MEET THE TEAM LEADING THE FUTURE OF TRADING CARDS
Led by industry veterans with decades of combined experience across manufacturing, retail, grading, technology, and collecting.
Nick Jarman
Founder & CEO
Meet the Founder →25+ Years Experience
Nick Jarman is the Founder and CEO of the Certified Trading Card Association, Inc. With 25+ years of experience leading organizations and a lifelong passion for trading cards, Nick is dedicated to uniting, representing, and supporting all corners of the industry. He oversees CTCA's mission, daily operations, and strategic vision.
INDUSTRY VETERANS SHAPING THE ASSOCIATION
Alladin Flinn
Based Trading Cards
Alladin Flinn is a serial entrepreneur with a background building startups. In 2016 when he discovered Bitcoin, he began to deeply understand the mechanics of market dynamics, value, and digital ownership — skills he now brings to the trading card hobby.
Alex Diaz
BallPark Alex
Alex Diaz has been involved in the sports card hobby for more than 35 years as a passionate collector and lifelong enthusiast. After witnessing what he believes to be a growing shift away from transparency, education, and collector-first values, Alex launched BallPark Alex over a year ago to advocate for accountability, trust, and open conversations within the hobby. Through educational content, industry commentary, and community engagement, he works to encourage higher standards and help ensure the hobby remains a place where collectors of all experience levels can participate with confidence.
Alex Tressler
Advisor for Media & Industry Relations
Alex Tressler is a retired U.S. Army First Sergeant, respected hobby media personality, and passionate advocate for the trading card community. Known online as ArmyATC22, Alex has built a trusted voice through his event coverage, interviews, hobby education, and storytelling, while serving as the Official Social Correspondent for the National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC). As a writer, content creator, and ambassador for major hobby events, he has earned a reputation for connecting collectors, businesses, and the broader community through authenticity, integrity, and service. Alex brings to the CTCA Advisory Board extensive industry relationships, a strong understanding of hobby culture, and a shared commitment to strengthening and growing the trading card industry for collectors and businesses alike.
Alyx Effron
Collectors MD
Alyx Effron is a lifelong collector, marketer, and advocate for responsible collecting who is working to create a healthier, more sustainable trading card industry.
Blaine Holtke
Dynamic Grading Authority
Blaine Holtke is the owner of Dynamic Grading Authority Corporation with education in Lean Operations Management from the University of Wisconsin. He has a strong commitment to quality and transparency in grading.
Chris Galloway
Top Dog Comics
Chris Galloway began in the trading card industry in 1990 when he opened his first retail store with his father just outside Atlanta, GA. After closing the store, he returned to the hobby with renewed passion and decades of retail expertise.
Chris Sears
Beckett Collectibles
As a seasoned business development and partnerships leader, Chris specializes in driving sustainable growth, strategic innovation, and high-impact collaborations across the collectibles space.
D.J. Kazmierczak
Panini America
D.J. Kazmierczak is an accomplished sports-business sales and product development veteran. He originally worked in sports television as an on-air talent before moving into the trading card manufacturing world.
Jeremy J.J. Allen
Oh YAAS
Jeremy J. J. Allen is a lifelong collector and respected trading card industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience spanning collectibles, auctions, product strategy, and community development. As Chief Collectible Officer at Oh YAAS, he leads collectible strategy, product innovation, artist collaborations, and collector engagement, drawing on previous leadership roles including Heritage Auctions and his work founding Collector's League. Widely recognized as a trusted voice within the hobby, Allen has built a career connecting collectors, brands, and emerging platforms to help shape the future of the trading card and collectibles industry.
Jeff Watson
Digital Heroes LLC
Jeff Watson is a technologist and educator who has spent over three decades at the forefront of the collectibles and gaming industry. With a B.S. in Computer Science, he bridges technology and the hobby.
John Newman
Sports Card Nation Podcast
Host of Sports Card Nation Podcast — one of the hobby's most recognized voices bringing news, interviews, and insights to collectors everywhere.
Josh Pankow
Leaf Trading Cards
Josh Pankow is the President of Leaf Trading Cards, a longtime sports collectibles executive who's spent his career inside the hobby — from working in a card shop to leading one of the industry's most innovative manufacturers.
Karn Rai
Slab Sharks
Karn Rai navigates the collectibles industry from every angle — curation, brokering, buying, selling, and grading. At Slab Sharks, he has grown the company from a $0M garage startup to a $45M/year powerhouse, driven by a passion for connecting collectors with the pieces they love. As the collectibles market surges toward a projected $200B+ industry by 2035, Karn is positioning Slab Sharks to lead the way, shaping the future of how collectibles are discovered, sold, and traded.
Mat Sposta
CHCK.AI & Trove
Mat Sposta is an entrepreneur, investor and executive in the sports collectibles industry. A founder of multiple startups, he has built, scaled, and exited companies, including a successful sale to a public company. Today, he is the CEO of CHCK.AI, an AI-powered card grading platform and the founder of Trove, a media company focused on telling the hobby's most compelling stories. As a longtime collector, Mat combines experience across investing, technology and media to help shape the future of the hobby.
Matt Heyn
Ludex
Matt Heyn uses the skills developed during his 20+ year career as a financial derivatives broker — market analysis, relationship building, and navigating complex systems — to help bring data and transparency to the card market.
Phil Chronakis
Sealed Wax Nation
Phil Chronakis brings an exceptional combination of legal expertise, lifelong passion for collecting, and a deep commitment to service. A veteran New York City trial attorney, longtime collector, founder of Sealed Wax Nation, and dedicated nonprofit leader, Phil embodies the integrity, leadership, and perspective that will help strengthen our mission. As Phil said, "The hobby is an American treasure, now with worldwide appeal." As the hobby continues to evolve, his belief in strong, consistent standards aligns perfectly with the CTCA's commitment to building a hobby that is Safer. Smarter. Stronger.
Ryan Bannister
RbiCru7
Ryan Bannister is the collector and shop owner behind RbiCru7 Sports Cards and Collectibles LLC. A lifelong hobbyist, he shares collector-first perspectives and advocates for transparency at the retail level.
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