Meet the Team
Steve Adubato, PhD
Founder and President, Adubato Center for Media Leadership
Co-executive Producer, Steve Adubato’s Media Matters Podcast
Steve Adubato, PhD, is the Founder and President of the Adubato Center for Media Leadership, and the Co-executive Producer of the Steve Adubato’s Media Matters podcast. He provides strategic vision for an organization dedicated to strengthening independent media, elevating credible journalism, and fostering thoughtful public discourse across broadcast, digital, and streaming platforms. Through the Adubato Center, Steve advances conversations with leading journalists, innovators, and public thinkers while investing in the next generation of media leaders through educational partnerships and public forums.
An Emmy® Award–winning broadcaster, author, and leadership coach, Steve is a longtime anchor of public television programs airing on Thirteen/WNET (PBS) and NJ PBS. He has appeared nationally on NBC’s TODAY Show, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, and CBS as a media and political analyst, and he is the host of Steve Adubato’s Lessons in Leadership, co-hosted by Mary Gamba. The program is based on his six books on leadership and communication, including Lessons in Leadership and his most recent, Lessons in Leadership 2.0: The Tough Stuff.
Steve currently anchors multiple television series produced by the Caucus Educational Corporation (CEC), including State of Affairs with Steve Adubato, the weekly public policy series examining key issues facing the New Jersey Statehouse; One-on-One with Steve Adubato, the nightly interview program featuring in-depth conversations with artists, authors, academics, media figures, health experts, and sports icons; Think Tank with Steve Adubato, which brings together leaders and innovators to explore national policy issues impacting New Jersey and the tri-state region; and Remember Them with Steve Adubato & Jacqui Tricarico, spotlighting influential New Jersey figures whose legacies continue to resonate.
Through his firm, Stand & Deliver, Steve is also a highly sought-after keynote speaker and executive coach. He has led leadership and communication workshops for corporate, nonprofit, and public-sector organizations nationwide. Stand & Deliver is a dynamic, hands-on professional development and executive coaching program founded by Steve to help professionals strengthen their leadership presence, communicate with clarity, and lead with purpose.
Stephen G. Adubato
Contributor
Stephen G. Adubato is a Contributor to the Adubato Center for Media Leadership. In his role at the Adubato Center, he supports its mission to strengthen independent media by shaping and curating Steve Adubato’s Media Matters programming that highlights credible media leaders and innovative, fiscally responsible journalism across broadcast, digital, and streaming platforms. He also contributes to the Center’s educational initiatives and forums designed to elevate thoughtful public discourse and help develop the next generation of media leaders.
Stephen has taught religion and philosophy at both the secondary and university levels for over a decade, and is currently associate editor of Compact Magazine and the curator of the Cracks in Postmodernity multimedia platform. His writings on religion, media theory, sexuality, ethnic identity, urbanism, and popular culture have appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Daily News, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, First Things, and America, as well as in academic volumes published by Rizzoli and Rowman and Littlefield.
Usame Tunagur
Co-executive Producer, Steve Adubato’s Media Matters Podcast
Program Director, Adubato Center for Media Leadership
Usame Tunagur is Program Director for the Adubato Center for Media Leadership and the Co-executive Producer of the Steve Adubato’s Media Matters podcast. He oversees editorial production and execution in support of the Adubato Center’s mission to strengthen independent media and elevate thoughtful public discourse. In this role, he helps guide content strategy and production standards for the site while collaborating across teams to highlight credible media leadership and innovative journalism.
In addition to his work with the Adubato Center, Usame oversees the daily post-production needs for the Caucus Educational Corporation and its four programs: One-on-One with Steve Adubato, State of Affairs with Steve Adubato, Think Tank with Steve Adubato, and Remember Them with Steve Adubato & Jacqui Tricarico.
A multimedia producer and journalist with more than 15 years of hands-on production and project management experience, Usame has worked in the broadcast media industry in a wide range of capacities across multiple genres and formats. Alongside his industry work, he is also an educator, having served as an assistant professor of video production at Cabrini University, a social justice–centric liberal arts college. Prior to joining CEC, he was a segment producer for Black News Tonight with Marc Lamont Hill, which aired on the Black News Channel.
Usame is the recipient of a Vision Award from the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications for the television program World in America, as well as a John Michaels Memorial Film Award from the Big Muddy Film Festival for his short film, Muslim 101.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting, telecommunications, and mass media from Temple University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in film from Ohio University.