so that she could get away with eating seven meals a day. Genna is delighted to be hosting Trivia, AD events virtually and sharing her love of movies, TV, and trivia with so many others.

Darryl Mayhand

The Office Guy

If you ask me do you want to form an alliance with me or do you want to do trivia the answer is the same: Absolutely I do! After winning a couple Trivia, AD events, Darryl Mayhand is a musical theater turned trivia nerd, and The Office is life….he lives by a very specific creedo: Bears, Beets, Battlestar Gallactica. Born and raised in NYC, he is infatuated with his home city and brags about it endlessly. When not shouting Office quotes, song lyrics, or all sorts of city facts, Darryl can be found acting on a stage near you with Round The Bend Theatre, giving you jazz you’ve never imagined with his band Brasstracks, or just looking for the next good thing to eat in his neighborhood.

Adam Pacecca

H.E. Pennypacker

Hailing from a small town in Rhode Island, Adam came to NYC by way of a college career in Albany to come work for New York’s best hospital and, more importantly, New York’s best trivia company. He has always had an affinity for trivia, and got his start becoming the person everyone playing trivia knew as “the guy who plays by himself and gets first place”. After a hard day of screening cells for cancer, Adam can be found watching, studying, and praising the greatest TV show of all time: Seinfeld. In any situation he can find a Seinfeld reference in and is not shy about gushing about it to whoever will listen. When not obsessing over Seinfeld, Adam likes to explore the city, listen to classic rock, re-watch his favorite TV shows and movies without watching new ones, reading and spend time with friends. He knows to always look to the cookie, that it’s not a lie if you believe it and never forgets to put up a Festivus Pole every year in his apartment.

Amber Guarente

Queen of Fandoms

Amber is the queen of fandoms. If there’s a fandom to be adored, she adores it. Dr. Who, Disney, Marvel, Star Trek, Sherlock, LOTR, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries and their spin-offs, Friends, Harry Potter – you name it, she likes it. That includes anime! Speaking of which, did you know she lived in Japan? That’s right, for six years! Sugoi desu ne?! She was teaching English and traveling as much as she could to Hokkaido, Kyoto, Osaka, Okayama, Nikko, Tokyo (where she went to both Tokyo Disneyland and Sea) and more. She also climbed Mt Yamadera, a mountain with one thousand steps and a legend that says if you make a wish at the bottom and manage to make it to the top, your wish will come true. Did her wish come true? You’ll have to drop in and ask her yourself! She’s also an avid reader of romance and fantasy novels, as well as  comics and manga, and is a huge movie buff. She even has a bachelor’s in Film Production! But her schooling journey didn’t end there as she is currently back in school to become a vet tech. AKA, she would love to see all your fur-baby pics!

Steve Bailey

Magically endowed with an endless array of fairly useless pop culture knowledge and a signature deadpan frowny-faced voice from a young age, Steve stumbled into TriviaAD some years back and has since used his formidable hosting skills to bring joy to the assorted nerds of the Metropolitan area. When left to his own devices and not devouring the latest from franchises starting in the word “Star” (Trek… Wars… Search… etc.), he plays in several bands in Brooklyn and has been known to do more than a few scissor kicks onstage. He also can’t go a day without someone telling him he looks like Harry Potter. Given how much he knows about the books, movies, etc. there’s certainly been reason to wonder. Also, has anyone ever seen him and Danielle Radcliffe in the same place at once…?

Lauren Rudolph

Lovely Lauren

To say NJ native Lauren Rudolph feels strongly about her love and knowledge of pop culture is an understatement. The self- proclaimed “human-pop culture-google” has such an affinity for entertainment that her proudest moments include when she sang the ‘21 Jump Street’ theme song to Captain Fuller, when she told Reggie Jackson not to shoot the queen, and when she and Tracy Morgan together imitated Brian Fellows. Granted those encounters may not adhere to current mainstream culture, it doesn’t mean Lauren isn’t up to date.

An avid television watcher, she has the most fun as a trivia host when the nights theme is a favorite show. In the seven years she’s been circulating the North Jersey trivia scene for Trivia AD, she has developed amazing relationships with many of the event frequenters.

Outside of hosting trivia, Lauren loves practicing yoga, being a foodie, building her empire, and of course pop-culture.

Lauren “LK” Kinney

Occasional HBIC

Lauren or LK was a long time lover of Trivia AD before she started hosting. Buffy, Gilmore Girls, Hocus Pocus, Grey’s Anatomy – proud 2nd place finish for Grey’s led to her favorite side hustle working with the AD team! LK’s been watching soap operas – not ironically – since the womb, and spent random days off hanging out in front of ABC Studios looking to meet her favorite daytime players in high school. She probably pays more for all the streaming platforms than she did for cable, and has a power point presentation at the ready for tips & tricks to seeing Broadway shows without breaking the bank!! She’s been a proud member of the BC/EFA Bucket Brigade for nearly a decade, shaking a literal bucket at tourists for charity. The pandemic allowed for many a rewatch — #texas forever; Lost & GoT are so much better watched straight through without breaks; and teen dramas are still the best ones!

