The Neshannock High School Class of 2019 will officially walk across the stage to receive their well-earned diplomas on June 4, 2019. As we begin our countdown to the our 60th Commencement ceremony, we proudly announce that yet another member of our distinguished alumni community — Estee Mermelstein Portnoy, Class of 1985 — will be addressing the graduating class. Estee is the Senior Vice-President of JUMP.DC, a division of Live Nation.
Estee Mermelstein Portnoy, Class of 1985
Estee Portnoy oversees the day-to-day business & marketing activities for NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. In this capacity, she has worked extensively with Jordan for over 22 years to manage and grow Jordan’s brand. She has overseen Jordan’s business endeavors with companies such as Nike, Gatorade, Upper Deck, Oakley, Warner Brothers, Sara Lee, Bijan, and others to manage strategy, promotions, licensing, media, and advertising campaigns. In 1997, she was part of the team that launched the Jordan Brand for athletic apparel & footwear. In addition, she serves as a Special Advisor to the Chairman on the Executive Committee of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, of which Jordan is a majority owner.
During her tenure with Michael Jordan, she has handled his public relations, liaised with the NBA, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, and coordinated Jordan’s involvement with charitable organizations and his other business endeavors. Portnoy has managed the licensing for Jordan’s feature film debut Space Jam, and overseen the successful launch of the JORDAN Brand, a division of Nike. She was a Production Executive for the IMAX movie Michael Jordan To The Max, opened several Jordan restaurants, and numerous other Jordan-related projects. Portnoy also oversaw the Michael Jordan Celebrity Golf Invitational, a charity golf event, which raised over $7m for charities. Portnoy serves on the Board of Directors of Nike’s Jordan Brand, and is an Executive Producer of The Last Dance, a joint Netflix-ESPN production slated for 2020.
An honors graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. degree in Marketing, Portnoy also received an M.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Maryland. She launched her career in sports marketing while at the University of Michigan in the Athletic Public Relations office and as a member of the Board in Control of Inter-Collegiate Athletics. Prior to joining FAME/SFX Sports, Portnoy worked in marketing in both the computer software and financial services industries for Manugistics, Inc. and Chase Manhattan Bank.
Portnoy, a native of New Castle, Pennsylvania, is the past Chair of the International Board of Directors for BBYO and serves on the Executive Committee of Hillel International’s Board of Directors. She is the co-founder of KEEN USA, a sports program for children with disabilities. She has also served on the National Corporate Advisory Council for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and is a Wexner Heritage Fellow. Her community service efforts have earned Portnoy multiple awards, including Jewish Women International’s “Woman To Watch” (2009), S. Robert Cohen Award from the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes (2006), the Outstanding Service to Youth Award from the Montgomery County Commission on Children & Youth (1999), and BBYO’s Kol Echad Award (2014). Portnoy resides in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband, Elliott, and their three children, Joshua (21) and Noah (18) and Daniela (15).
On behalf of everyone at Neshannock Township School District, we are incredibly honored to welcome Estee Mermelstein Portnoy back to her alma mater as we celebrate Neshannock High School’s 60th Commencement ceremony and the Class of 2019!