Joe Mariano

Joe Mariano is Executive Vice President and Legal Counsel of the Direct Selling Association and serves as Secretary to the Boards of Directors of DSA and the Direct Selling Education Foundation. He was previously Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel and had been Vice President and Legal Counsel and Associate Counsel and Director of Government Affairs at the Association since joining the Association in 1985. He is responsible for representing the Association's interests in all fifty state capitals and on Capitol Hill. He is the staff liaison to the DSA Government Relations Committee, Internet and Lawyers Councils, and serves as a personal resource to direct selling company executives who need guidance on general legal trends that affect direct sellers. Mr. Mariano also has responsibility for finance, administration, member services and applicant company reviews for the Association.

Mr. Mariano has been active in Maryland politics and was a candidate for the Democratic nomination to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1982. He is a graduate of Towson University, the University of Maryland School of Law, and is a member of the ASAE legal section and the State Governmental Affairs Council. He is DSA's chief liaison to the National Association of Attorneys General, the National Conference of State Legislatures and a variety of other public sector organizations. Mr. Mariano is a member of the Maryland State Bar. He is a contributing author to a publication on private sector government relations efforts in the states and co-author of the Direct Selling Association book, Multilevel Marketing: A Legal Primer.

The Direct Selling Association (DSA) is a national trade association comprising the leading firms that manufacture and distribute goods and services sold directly to consumers. Domestic retail sales were $26.69 billion for 2001. DSA's purpose is to "to protect, serve and promote the effectiveness of member companies and the independent business people they represent. To ensure that the marketing
by member companies of products and/or the direct sales opportunity is conducted with the highest level of business ethics and service to consumers."

The public and the direct selling industry benefit from DSA's progressive support of local, state and national consumer protection legislation and regulations. DSA believes direct sellers should be held accountable to the highest level of ethics within the business community because they are guests in people's homes. There are approximately 12.2 million independent direct salespeople in the United States. DSA is also committed to promoting the ability of direct salespeople to run their own businesses and serve the American consumer.