Samantha Grace Cook

Disney Cruise Queen

Meet Samantha — preschool teacher by day, trivia queen by night. She spent 10 years entertaining crowds on Disney Cruise Line (yes, Mickey was her co-worker), and now she’s here to keep you laughing while testing your brainpower. When she’s not hosting, you’ll find her binge-watching sitcoms with an IPA in hand, diving into true crime documentaries, or catering to her cat, King Arthur Hamilton — the most regal roommate you could ever ask for. Rumor has it, she’s easily bribed with hair compliments and dad jokes.

Aaron Weininger

The Sporty Musical Nerd

Aaron has been a bar trivia prodigy since 21 and prides himself on being the anchor to any trivia squad he’s been a part of. Aaron is a classically trained singer with a BFA in musical theater and has performed Stand-up, sketch, and improv comedy all over NYC. He is also a 2x marathon finisher and has a mental encyclopedia of American sports history. Aaron loves to laugh at creative team names and made up answers and is excited to add some spice to your trivia night.

Allyson San Filippo

TV Junkie. Pop Culture Oracle. Trivia Ringmaster.

If it aired, streamed, flopped, or became a cult classic, I’ve seen it (twice). Host of TV and movie-themed trivia nights where the stakes are high and the Friends references are mandatory. A devout disciple of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Team Spike, don’t @ them), emotionally fluent in Schitt’s Creek, and fluent in quoting Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

I put the “pop” in Pop Culture and the “pause” in “Hold on, I need to rewatch that scene real quick.”

Basically, imagine if IMDb and The Hollywood Reporter had a baby raised by Moira Rose and Giles — that’s me.

Sam Levine

Sam the Music Man

Representing Freehold, NJ, Sam has been on the trivia/game show scene all his life. From his Game Show themed Bar Mitzvah to hosting trivia nights at summer camps, his classroom, and restaurants throughout NJ, he is thrilled to be joining the team at TriviaAD! Favorite topics include Broadway, Food & Drink, The Muppets, Survivor, New York Mets, and the music of Bruce Springsteen! He recently showed his game show skills in a winning performance on Teacher’s Week of Wheel of Fortune in October 2023! When he’s not performing trivia or teaching his fantastic 4th & 5th graders music, he’s singing, playing piano, ukulele, or going on a hike.

Kyle Stover

Voice Actor & Dungeon Master

A Minnesota transplant and a massive nerd, Kyle’s been living in Brooklyn for almost a decade and employs his Theater degree and improv training to host lively trivia events and fantastical games of Dungeons & Dragons each week. While he can’t tell you anything about Sports, he can talk to you all day about Marvel, video games, anime, Renn Faires, and the latest TikTok trends.
What he loves most about trivia is that it’s a place where your very niche knowledge finally gets real world application.

Mary Valdes

Super Mom

Born and raised in New Jersey, I’m a proud stay-at-home mom who juggles snacks, schedules, and spontaneous dance parties like a pro. You can usually find me watching TV, playing games, or just being silly—because life’s too short not to laugh at your own jokes. Music is the heartbeat of my day—it keeps me sane, centered, and occasionally performing full concerts in the kitchen. My friends have unofficially dubbed me their go-to trivia queen for anything film-related.

Andrea Paredes

“The Scooby Scholar”

A Long Island native turned proud Jersey girl, Andrea is someone whose love for music transcends generations, cultures, and languages. From ‘70s rock to early 2000s pop to reggaetón hits that make you want to move, there’s always a soundtrack playing somewhere in her day.

Though she’s always late to the TV party, Andrea makes up for lost time with enthusiasm. This year alone, she’s fallen head over heels for Breaking Bad and Schitt’s Creek. Ask her about a trending show, and chances are she hasn’t started it yet… but when she finally does, she’s all in.

Andrea proudly identifies as a “jack of all trades, master of none” when it comes to fandoms. She dabbles in everything, from pop culture deep dives to nostalgic reboots, but doesn’t pledge allegiance to any one corner of the internet. That is — until someone mentions Scooby-Doo. Then all bets are off. A true Scooby Scholar, Andrea can talk endlessly about Mystery Inc., favorite villains, obscure movie crossovers, and the underrated genius of a talking Great Dane solving crimes. If there were a Ph.D. in Scooby-Doo lore, she’d have earned it twice by now.

When she’s not meeting new people or putting on events, Andrea can be found walking her mini Australian Shepherd — audiobook in ear, coffee in hand, and at least one new idea for a gathering brewing in her mind. Whether it’s a trivia night, a networking mixer, or a casual get-together, Andrea has a knack for creating spaces where people feel seen, welcomed, and connected.

JT Tranberg

Pop Culture Connoisseur

JT is your friendly neighborhood Pop Culture Connoisseur! He’s a raging PotterHolic, a Drag Race SuperFan, and firmly believes that Cersie Lanister is the greatest female villain of all time. Being a fan of everything Pop Culture since he was a little kid, JT loves quiz shows and anything trivia related. He even started a TikTok account dedicated to daily trivia quizzes (@QuickThinkTrivia). When he’s not hosting for Trivia AD, you can find JT working as an actor in New York City, or plotting and scheming while playing Live Reality Games somewhere in the country! Find him on all Socials @JTDoesNYC.See you at the bar!