Mila balella

Mila Balella graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Music and Entertainment Industries from William Paterson University, where she was awarded magna cum laude through the Honors College. Throughout her academic journey, she developed a strong foundation in her musicianship as a classical flutist and took every opportunity to increase her skills and network within the music industry. 

Mila was heavily involved in the Music and Entertainment Organization (MEO) on campus throughout all four of her undergraduate years. As President, she was responsible for duties including, but not limited to, setting and managing meetings, appointing crew, organizing promotions, and delegating tasks. She worked closely with university staff to create live music events that raised funds for charitable organizations, including The Madison Holleran Foundation, O Bom Samaritano, and People to People. Her leadership strengthened relationships with other clubs and organizations, promoted MEO across campus, and increased membership engagement and interest. Mila’s leadership experience with MEO helped develop her dedication to grow as an aspiring music industry professional.

In addition to her academic achievements and extracurricular leadership, Mila has gained valuable hands-on experience through several internships. In her current role at Collective Entertainment, she collaborates with partners, Melissa Garcia and Lesly Montes, to develop branding, digital marketing and social media strategies, and overall artist management. What Mila focuses on is providing social media assistance to creator, Deena Lang. She has unlocked monetization opportunities on Facebook and continues to provide consistency across TikTok and YouTube Shorts through a content repurposing strategy. She also schedules content for Urge Overkill and Emily Jane White. Overall, Mila is responsible for administration across all departments because of her strong sense for attention to detail and organization.

Mila also aids Melissa Garcia with her podcast, “Yoga on the Move”, by strategizing social media plans, editing social media content, administrative organization and facilitating interviews. Through this, she has strengthened her audio and video skills, which has always been a passion of hers.

From August 2023 to December 2023, Mila Balella interned at The Rocks Management, where she managed several social media pages by creating content, organizing social calendars, and scheduling posts for artists on multiple platforms. She also led AJ Smith’s Street Team by coordinating social media engagement. A highlight of her internship was her graphic design work for The Zombie's first annual St. Albans Festival. Her responsibilities extended to additional administrative tasks such as playlisting and posting on Bandsintown.

Furthering her industry experience into live music, Mila interned at The Newton Theatre during the summer of 2023. There, she learned the intricacies of day sheets, merchandise contracts, and artist/venue contracts while shadowing front-of-house management and the box office team. Her role also involved volunteering with concessions. Mila started as a box office attendant at the theatre in June 2024.

Mila’s side hobbies include everything music. She loves to spend her free time practicing flute and piano, singing, and songwriting. She also enjoys spending time with friends trying new coffee shops and taking day trips to the beach and New York City. Traveling has always been a part of her life, as she has traveled throughout the U.S. and internationally. During the Spring of 2024, Mila was invited to play flute with the William Paterson University Chamber Choir and chamber instrumental groups in Europe. There, she assisted the instrumental director with administrative tasks and social media posts.

Currently residing in Hackettstown, New Jersey, Mila is embarking on her professional journey. She is eager to apply her comprehensive education and practical experience to make a mark on the music and entertainment industries.