Shane Backler / Executive Producer, The Herman Cain Show
Growing up in Orlando, Shane knew radio was the career choice for him to make. “I went to a radio station to pick up a prize I won when I was 13 years old, and when I walked in and saw the studios, I thought that looks like so much fun!”
After working for the family business and area theme parks for a few years after high school, Shane enrolled in a program that taught radio broadcasting in Daytona Beach. He was first hired as temporary employee at WELE-AM in Ormond Beach. That two-week stint ended up being two years.
In 1998 Shane joined Cox Radio at Orlando’s WDBO as an overnight board operator and rose through the ranks becoming producer of Central Florida’s Morning News with Jim Turner. He also worked as an on-air personality at sister station K-92FM. In 2006, Shane left Orlando for Atlanta, GA to pursue his dream job: Work for the mighty News/Talk 750 WSB. Shane worked as a part time producer on Saturdays, which included working with Herman Cain.
“Herman and I hit it off immediately. I was a huge fan of his to begin with when I would hear him fill in on the Neal Boortz Show.” When Herman was asked to take his show full-time with WSB, Herman said, “as long as I can have Shane”. The rest, as they say, is history. In 2011, when Herman threw his hat in the ring to run for the Republican nomination for president, Shane chose to stay at WSB and follow his passion. He helped launch the Erick Erickson Show and also worked as an Associate Producer for the Neal Boortz Show. Shane was sad when Herman got out of the 2012 race, but was ecstatic when he agreed to come back to radio. Herman told the station, “I want ShaneyB again. No Shane, no Herman.” Shane figures Herman is a glutton for punishment.
Ashley Frasca / Associate Producer, The Herman Cain Show
Ashley has worked on the Herman Cain show since 2010, when it was local on WSB in Atlanta. In 2011, she stayed on with WSB part-time, while acting as Supervisor of Operations for Herman Cain’s Presidential campaign.
A graduate of the University of Georgia, her tasks with Cox Media are many! In addition to answering phones for the Herman Cain Show and helping with the show’s digital content, she’s a morning traffic reporter on WSB Radio and occasionally on Ch. 2 Action News This Morning. Outside of work, Ashley is very involved in the Atlanta community. She is a member of Women in Transportation Atlanta, Toys for Tots, and works with C.O.P.S. (Concerns of Police Survivors).
Lisa Reichert / Executive Assistant and Associate Producer, The Herman Cain Show
Shane Backler once described Lisa Reichert as the glue that holds the team together. As the executive assistant and right hand to Herman Cain, Lisa is responsible for managing his calendar, handling the logistics of his travel, negotiating and scheduling speaking engagements, managing his correspondence and basically knowing everything that is going on at all times, just in case he asks. Lisa’s responsibilities also include working as an associate producer. Not only does she support the production of The Herman Cain Show on the radio, but she is also the on-site associate producer for all of Herman’s Fox News and Fox Business appearances with over 300 live TV shots under her belt. Plus, she produces and edits our Pure Cain Video series.
Lisa is an authentic Georgia peach, born and raised here in Atlanta. She has always been passionate about politics, having worked in her first campaign at the young age of 16, while still in high school. She is an avid reader, so much so that she helped Herman compile and edit his last two books, This Is Herman Cain and The Right Problems.
She also highlighted the fact that when she started working for Herman as a volunteer in his business office nine years ago, she had a head full of dark brown hair . . . just sayin’. She loves “digging in the dirt” and usually has fresh flowers, from her garden, on her desk. She especially loves spending time with her husband David, son Richard, and their fur baby – a chocolate schnauzer named Reese.
Dan Calabrese / Media Division Director
Dan has had many ideas in his career, and they haven’t all been great. One was to launch a newspaper syndicate, North Star Writers Group, which he did in 2005 just as the newspaper industry was beginning its decline. But God works through fiascoes, and one result of this fiasco was the signing of a columnist named Herman Cain. Dan and NSWG continued to syndicate Herman’s weekly column up to and through his presidential campaign, at which point Herman asked Dan to join his organization – first as communications director and soon thereafter as media division director. In this position, Dan oversees the operations of this web site, as well as other media ventures.
In addition to his work with Herman, Dan is a veteran journalist, copywriter and author. He has published four Christian spiritual warfare novels, and lives in his hometown of Royal Oak, Michigan with his wife Angie and their son Tony. Dan and Angie are also working on a radical disruption of the Christian entertainment field.
Robert Laurie / Columnist, HermanCain.com
Robert was born in Detroit, grew up in the ‘burbs, and (with the exception of a collegiate detour to the University of Colorado) has been a lifelong Michigander.
After abandoning the graphic design world, where he made concert posters for Detroit musicians and venues, he began writing about politicians – the only people more ego-maniacal than rock stars. He spent a short time behind the wheel of his own blog before his work was picked up by the The Detroit News and The Daily Caller.
Eventually, he became a staple of Detroit talk radio both as a regular guest and occasional guest host. As Herman Cain’s 2012 campaign wound down, he was asked to join Team Cain as a full-time columnist, social media director, and general content provider.
When he’s not complaining about Washington, he can be found skiing, digging through the dusty grooves of his out-of-control record collection, our scouring the nation for the perfect Mai-Tai. He and his family currently live “Up North” on the Lake Michigan shore, and his first novel is headed your way sometime in 2018.
Melanie C. Gallo, PhD / Project Manager, Business Psychology Advisor
Dr. Melanie Gallo has been working with the Herman Cain team for nearly 15 years. She currently manages special projects for the organization, some of which have included graphic and digital design, book print production management, strategic planning, social media maintenance and external business consulting. She also writes an occasional commentary on workplace issues for this site. Melanie admits that she is likely the least political member of the team (it can easily put her to sleep), but specializes in issues concerning business and the workplace (which could really put others to sleep).
After moving around a lot as a child and spending years in Virginia, Georgia, Minnesota, New Jersey and Nebraska, she ultimately settled back in Georgia, where her parents were born and raised. Once back in Georgia, she earned her BA in psychology from the University of Georgia, then an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management, and a PhD in Business Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is Managing Principal of Melanie C Gallo Consulting, LLC., a Metro Atlanta consulting practice providing organizational psychology and business strategy consulting services.
In her “free” time, Melanie attends Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta. She is also and an active member and committee chair in the Magnolia (GA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, the oldest and largest volunteer organization of professional women of color. Local programs focus on the impact of human trafficking on young women, support of their Schools in Jamaica program and the Magnolia Stars mentoring and enrichment program for young ladies of the Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy. Above all, Melanie loves devoting time to her loving husband David, two teenage children Celena and Preston, and three dogs: 88-pound rescue Mack, 6-pound coton de tulier Milkshake and 120-pound Brazillian Mastiff Ava – who is the baby.
Lisa Shiflett / Finance Director
Honeybell a/k/a Lisa Shiflett joined the Herman Cain team in 2010 as part of the presidential campaign staff, and eventually as director of finance. After the campaign ended, she joined T.H.E. New Voice in the same capacity. Prior to this she spent more than 18 years as a paralegal in the metropolitan Atlanta area.
When she is not working, she loves being a wife to a wonderful man and a mother to two growing boys, one with two legs and one with four. She also likes to sew and scrapbook. She is a former state and regional baton-twirling champion and currently judges with NBTA and AAU. In fact, her ability to twirl fire knives came in handy during her time in politics.
She is also proud to be a drama mama to her son in his theatrical and television endeavors. She serves as president of a local community theater, The Front Porch Players. Herman gave her the name Honeybell, and being born and raised in the south, a nickname is the biggest form of flattery. He says, “If you ever hear her talk, y’all will know how she got her name.”
